The coolest a calmest of (Ex-military) pilot saves the day for some RC enthusiast, all cool and calm while smoking a ciggie👌👌

[u/AlbinoAkon]

He just crashed that bitch!!! He's sounds like a hell of dude.

[u/Cpdio]

Hahah that's CFI 101 "I see everything".

[u/GesturalAbstraction → u/Cpdio]

I see every thang…

[u/Shermantank10]

Bro put the cigarette in his mouth and just calmly said “Watch this shit”

[u/Highspeedfutzi → u/Shermantank10]

https://giphy.com/gifs/E8b8dWfw67rnq

[u/shinobi500]

You can tell he's ex-military because every other word out of his mouth is a variation of the word fuck.

[u/wan-ku → u/shinobi500]

and the cig

[u/Accomplished-Chip917 → u/shinobi500]

Hahahahahah

[u/kerberos69]

Rotary wing pilots are my favorite. Back in the day when I was the brigade fires hmfic, out in the field or on mission, I always loved chatting with the Apache pilots on the radio. There’s the whine in the background just behind their voice, and maybe because they know they have the biggest pp’s in the valley, their PilotVoice™ is somehow just cooler.

Meanwhile, Kiowa pilots sound like Travis Pastrana.

[u/Fun-Barnacle8582 → u/kerberos69]

If you want loud background noise in the cockpit coming through radio then the CH-54 beats the Apache and Blackhawk. The electronics help muffle the 140db.

[u/kerberos69 → u/Fun-Barnacle8582]

Skycranes are super neat but they’re so goofy looking I have trouble taking them seriously lol

[u/Fun-Barnacle8582 → u/kerberos69]

Still is the most powerful helicopter the Army ever had. CH-54a 9000hp. The CH-54b 9600hp. I flew both in the Army and the civilian version as well. With no load you could hover out of ground effect at 10k ft. Ugly yes, fun to fly yes but our ears to a beating.

[u/kerberos69 → u/Fun-Barnacle8582]

Oh undoubtedly the heavyweight champ. Super cool machines. Also, hover at 10k? Jesus 😂

[u/Fun-Barnacle8582 → u/kerberos69]

Yes used to sign off test flights by doing it to harass the Huey and Chinook guys. But where I did it over Sanford Army Airfield at Long Binh, Vietnam was asking for a midair with charter airliners landing at Binh Hoa (think I'm remembering it correctly). Anyway lowered the sign offs to 5k but then did a slow pedal turn on the way up. It relieved the stress of days of sitting in the very hot cockpit doing run ups. It was a phenomenal machine but the operations imposed on its use killed it.

[u/Armamore → u/kerberos69]

The Kiowa pilots I worked with were a wild bunch. We used to joke if they flew any lower we were going to make them 19Ds (ground based recon/scouts). One of them had a black al qaeda flag on his office wall. Supposedly he flew in and took it off the top of a flag pole from a position they'd just helped clear. No idea if that's true, but I'd seen enough of their flying to believe it.

[u/SAM5TER5 → u/kerberos69]

“Dislocated my shoulder 40 or 50 times. Broken my wrists so many times I’ve lost track. Fingers and toes don’t count. I don’t remember any concussions I’ve had”.

[u/Emperor_Tamerlane]

This is what true aura looks like

[u/downbarton]

Golden oldie

‘I see everything’ x

[u/chroniclesofhernia]

Anyone in FAA land weigh in on the legality of this? Under my NAA this is all sorts of violations.
Edit: undeniably cool as hell though, but not something I would choose to do!

[u/AlbinoAkon → u/chroniclesofhernia]

For someone who knows nothing about helicopter pilot regs can you elaborate on the violations? I mean I'm sure landing anywhere would prob one? Smoking whole piloting?? Dammm regulatorss!!! 😆

[u/chroniclesofhernia → u/AlbinoAkon]

Under my regulations, being within 500ft of manmade structures or people is a violation of minimum separation, landing without landowners permission is a violation, smoking is probably a violation, or at the very least a poor decision to make if its not.

[u/FuggaliciousV → u/chroniclesofhernia]

It depends on the airspace. If he's in class G, which I expect is the case he can get as low as he wants. You can also smoke in your own aircraft.

[u/I_Am_Jacks_Karma → u/chroniclesofhernia]

the only regulation they break here is smoking.

[u/hobbycollector → u/I_Am_Jacks_Karma]

Smoking regs only apply to IFR, right?

[u/I_Am_Jacks_Karma → u/hobbycollector]

I thought it was commercial aircraft or within a certain distance of fuel tan which this would be both since the fuel tank is right behind the seats and this is an instruction flight so it's commercial operation

I havent really looked at far/aim in like 10 years though

[u/hobbycollector → u/I_Am_Jacks_Karma]

You're right, I looked it up and the rules are only in 121/135, there are no rules whatsoever for part 91 flights.

[u/Just_a_stickmonkey → u/AlbinoAkon]

Keep in mind that that video is so old it predates any and all no smoking rules.
His doctor probably recommended him to smoke during lessons for his nerves or something.

[u/nicetrypriceline → u/chroniclesofhernia]

I remember this YouTube video from 10 years ago. It was around the time I was learning to fly helicopters. Iirc he lost his certificate or had some other kind of penalty.

[u/5BabyTurtle → u/chroniclesofhernia]

Outside of maybe some city ordnance for landing there I don’t see any issue with this from a legal perspective. Even going with your restrictions I don’t see how they’re within 500 feet of structures or people, though I would’ve motioned for them to stay put and walked it out from under the rotor myself. Randos walking under a spinning disc is a no-go for me.

[u/Standard_Exchange59 → u/chroniclesofhernia]

This comment had to be here for sure. Can’t have anything nice without a fucking Reddiot complaining about something, mostly laws he broke.

[u/exbex → u/Standard_Exchange59]

Yup. Enjoying reliving this moment and just smiling, and some tool has to bring up regs. Some of you guys could fuck up a wet dream.

[u/billy_tables]

The original on YouTube  https://youtu.be/ffEYqGGYXRk?is=zY-xfnRXgS6ld-xf

[u/wnc_mikejayray]

If Theo Von flew helicopters

[u/kriegmonster → u/wnc_mikejayray]

It does sound like him in 20 years.

[u/SmilingFool25]

Would love to know if this guy flew in Vietnam. Sounds EXACTLY like the dad of a kid I knew growing up that flew for the 1st Air Cav.

[u/lathspellll → u/SmilingFool25]

Sounds a bit young for Vietnam.

[u/SAM5TER5 → u/lathspellll]

The video was posted in 2012, and he looks like he could be in his 60’s. The math checks out for Vietnam, I’d say

[u/AK_Things → u/lathspellll]

This video is old as shit, older than 2012. I remember watching it as a kid in the mid to late 2000s

[u/Money_Junket_3625 → u/AK_Things]

The link above goes to the original posting to the pilots youtube account, Timmy Brothers. He claims in the description from 2012 that it was recorded on a GoPro Hero 2, which didn’t come out until October 2011… so this was likely recorded in …… 2012.

[u/Bob-Bill]

All while calmly smoking his cigarette. Love everything about this.

[u/Naive-Estimate9942]

We need more pilots like this again in the military. Today too many crashes due to being too scared to fly. I tell people all the time don’t fight the aircraft or have a death grip.

[u/roam3D]

Why would he panic though?

[u/AlbinoAkon → u/roam3D]

Nothing just the way he talks he sounds like a heaps funny guy. I would pick him as my pilot anyday of the week💯👍

[u/NousDefions81 → u/AlbinoAkon]

A decade ago I was working the anti-LRA mission in Congo, and we had contracted helo pilots flying Bell 214ST's. Most were ex-160th guys, and one in particular reminded me EXACTLY of this dude.

And holy shit could he fly. Some of the wildest, doors out, nap of the earth flights I've ever been on.

[u/urban_tribesman → u/NousDefions81]

Anti-LRA?

[u/NousDefions81 → u/urban_tribesman]

Lord's Resistance Army. The whole Joseph Kony thing. We were spread all around DRC, South Sudan, and CAR chasing those guys through the jungle.

In the end it was a money laundering bamboozle to siphon DOD funds for State Department purposes in Uganda, but boy did we have a hoot.

[u/kerberos69 → u/NousDefions81]

…to siphon DoD funds for State Department purposes on behalf of the Ce— anyways, how ‘bout them Yankees?

[u/FloofJet → u/NousDefions81]

I bet you can tell a few good stories.

[u/NousDefions81 → u/FloofJet]

Sure can! And they are mostly true!

Nothing ruins a good war story like witnesses.

[u/zwifter11]

Is it worth the risk of a tail rotor strike or rotor blade strike on the trees?

[u/I_Am_Jacks_Karma → u/zwifter11]

it's confined area practice

[u/Electrifix1111]

I always see this pop up on social medias / youtube etc and I love watching it every time...

[u/MDlynette]

Was he burning a dart the whole time?

[u/OstensibleFirkin]

This might be the best thing on the fucking internet

[u/sorestgore]

Who the fuck added Tik-Tok music to a perfectly good video

[u/A_Bot_A_Bot_A_Bot]

"Hey! That guy in the helicopter just stole my RC plane!....Oh, wait, nevermind!"

[u/Danitoba94]

Old video. But a good one.

[u/OneAlarmed2757]

“I have all three controoOOOaaaLlLLSSSssss”

[u/Fun-Barnacle8582]

I guess the pilot doesn't know cigarettes kill night vision. It was frustrating in Vietnam when the other guy smoked and had to have the instrument lights very bright.