16 May 2011

Bloggers venture where naval aviation fears to tread

| johnboy
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photographers waiting

The Navy had promised a 4-5 strong display of Sea King helicopters over Lake Burley Griffin and up Anzac Parade.

So I tore myself from the Eagle’s Nest jacuzzi and the bevy of resident bikini models* to brave the near freezing cold and get some photos of this spectacle.

Arriving at the appointed noonday hour at Commonwealth Place I was reassured by the sight of a Navy photographer.

Half an hour passed. There were no helicopters, the photographer packed up. When I asked he said the low visibility had killed it.


* Some creative licence might have been used in this description.

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troll-sniffer2:11 pm 16 May 11

Well methinks the choppers in question would have been coming up from Nowra. Between Nowra and Canberra there lies a range of mountins, where treetop hugging clouds are oft encountered this time of year. Rotary pilots (bless their intrepid souls) have somewhat less of a disposition to enter airspace where visibility makes their survival less likely, particularly in the event of a mechanical malfunction, something more common in the rotary world than the fixed-wing one. That I believe is a probable explanation as to why the much-anticipated whirly-bird spectacle has been defeated by the inconsiderate nature of the weather.

Captain RAAF2:03 pm 16 May 11

You mis-heard him, He said low serviceability….

Low visibility? Bollocks!

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