We see a lot of helicopters around here. There is an army base nearby from which intensive training is carried out. Given the nature of operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, much of this involves low level flying. There are even arrangements with a number of farmers for helicopters to touch down and disembark troops.
I have been interested to photograph a helicopter flying low, and had the opportunity a few days ago. These big Chinook transport helicopters make a distinctive sound, which is loud, on account of their intermeshing rotors. I heard the helicopter before I saw it, and had time to take out my camera.
There are no ears in these photos because Brena wasn't going to miss the opportunity to eat. Given the noise and proximity of the helicopter, I was glad to be riding a calm horse.
Military helicopters are supposed to take account of horses, and I was wearing bright clothing so the pilot would have seen me. That might account for the sharp turn that commenced almost as soon as I was within sight. It did make for an impressive display of the manoeuvrability of these large transport helicopters, as well as giving any passengers a little excitement.
Incidentally a work colleague who used to fly army helicopters told me that pilots of combat helicopters also use hikers, cyclists and riders as mock targets to track. I have seen something like this happen on a trail, where an Apache helicopter kept popping up to surveil a runner. I am sure that this had nothing to do with the runner being an attractive lady clad entirely in lycra.
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