Utah Helicopter crash on video

Thanks Tina
Other than the crash looks like you all had fun!!
 
By the way...the amateur videographer who provided that video to channel 2 did so in exchange for enough money to cover Dennis's tab at the urgent care facility that treated him.

May we all have friends who care about us!
 
Was the pilot doing a loop and just didn't have the altitude to level out at the bottom? It looked like he was doing some great flying otherwise
 
Ron, not a full loop, but a wingover. If you watch the video, it looks like he should have had more lift on tap. But standing there, you could hear the collective in hard just before he hit, probably a real laundry moment. The other helo pilots I talked to there guessed density altitude bit him. It was only about 72 degres, but we're talking 4902' MSL.

And you're right...the guy is an amazing pilot, and at age 74 to boot. I watched part of his DVD today. He doesn't just do aerobatics, he makes the thing dance.
 
You were there paul? Where was Todd Powell the hermit???

Guess Steve Mcgowan is right, it isn't a matter of if, but when !
 
Dennis has over 13,000 hrs of Helicopter time and has been showing off what these aircraft can do for a long time with never an incident. I imagine when you push the envelope as hard as he does you are bound to have a problem soooner or later. He sure put on a heck of a show, right to the very end. Too bad it came much too quick. I sure would have enjoyed watching him fly for a little longer.

I am sure part of it has been his extrordinary skill and probably some good luck to boot that has kept him free from harm so far. Density altitude here in Rocky Mountains catches up to a lot of pilots who aren't used to the affects it has on how you fly. I am sure Dennis was fully aware of the situation but he pushes the envelope so hard that you only have to be a very little bit off and you have a problem. We are all very lucky and thankful that he wasn't seriously hurt or there wasn't any damage to anything other than the Helicopter he was flying. He sure earned my respect with the way he handled this challenge. Best of luck to you Dennis!!! I'd sure fly with you if I ever had the chance.

Gyro Doug
 
I have a Video of Dennis doing his thing in an Enstorm F-280 C shark. he would turn that helicopter every way but loose.he made it look so graceful in the shark. in the videos I have seen of him doing it in the Hughes, it looks alot more violent.

I am just glad he is ok to fly another day.
truly and amazeing pilot,i really would have loved to have met him and talked to him in person.
 
I am glad to have met and talked with Dennis He is an ambassador for the rotor wing movement, Really down to earth, not to mention he knows his way around a helicopter. After watching him spin around on 1 landing gear, I thought I would have to wait awhile before going back up, this was going to be a hard act to follow. It was so good to see him crawl out of that mess.

My last flight before Dennis went up I almost got caught by DA. I came out of a tight turn at low airspeed about 100' AGL and by the time I got moving again I was lower than I wanted to be, probably 45' ,not a real problem but it sure could have been. The next time I went up I made sure that I had 500' before any maneuvers.
 
You were there paul? Where was Todd Powell the hermit???

Ron, I'm a local now! West Desert Airpark is about a 45 minute drive from my new home. Todd's apparently let his life get too full for fly-ins, but we'll get him back one day.
 
Sounds like everyone had a good time thanks for sharing. I know first hand that ground do bite it will jump up and get you quick the lesson I learned is don't try somthing close to the ground stay higher than you need to be and you will not be standing their woundering what the hell just happend. In flight its slow motion but the people on the ground are seeing it double time. Glad your alright Dennis someone needs to invent a machine that we can get in and relive the last week I know I would have done things differntly. take care everybody.
 
I agree with what Paul said of how amazing of a pilot Dennis his. His DVD shows many of his displays in both the 269 and the Enstrom. Really impressive to watch him do his thing.
 
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