just me....ae.: helicopter

Showing posts with label helicopter. Show all posts

Monday, May 13, 2013

Yah, I Flew A Helicopter.

A couple of years ago, I rode in a helicopter for the first time. The second it took off, I FELL IN LOVE. No joke. Read about that experience HERE! I was like a giddy little girl getting a pony for Christmas. It was a bit ridiculous. Ever since then, I was dying to take to the skies again.

So, for my birthday (a year and a half ago), my mom gave me a helicopter flight lesson! WHAT?!? Are you kidding me? I was so excited I cried.

Why, might you ask, did it take me until now to redeem this amazing gift?.....well, bad weather, Romania, East Coast trip, and psycho foot.

Now that we have some of that under control, this past weekend it was!

I wasn't the least bit nervous (surprising, actually), but I was really excited. My ground school consisted of a few minutes of "this is this and that is that and do this when this happens....ready?" Uhhh, WHAT?!?! Sure....why not? Let's fly!

Brandon (my instructor) took off (of course), but when we were in clear skies, he gave me the controls. IT. WAS. SO. HARD! Your feet are doing one thing, your left hand is doing something else, your right hand is doing something else, and there's SO much to look at! I was a bit overwhelmed, but it was seriously amazing to think that I was FLYING A FLIPPIN' HELICOPTER! After a while. we headed back to the airport to practice "hovering." Now THAT was difficult! But, Brandon said I did pretty well--I didn't freak him out like some people do. Phew!

Take a look at me hovering! CRAZY!

This is Brandon, my instructor.

Here I am with Mama post flight.

This thing is TINY!

LOVED LOVED LOVED this! Now, what shall I do next? I want to ride a horse.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Elephants and Helicopters.

For my birthday, I told my mom and brother that I wanted an elephant and a helicopter. Why, you may ask? Well, I couldn't really think of anything I wanted, and I really like elephants and helicopters....

Who knew that on my birthday, these wishes would actually come true. :)

I opened my gift from my mother at breakfast, and I found a "grow your own" elephant and a certificate to actually FLY A HELICOPTER!!! This was my reaction...

I believe my face turned beat red and tears fell from my eyes--I was THAT excited!! (I still am!).

SIDE-NOTE (while we're on the topic of presents): I also got a stuffed sushi later in the day. I received some really neat gifts as well, but this picture just had to make it to the blog.

Thanks Jensens!

And because I wanted to see real elephants, we headed to the LA Zoo after breakfast with some family and friends. Here are some highlights:

Beautiful Koala! One of them was carrying a baby on her tummy--amazing--too bad I couldn't catch a picture of it.

Dude in front: Whatchu lookin' at?

Dude in back: I don't like time-out.

LAZY zebra

Silly giraffes

Cousins

Erin! (Christy and Carrie and Shelly and Lauren also came, but we failed on the picture front)

Family with the elephants

So pretty!

YEAH! The elephants! ...and not just any elephant, a DANCING elephant (see video below)

Yup, my trunk gets heavy sometimes...

This l~~ittle~~ big guy danced the entire time we watched him. It was hilarious!

And what birthday would be complete without an amazing dinner...

YUMMY dinner at C&Os!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

This Definitely Made the Top 10 List of Life!

Yesterday I did one of the most amazing things I have ever done--flew over and into the Grand Canyon in a helicopter!! I was able to cross off two things from my (never written down) bucket list: ride in a helicopter and go see the Grand Canyon. This was truly an epic way to kill two birds with one stone so to speak.

The van picked us up at our hotel at 0635. We. Were. Tired to say the least. We rode to Henderson airport, checked in with the company, hung out a bit, and were separated into our different groups. We were going to go on this adventure in the hands of Pilot Jake Arnold.

We went on another quick van ride, got some instructions, took some pics, strapped on our floatation devices (in case we accidentally landed in Lake Mead or the Hoover Dam), and loaded up. Mom and I got to sit right up front with the pilot and I was stoked!

As we lifted off, the music playing in our headsets was "Come Fly With Me," and I seriously couldn't stop giggling. I was like a little kid getting a pony for Christmas. I knew instantly that I had fallen in love with helicopters. I need to learn how to fly one--seriously seriously seriously. New life goal.

We flew up and out toward the canyon and I giggled--a lot. Our pilot probably thought I was a nutcase. :) We got to see Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. We saw lots and lots of desert and dry land, and we came upon the canyon grande. We actually flew down into the canyon, pretty close to the side, and I was just slowly dying inside from excitement.

The copter landed in the bottom of the canyon and we were able to get out, walk around, take pictures, enjoy a bit of a picnic, and hang out with the other folks from another copter. The whole time I just couldn't believe it was real.

After about 25-30 minutes, we strapped on our floaties, buckled in (the back this time--we had to share), and took off again. We stopped about 15 minutes later to fuel up, and then went on our way. I was so so sad when we spotted the strip and realized that my epic adventure was too quickly coming to an end. As we touched down, "Happy Trails to You" was playing on our headsets. Loved it.

It was my first helicopter ride, but I assure you, it will NOT be my last. I cannot recommend this highly enough. We went with a company called Maverick Airlines , and I was nothing but pleased with them. Check it out if you're planning a trip to Vegas in the near future. I will leave you with some amazing pictures to assure you of the epicness and awesomeness of this adventure. To see all of the pictures, click here!