Lesson seems to be; If you're going to have any fun, don't video it and put it on the Internet....for Mother hens abound and will lash you.

As a helicopter pilot and aviation attorney, two words come to mind
Fn moron. Staged or not. Wow that was fun, next time lets see if we can get closer or if we can tag one of them.

Shawn, that $17,000 a year for a non commercial policy!! I was paying almost 14,000 for my Enstrom 280FX. And anyone who has a pathfinder policy for their Robinson, better read it carefully.

We used to pay 17k but we carry pretty high coverage. That was for the 44 our company use to have. We have two 66s now that are higher to insure. We don't have pathfinder.

Back to the video, while the rotor blades are high enough that it would be unlikely to hit anyone unless they put there sticks up or he really tilted the disc. He isn't putting the helicopters full weight on the ice but if he did, could it hold it? If has to lower the collective and falls into the ice parts are going to fly.

Would you start a takeoff in your airplane with a group of friends standing in the middle of the runway with the plan that they will get out of the way just prior to you hitting them?

Thats what I thought.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Piloting is judgement.

Bingo, we have a winner.

Tim

They were just having some good clean fun! Likely safer than doing drugs, booze or countless other things. No harm, no foul. Obviously a skilled Rotary Pilot so hats off to him.

Society is getting brain washed by over zealous lawyers and lefty treehuggers - the " you could get hurt " card is getting way over-played! I personally can't stand most lawyers - and I have a dual LL.B / JD and 20+ years at the bar (plus I'm not a bad Helio pilot as well) - so chill out and give the pilot a round of applause!

I saw nothing to demonstrate a skilled pilot. Scoot along the ice at high speed, cyclic climb at the end. If the ice is smooth no issues, it was. No harder than doing a rolling takeoff in a wheeled helicopter into a cyclic climb. He will kill himself most likely as he has a cowboy attitude i'm sure. It's the proximity to persons that alarms me. His scooting along the ice is just stupid, skilled? Meh...

Funny to read through this thread, and the Connie low flyby thread right below it...

Did he hit the puck? I can't tell.

Mark, good clean fun? Flying a helicopter is not a Norman Rockwell painting. There isn't any skill past a private pilot check ride on this video. A run on landing (it never slows down cause ice has less friction and he pulls a little pitch, then pulls more pitch and does a cyclic climb and a turn. Im not at all trying to be a buzz kill or come across as mean. Any professional helicopter pilot will say this isn't smart, mainly because so many are EMS pilots who have transported patients after having good clean fun and something goes wrong.

I'm thinking it's an RC heli.....look at the scale of the people when it flies past. And how NOT concerned they are after it climbs up.

Here we go.... Let's all start lining up to say how safe we are and how reckless another guy is. He was flying low above ice ROP, a cowboy. I would never do that with passengers on board, especially with kids etc. for years doing Airshows I heard everyone saying this and then something happened to them then after they were gone everyone said that about them

This is called taxiing. As it is on ice, skates instead of wheels are used. So what?