what the f*** is this dude hunting from a helicopter. get on your damn legs and hunt like the rest of mankind. cant be canada thats for sure that shyt illegal to transport a whole dead animal. i was just to like the video for the awsome manuvering from the pilot. but having to hunt wildlife from air with a 20gauge is stupid grab a rifle and scope. unless your compansatting for your lack of bad shoots.
I fly RC helicopters and they have a saying, "If you don't have grass stains on your blades, you're doing it wrong." Looks like this pilot is following a similar mantra. :)
I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS'S ABUSIN THE HUGHES C-500 HELICOPTER? I DON'T UNDERSTAND. I THINK IT'S SOME AWESOME DANG FLYIN FER WHAT THEY'RE DOIN. GREAT JOB!
@flybradfield85 IT'S STILL SOME AWESOME DANG GOOD FLYIN. WISH I HAD THE "GREENS" TO GO TO FLITE SCHOOL. I'VED LOVED "HELOS" EVER SINCE I WAS NO BIGGER THAN UH GRASSHOPPER. READ & STUDIED BOUT PLANES & HELICOPTERS ALL THRU JR. HIGH & HIGH SCHOOL. WAS AN AVIATION MECH IN THE MILITARY FER 4 YRS WAY BACK WHEN. GOT SCREWED OUTTUH MY G. I. BILL.
and just to add to my Warth the pilot flying that 500 died of old age and walked away from ever crash. he was among the Best in NZ if not world wide. take a trip to NZ its not an eazy place to fly and these pilot's could fly blind folded.
@jetbox100 would you like us kiwis to show Canda asking for NZ poilts to do Live Capture cos they "didnt have the skill" your TV network even did a big news story about it. and wtfwasthat3 your a KnoB for posting this and calling it 500 Abuse, im happy we dont have people like you in our Country. Huges made the 500 and New Zealand tought the world how to use it. Nuffsaid
@ritualghost WOW you want an award for fingering that out that MD stands for Macdonald Douglas... you might want to use Google cos last time i checked Huges made a MD ( which is the model name of the Huges MD 500 series) AA++ for acting you age ( 16 ).
@agcatdriver Nah huges sit way lower to the ground and have different looking tails. The Macdonald Douglas is higher and has the T tail. They are different but nice try... not a huges.
@ritualghost YOU´RE THE BIGGEST JACKASS MORON! The 500 WAS first built by HUGHES.... MD saw how good it was and decided to buy the rights to it! Now don´t YOU feel like the biggest IMBECIL in the world???? STFU smartass!
You have no idea what it was like back then, it wasnt no training course, or no stunt, Everything was pushed the the limits, its how you made your buck with the competition and to stay in the game. If you must know Steves still flying for Erickson Aircranes, still alive
wow. talk about advanced fatigue on the aircraft. the only reason he lived is because he is lucky.keep pushing the limits like that and you die. is it really worth this?
500 pilot here and I have had over 2000 houres in My cat and it has become just an extension of My body. For those of you who are scared of busting your machine, stop flying. As for hitting a limb from a tree the blade will cut up to a 6" limb like butter, My companty found this out before sending us out to the Congo. You can spped up your blades if you think you might hit a tree just to make sure you cut through it. Now as for rocks your blades can loos up to 8" and still fly if your lucky.
You can ( and I did) whack limbs with Huey and Cobra blades w/o fear, but the little MD-500/OH-6's? Hell no! Teeny blades, narrow chords, thin materials...stupidest thing I ever saw in my life...(And I have seen a few stupid things before!)
A: How do you shoot your own skid? and B: With the rotors "trimming" those trees, only a matter of time before one trims to far... but at least you'll be close to the ground when you crash :)
At least they were using the right aircraft for the mission. A Bell Jet Ranger could never have survived those types of maneuvers. God, I miss flying choppers!! :(
This is NOT NOT NOT abuse!!!!! They are relocating deer so that they can proliferate, and survive!!! I have met these pilots, and they have got to be some of the best helicopter pilots I have ever met!
@natvtxn01 If your a pilot and think that what we see here is great skill then I would never want to be in your or these guys helicopter. (Also a pilot)
@plumber97 Ya no kidding, I don't understand why a helo pilot would find it a good idea to stuff their rotors into some trees knowing its what keeps them airborne, one branch too big and they are toast. We train for all other EP's but transmission and rotor issues are pretty much cross your fingers and hope you get on the ground. (UH-60 Pilot)
@natvtxn01 Not abuse? ok maybe not but it sure is STUPID!!!! I can't believe what I just saw, one branch too thick and that aircraft is done, hey if they don't care much for their lives then I could care less what they do, however I sure hope they are not endangering others!! (Current UH-60 pilot US ARMY)
In new zealand we always see out of it crap on the television and think, "man, only in america would that sh#t happen" well guess u guys can look at this and say "only in new zealand!"
too old school for me, i would never get in that machine after all those blade strikes especially with the cracking issues those machines have had in recent years on the head. MORON
Noooo! I got time in that machine and blades have to be well balance to fly for the best perform, you guys have a lot of luck doing that,be careful and skip the branches.
you think we didn't know that? 30 years ago I was an engineer servicing these and we replaced a blade or two - these birds could earn $20-$50K a DAY so it was just the cost doing business...
These blokes have all my respect. The took risks but so what this is amazing and imagine the adrenaline rush and the money. This would have been the high lights of their lives. NZ rules
These blokes where earning good money back in these days yes there where dangers but they new they walked the line some did'nt make it and some did. Here you work it out 1200 dollars an hour to run the chopper (excluding the pilot and the shooters wages)A good stag would be worth between 5000 to 8000 dollars live catch and then there where hinds and these blokes back in the day would catch anything between 10 to 30 in a day so you do the math
Is that australian dollars, or New Zealand. In America it's only about 700 an hour to run an MD500. Also in America you have evidence like this laying around the FAA would likely pull your ticket and fine you like 50 grand for operating an aircraft with uncertified equipment, i.e. sawing off the skid tube. But let's not talk about the FAA I'm liable to break out in cold sweats and fear for everyones safety.
strap your balls on mate - nobody gave a damn about the rules. Quite a few died which is not good but now, 30 years later, with a good job (head of sales for a big telco) no end of stupid meetings and stupid email, I look back at this and think YES - that was when I was truly ALIVE :-)
That is possibly the dumbest thing I have ever seen. I guess they have enough money to be constantly buying rotorblades which go for thousands a piece. Also they must have some huge balls to keep flying after a rotor strike. FYI you can take a rotorblade and squeeze it with your hand and deform it.
Hughes 500 is a great helicopter. Anyone wondering how a rotor blade can chop small branches it is no different than a limp nylon line cutting heavy grass in a weedeater when at high rpm.
hahahahaha! I know it's a while back you commented but I just browsed through tonight and found this vid, Just have to say Br' your comment should accompany this vid always!! hahaha so good, had me in stitches!! thanks!!
I've never seen it, but read about UH-1 pilots in Vietnam having to "open up" landing zones where the gap wasn't quite large enough. Seems the Loach could have done a similar job!
lol haha well the huey blades are freakiing huge and way some crazy amount each so i wouldnt be suprised about that - but the little birds are so nimble and they seem like the blades could break easliy doing this.
Yup. "Heli holes".... The blade construction on thoes UH1As was strong enough to handle it. I don't know about the 500D though. If it has some kind of a composite construction, it seems like something could easily end up breaking. At the very least they are limiting the service life of those blades by doing that.
I saw an r22 blade that struck a wire once. The inner honeycomb and skin looked like it exploded and the spar was bent badly.... A large tree branch would have a similar effect...
yer NZ500 these are an amazing machine, and like you say 4-5 hinds at $3000-4000 dollars(in the 80s thats was big $) for a days run is good coin! it must be hard on them though chucking it round like that
...Strongest shape in nature. And its light weight makes for one hell of a concoction! Having a low weight means a lot when it's being taxed and the less it has to overcome of its own weight makes it that much more agile, and mobile!
Rotor Blades are made to cut through one thing, AIR. After they crash and Die the investigation will reveal that one of the blades was either out of track or had hair line fractures that spread to form cracks, thus causing it to come apart while in flight. Thats not good flying, its just stupidity.
These were different times, this ('trimming') happened literally hundreds of times a day in NZ in the early 80's and as far as I know there wasn't one MR blade seperation. A day's work would pay for a new set of blades, so it was worth the risk. I guess it shows what the 500 is made of, I don't think they would try it in a robbie!
what the f*** is this dude hunting from a helicopter. get on your damn legs and hunt like the rest of mankind. cant be canada thats for sure that shyt illegal to transport a whole dead animal. i was just to like the video for the awsome manuvering from the pilot. but having to hunt wildlife from air with a 20gauge is stupid grab a rifle and scope. unless your compansatting for your lack of bad shoots.
spudkiss1984 6 days ago
It's a high performance aircraft, and the only abuse is to the occupants! Rock On MD 500
akmountainbarry 1 month ago
Poor Rambo.
krbosak 1 month ago
hes hedging at 1.20
jamesparker308 2 months ago
They shorter the main rotor blades quite a bit......it makes the craft handle
fast inputs better.
kirra77 2 months ago
Incredible flying, a real master
aussiesam01 2 months ago
That's on crazy MO-FO! ;-)
enroy37 3 months ago
is that a rental copter?
niceuser1234 3 months ago
I fly RC helicopters and they have a saying, "If you don't have grass stains on your blades, you're doing it wrong." Looks like this pilot is following a similar mantra. :)
KCTrexPilot 3 months ago
I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS'S ABUSIN THE HUGHES C-500 HELICOPTER? I DON'T UNDERSTAND. I THINK IT'S SOME AWESOME DANG FLYIN FER WHAT THEY'RE DOIN. GREAT JOB!
bionictrucker1 4 months ago
@bionictrucker1 they are hitting Trees with the Main Rotor, But This is how real men fly
flybradfield85 3 months ago
@flybradfield85 IT'S STILL SOME AWESOME DANG GOOD FLYIN. WISH I HAD THE "GREENS" TO GO TO FLITE SCHOOL. I'VED LOVED "HELOS" EVER SINCE I WAS NO BIGGER THAN UH GRASSHOPPER. READ & STUDIED BOUT PLANES & HELICOPTERS ALL THRU JR. HIGH & HIGH SCHOOL. WAS AN AVIATION MECH IN THE MILITARY FER 4 YRS WAY BACK WHEN. GOT SCREWED OUTTUH MY G. I. BILL.
bionictrucker1 3 months ago
how many nz dumb asses have crashed there home made contraptions
parcigneau 4 months ago
1:05 But will it blend?
(left of the rotor)
MisterLEM0NS 5 months ago
These guys hunting?
bmavric09 5 months ago
and just to add to my Warth the pilot flying that 500 died of old age and walked away from ever crash. he was among the Best in NZ if not world wide. take a trip to NZ its not an eazy place to fly and these pilot's could fly blind folded.
Shame on YOU,
finjonz 5 months ago 2
Nothing flies better than a rented helicopter.
Blenkinsop999 6 months ago
Fly it like you stole it.
aligerous 6 months ago
@jetbox100 would you like us kiwis to show Canda asking for NZ poilts to do Live Capture cos they "didnt have the skill" your TV network even did a big news story about it. and wtfwasthat3 your a KnoB for posting this and calling it 500 Abuse, im happy we dont have people like you in our Country. Huges made the 500 and New Zealand tought the world how to use it. Nuffsaid
finjonz 6 months ago 8
@finjonz
Couldn't agree more!!
Sutho404 5 months ago
@finjonz Actually macdonald douglas made it thus MD 500... jackass.
ritualghost 1 month ago
@ritualghost WOW you want an award for fingering that out that MD stands for Macdonald Douglas... you might want to use Google cos last time i checked Huges made a MD ( which is the model name of the Huges MD 500 series) AA++ for acting you age ( 16 ).
watch?v=-08j6aTGB2w&feature=related
lets all point and Laugh at your Humiliation.
finjonz 1 month ago
@ritualghost And to BEGIN WITH, it was the HUGHES 500... JACKASS!! learn your facts before you open your mouth.
agcatdriver 3 weeks ago
@agcatdriver Nah huges sit way lower to the ground and have different looking tails. The Macdonald Douglas is higher and has the T tail. They are different but nice try... not a huges.
ritualghost 5 days ago
@ritualghost YOU´RE THE BIGGEST JACKASS MORON! The 500 WAS first built by HUGHES.... MD saw how good it was and decided to buy the rights to it! Now don´t YOU feel like the biggest IMBECIL in the world???? STFU smartass!
sinner2208 1 week ago
You have no idea what it was like back then, it wasnt no training course, or no stunt, Everything was pushed the the limits, its how you made your buck with the competition and to stay in the game. If you must know Steves still flying for Erickson Aircranes, still alive
TheStoat69 8 months ago
This is why we dont want kiwis in canada!!!!! Fly it hard then pass it on to some other pilot who has no idea how it's been flown.
jetbox100 8 months ago
Chuck Norris is the pilot!
danielille 8 months ago
Must have been so cheap to fly a turbine helo back in the 90's when Jet-A aviation gas prices were lower than $3.00 a gallon.
IMFDB 10 months ago
steve can fly a 500 beta backwards then sum pilots foward from wot iv ben told
mfordheli 10 months ago
there are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are never any old bold pilots
micahmx85 1 year ago 2
wow. talk about advanced fatigue on the aircraft. the only reason he lived is because he is lucky.keep pushing the limits like that and you die. is it really worth this?
suffo222 1 year ago
500 pilot here and I have had over 2000 houres in My cat and it has become just an extension of My body. For those of you who are scared of busting your machine, stop flying. As for hitting a limb from a tree the blade will cut up to a 6" limb like butter, My companty found this out before sending us out to the Congo. You can spped up your blades if you think you might hit a tree just to make sure you cut through it. Now as for rocks your blades can loos up to 8" and still fly if your lucky.
jmkaudio 1 year ago
You can ( and I did) whack limbs with Huey and Cobra blades w/o fear, but the little MD-500/OH-6's? Hell no! Teeny blades, narrow chords, thin materials...stupidest thing I ever saw in my life...(And I have seen a few stupid things before!)
desertsnake1991 1 year ago
Death wish
allantotti 1 year ago
A: How do you shoot your own skid? and B: With the rotors "trimming" those trees, only a matter of time before one trims to far... but at least you'll be close to the ground when you crash :)
Wahlnutz 1 year ago
quelle honte !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
michelsud31 1 year ago
Dart the dear and it falls off the cliff?
Blade strikes on purpose?
Sigh, stupid humans.
ft6zzz 1 year ago
At least they were using the right aircraft for the mission. A Bell Jet Ranger could never have survived those types of maneuvers. God, I miss flying choppers!! :(
VolDep45 1 year ago
amazing :D
Dominik520520 1 year ago
This is NOT NOT NOT abuse!!!!! They are relocating deer so that they can proliferate, and survive!!! I have met these pilots, and they have got to be some of the best helicopter pilots I have ever met!
Native Texan (former UH-1H pilot US ARMY)
natvtxn01 1 year ago
@natvtxn01 Abuse is on the bird, not the deer lol
foxtrot789 1 year ago
@natvtxn01 If your a pilot and think that what we see here is great skill then I would never want to be in your or these guys helicopter. (Also a pilot)
plumber97 1 year ago
@plumber97 Ya no kidding, I don't understand why a helo pilot would find it a good idea to stuff their rotors into some trees knowing its what keeps them airborne, one branch too big and they are toast. We train for all other EP's but transmission and rotor issues are pretty much cross your fingers and hope you get on the ground. (UH-60 Pilot)
serhgut 1 year ago
Comment removed
serhgut 1 year ago
@natvtxn01 Not abuse? ok maybe not but it sure is STUPID!!!! I can't believe what I just saw, one branch too thick and that aircraft is done, hey if they don't care much for their lives then I could care less what they do, however I sure hope they are not endangering others!! (Current UH-60 pilot US ARMY)
serhgut 1 year ago
@serhgut ...lighten up yank its just a bit of fun.
billionear 1 year ago
In new zealand we always see out of it crap on the television and think, "man, only in america would that sh#t happen" well guess u guys can look at this and say "only in new zealand!"
defaultkontact 1 year ago
too old school for me, i would never get in that machine after all those blade strikes especially with the cracking issues those machines have had in recent years on the head. MORON
dieselrider69 1 year ago
Now that is precision flying! YOu have got to have some serious gonads to get that close to certain death!
stot2614 1 year ago 2
one talented pilot.
flyinghighoverthesky 1 year ago
holy skill
keeevan 1 year ago
holy cow man. these pilots have serious balls! trimming trees
reganaikin 1 year ago
im from murupara where peter bradley was based i grew up with his son,seen some amazing flying skills from him and his pilots awesome vid
leewoks 2 years ago
those were the days when men were men. I can only dream of it
sikahill 2 years ago
Its worth it!
nipponhouseplayer 2 years ago
Noooo! I got time in that machine and blades have to be well balance to fly for the best perform, you guys have a lot of luck doing that,be careful and skip the branches.
fredy76lopez 2 years ago
you think we didn't know that? 30 years ago I was an engineer servicing these and we replaced a blade or two - these birds could earn $20-$50K a DAY so it was just the cost doing business...
bingothewonderdog 2 years ago
These blokes have all my respect. The took risks but so what this is amazing and imagine the adrenaline rush and the money. This would have been the high lights of their lives. NZ rules
HarpoonKing 2 years ago 2
Bet they have a mechanic on staff who gets very little sleep.
CropDusterMan 2 years ago 7
Some of them we're doing a 50hr every week ;-)
bingothewonderdog 2 years ago
@CropDusterMan
aahhahahahha
suckmysilencer747 2 months ago
@CropDusterMan Or none at all ;)
sh3lbot 2 weeks ago
These blokes where earning good money back in these days yes there where dangers but they new they walked the line some did'nt make it and some did. Here you work it out 1200 dollars an hour to run the chopper (excluding the pilot and the shooters wages)A good stag would be worth between 5000 to 8000 dollars live catch and then there where hinds and these blokes back in the day would catch anything between 10 to 30 in a day so you do the math
franktoko 2 years ago
Is that australian dollars, or New Zealand. In America it's only about 700 an hour to run an MD500. Also in America you have evidence like this laying around the FAA would likely pull your ticket and fine you like 50 grand for operating an aircraft with uncertified equipment, i.e. sawing off the skid tube. But let's not talk about the FAA I'm liable to break out in cold sweats and fear for everyones safety.
FJones9508 2 years ago
strap your balls on mate - nobody gave a damn about the rules. Quite a few died which is not good but now, 30 years later, with a good job (head of sales for a big telco) no end of stupid meetings and stupid email, I look back at this and think YES - that was when I was truly ALIVE :-)
bingothewonderdog 2 years ago
thats in new zealand dollars which is tuppents to the aussie let aolone the american dollar
franktoko 2 years ago
That is possibly the dumbest thing I have ever seen. I guess they have enough money to be constantly buying rotorblades which go for thousands a piece. Also they must have some huge balls to keep flying after a rotor strike. FYI you can take a rotorblade and squeeze it with your hand and deform it.
FJones9508 2 years ago
try putting your hand into a rotor at 480 rpm and see if you can deform it...
bingothewonderdog 2 years ago
thats true buddy. Whatever it takes to get the paycheck right. If the money is worth it why the hell not, a little twig never hurt anybody.
FJones9508 2 years ago
Good pilot but stupid..
whiteblazejunky 2 years ago
Hughes 500 is a great helicopter. Anyone wondering how a rotor blade can chop small branches it is no different than a limp nylon line cutting heavy grass in a weedeater when at high rpm.
HUDMACK 2 years ago
the pilot is drunk. awful flying
deerock7 2 years ago
lets see, why is it that new zealand helicopters always crash?
rotorav8 2 years ago
that is just ignorant
mstaff657 2 years ago
Back in those days there was Jimmy Shewn, Armin Egli, Dennis Muhlolly, Robert Fleming and bunch of others. That was the good ole days :)
KiwiNed 2 years ago
what are they looking for?
amediastintas 2 years ago
deers.
Rodrigo2838 2 years ago
whos the pilot and shooter?
WarPig1308 2 years ago
pretty impressive, but i'd hate to be in that heli if it lost power in one of those manuevers, very slim chance for a succesful auto....
royaltonrotors08 2 years ago 3
he must sharpen his blades before he goes out.
CintiSlider 2 years ago
Comment removed
6mrviagra9 2 years ago
holy shit that is wild and loose
ELX222 2 years ago
he should go fly with the 160th SOAR
thesecretcollection2 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
kiwi pilots are the not best in the world
sredyl 2 years ago
kiwi pilots are not the beat in the world!!!!!!
sredyl 2 years ago
WOW, all that just for deer. Pretty awesome stuff right there!
miGsKills 2 years ago
kiwi pilots are the best in the world,
sonicholden 2 years ago
Very debatable..... **rolling eyes**
spidey692003 2 years ago
this is how you fly your neighbors helicopter
stealhty1 2 years ago 19
hahahahaha! I know it's a while back you commented but I just browsed through tonight and found this vid, Just have to say Br' your comment should accompany this vid always!! hahaha so good, had me in stitches!! thanks!!
reasoning777 2 years ago
omfg. ive never seen a pilot intentionally use the blades to chop off braches. omg.
gezelle007 2 years ago
I've never seen it, but read about UH-1 pilots in Vietnam having to "open up" landing zones where the gap wasn't quite large enough. Seems the Loach could have done a similar job!
TachyonDriver 2 years ago
lol haha well the huey blades are freakiing huge and way some crazy amount each so i wouldnt be suprised about that - but the little birds are so nimble and they seem like the blades could break easliy doing this.
gezelle007 2 years ago
Yup. "Heli holes".... The blade construction on thoes UH1As was strong enough to handle it. I don't know about the 500D though. If it has some kind of a composite construction, it seems like something could easily end up breaking. At the very least they are limiting the service life of those blades by doing that.
I saw an r22 blade that struck a wire once. The inner honeycomb and skin looked like it exploded and the spar was bent badly.... A large tree branch would have a similar effect...
bburrett 2 years ago
What the heck are they doing? Deer hunting?
Slyster77 2 years ago
Where can I buy helicopter?
minim4p 2 years ago
Brings new meaning to "chopper"
jedarapa22 2 years ago 2
yer NZ500 these are an amazing machine, and like you say 4-5 hinds at $3000-4000 dollars(in the 80s thats was big $) for a days run is good coin! it must be hard on them though chucking it round like that
pykel8 2 years ago
Naa. They're made for it. The egg shape is the???
...Strongest shape in nature. And its light weight makes for one hell of a concoction! Having a low weight means a lot when it's being taxed and the less it has to overcome of its own weight makes it that much more agile, and mobile!
The bird (little bird) of my dreams,,,
F0ckUtoob 2 years ago
this is what a helicopter was made for! i'd love to do this job, no questions asked!
FlingwingGolfer 2 years ago
The 500D is an amazing machine. A Bell can't even compare. Why were you needing a helicopter to hunt deer though?
chefparker74 2 years ago
Welp..One day one of those blades is going to catch a bigger twig and something bad is going to happen..
motokid032 2 years ago 2
deer hunting?
O____o
fr3ds4t 2 years ago
ahh thats nothing. we fly into the trees in canada
courtsm3 2 years ago
Hard core but high risk. Not recommended.
qrs11 3 years ago
Rotor Blades are made to cut through one thing, AIR. After they crash and Die the investigation will reveal that one of the blades was either out of track or had hair line fractures that spread to form cracks, thus causing it to come apart while in flight. Thats not good flying, its just stupidity.
kd4pba 3 years ago
These were different times, this ('trimming') happened literally hundreds of times a day in NZ in the early 80's and as far as I know there wasn't one MR blade seperation. A day's work would pay for a new set of blades, so it was worth the risk. I guess it shows what the 500 is made of, I don't think they would try it in a robbie!
NZ500D 3 years ago 10
@NZ500D
Haha you probablly wouldn't get the chance to do it in a robbie, the blades would come off
Sutho404 11 months ago
or is it stupid?
tsliepen 3 years ago
thats nothing short of awesome great work guy's
franktoko 4 years ago
some good flying that
mendoza332 4 years ago