2015 Escape Trailer Customer Appreciation Rally

[gbaglo]

A single engine chopper like the one used can't hover at that altitude because if the engine stops, the pilot doesn't have enough speed to do an auto-rotation ( which is the rotor still spinning and preventing the chopper from hitting the ground too hard ).
I asked the pilot of a fire-fighting chopper why there was an "Engine Out" light on the instrument panel. It's because the noise of the rotor turning is louder than the engine. He then explained auto-rotation to me and then demonstrated by turning the engine down to idle, freaking out the junior reporter in the back seat. It's not something you are supposed to do with passengers.

[gbaglo]

Loops and rolls.
Just a passenger.

[gabeck]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Loops and rolls.
Just a passenger.

Gosh .....Wolf never did loops and rolls ....but this was his little J3 ! ( very old slides )

[BCnomad]

I actually have a six foot ladder and some low benches in the truck that could pressed into service....

[Ian G]

10 days until we pick-up our new 19'

12 days until the 2015 Escape Customer Appreciation Rally

The egg-citement grows.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

A single engine chopper like the one used can't hover at that altitude because if the engine stops, the pilot doesn't have enough speed to do an auto-rotation ( which is the rotor still spinning and preventing the chopper from hitting the ground too hard ).

Even if it is above the danger zone between landing on rotor inertia (very low) and high enough to transition to auto-rotation (the helicopter version of gliding), hovering is still rarely done. It takes more power to hover than to fly forward at constant altitude, and the pilot can't see rearward to watch for collisions. Hovering other than to lower or pick up loads on a winch is mostly for entertainment in TV and movies.

Neighbors of ours have a helicopter which is used for their aerial photography business. They took some photos of a nearby property (contracted by the property owners) and they flew over our house so many times doing this I eventually called them to complain about the noise, even though I like aircraft. They don't hover to take photos, even though they may be above the minimum altitude to transition to autorotation from hover (about 500 feet above ground at our elevation for their Robinson R22).

[BCnomad]

Long range weather forecast for Osoyoos

Highs mid twenties, lows touching on single digits. Hardly a rain drop icon on the board. I'll take that.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by BCnomad

Long range weather forecast for Osoyoos

Highs mid twenties, lows touching on single digits. Hardly a rain drop icon on the board. I'll take that.

Sounds perfect to me too.

[gbaglo]

You are going to scare off the Celsius challenged with those numbers.
That's about 78 F as a high and 48 as a low.
Intolerable for shrimp and crab.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by BCnomad

Long range weather forecast for Osoyoos

... Hardly a rain drop icon on the board.

Heh. I'll fix that. Just watch.

[Donna D.]

For those that understand Farentheit.. looks hot and humid to me Althought the weather has been drying up the last several days! Two days ago, it looked like there was a 50/50 chance of rain every day. I'll take it as it is now! From Weather.com

[gabeck]

For the Sat. of the rally it looks like 20% pop ......probably won't even see a raindrop ......

[gbaglo]

Environment Canada doesn't even report 20 per cent COP.
Here is explanation from the site:

The Chance of Precipitation (COP) is the chance that measurable precipitation (0.2 mm of rain or 0.2 cm of snow) will fall on “any random point of the forecast region” during the forecast period.
Whenever the COP is expected to be between 30 and 70 per cent inclusive, it is indicated in the forecast. The COP values are stated in increments of 10 per cent.

[gabeck]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Environment Canada doesn't even report 20 per cent COP.
Here is explanation from the site:

The Chance of Precipitation (COP) is the chance that measurable precipitation (0.2 mm of rain or 0.2 cm of snow) will fall on “any random point of the forecast region” during the forecast period.
Whenever the COP is expected to be between 30 and 70 per cent inclusive, it is indicated in the forecast. The COP values are stated in increments of 10 per cent.

But ....COP is Canada Olympic Park ! ........weather network always notes pop ( possibility of precip )'...... when it says 20% we wouldn't even pay attention , actually in Calgary if it says 60% we might look at the sky to see if we could get a rain drop .....

[gbaglo]

Environment Canada only gives you seven day forecast. Weather Network gives you two weeks, but I've noticed it's always trending toward full sun as you go forward. Probably, because they really have no clue what the weather will be in two weeks.
I'm not bringing an umbrella.

[BCnomad]

I think I saw a 30 day "beta" on TWN Glenn?

[gbaglo]

I use Environment Canada on my Mac and The Weather Network on my cell phone. 30 day would be a wild guess I would think. As in, it's winter. Let's say "50 per cent chance of snow" .

[Jim Bennett]

I have AccuWeather, and The Weather Network, apps on my phone, and use the one that gives me the most favourable forecast.

Actually, I have found TWN to be the most accurate around here.

[hughharden]

I'm sorry but there is no such thing as an accurate weather forecast in Calgary.

[Jim Bennett]

Sure there is Hugh. I predict if you look out the window in the next 10 minutes, it will be sunny and warm.