Through the years, I've used many makes and models of helicopters for all kinds of work. I've certainly found that some choppers are better-suited for some kinds of work than others. More important than the helicopter, though, is the pilot. He or she must understand the work to be done, and be experienced in that work. For instance, a good fire pilot in a Long Ranger probably won't do very good as a darting pilot and ship for a wolf collaring operation.

This is an A-Star, a French helicopter I used extensively in SE Alaska just to transfer people to mountain/glacier sites. Worked well for that purpose.



This is a "Long Ranger", a Bell helicopter. Good "Creature Comfort", but the two-bladed main rotor is not very manueverable and takes nearly an acre to land it. Not my favorite.



This is a Robinson R-22. It has a piston engine which is quieter than a jet-engine, and is very useful for some applications. Don't bring anything more than a small sack lunch, though. I used it extensively for doing golden eagle/dall sheep work in the Alaska Range, and to dart muskoxen and bison at low elevations.



Here is the Robinson R-44. Again, a piston engine, not a turbo. Very good for some uses. I used it extensively for raptor nest surveys in low-elevation area of interior Alaska.



My ultimate favorite, especially for darting wolves and bears. The Hughes 500, "D"-model. 5-blades, very maneuverable, and with 5-bladed main prop, able to land in tight spots.


I've also spent time in Fairchild-Hiller 1100's and Bell-47's. Not my favorites for wildlife work, although they do have their place.

Where did you learn to fly helicopters?

I am not a helicopter pilot, just a fixed-wing driver. In the choppers, I'm just a lowly passenger.

Hughes 500 is my fav as well


Nothing better than ripping up a river/canyon

Amazing machines

I don't know much about choppers, but I know When I was young, on the coast they flew a lot of cedar. Flying slings of shake bolts out of old growth timber can be a bit interesting at times. Pretty much every pilot that did it was a pilot in Nam, guess since nobody was shooting at them they considered it no big deal.

Most all those pilots are gone now, or at least not flying anymore. I don't know where they are getting pilots these days.

Thank you for the photos. Helicopters are neat machines for sure.

The local Guard units here practice low level flying over the state forest by the house. Pretty neat to be in the woods when a Blackhawk goes over at treetop level.

Not knocking the military pilots

The best pilots nowadays seem too be non military

The military folks fly for an hour, then talk about it for two. I’m certain the nightstawkers have amazing pilots(hopefully the best)


Besides obviously saving your life. An excellent pilot saves you a lot of money!!!

My first job as an A&P was at an air service in Nome. 1986. They had an R-22. Used it for reindeer hearding. This was during the years when the deer antlers were worth big money in velvet. Antlers were cut in June.
Wildlife enforcement in Alaska now has several R- 44s. Some officers have been trained to fly them. Surprisingly none of them have wrecked, in contrast to the number of super cubs they wrecked.

Great subject, Jack. Love choppers. For me, nothing beats the sound of a Huey. I am finally online , in from the bush temporarily, to be able to keep caught up with your Phriday topics.

Some of the crew getting picked up right at the geese blind

Robinsons scare me, Jet Rangers aren't much better. I feel pretty much bullet proof in a 500D however,

Used to ride in choppers while in the army. I really dislike flying for if my feet are not in in contact with the ground I do not feel safe. Rode in huey’s, blackhawks, and chinook’s. Chinook’s will rock you to sleep. Blackhawks are very maneuverable, especially NAPing the earth. Hueys just seem to putt along but can move as needed. Like Sharon stated, huey’s have the most recognizable sound.

These ones can be nice to ride in

I'm like Scout1 about the flying, done that for 2 years in the 80's wildlife consulting.....and that was enough
but they were former Nam pilots that had rags in their back pockets to wipe the green off the blades before they went back to base camp.
Friends of ours bought the chopper after the filming of China Rose and flew it back to Manitoba to use in forest fighting.....changed getting crews getting into spot fires. He paid those off in no time with a bad fire season we had in the 1980's. The camo paint was still on it for the first year.

We flew up into the Healy Lake mountains to fight a fire once, from Big Delta in a Huey. It was awesome flying over the barley fields with the doors open. It felt like it was going to shake apart. They dropped us off on a mountain.

We ate MRE's for a week, and then the same choppers flew us in fresh grub, we unloaded it, and when they were leaving I was watching the pilot rev up and pull up on the collective and one side lifted up but not the other, so he let it down and tried pulling up again, same thing was stuck, I looked down and noticed one skid was hooked under a tree root. I pointed it out to the pilot, and he was able to maneuver out and up. Then he did one of those blast off kind of departures you had to see to believe. Up and out of sight in an instant. Amazing.
They brought us back down off the mountain after about ten days we mopped up, and we got rained out.

WOW Awesome, Amazing To all that posted What a great group of pictures and first hand personal experiences of a subject I never would have thought of as something that would be relevant to Trapper man But here it is and some fantastic shots tGulo That red and white French bird is a great picture An if you where there and involved in what was taking place it had to be a site to be seen And that Hughes 500 looks like something that would have some get up and go As for your statement about being a lowly passenger I doubt you where ever a lowly anything Once again you have passed your knowledge on to anyone interested in learning. bearcat I do not have any first hand experience but my gues is our brave men where testing those choppers and themselves to new limits everyday Thanks to all of the men and women that make the US the strongest nation in the world .Ryan Nice bit of information on how you use a chopper to transport people that are goose hunting How far do you move people to hunt Is this for a guide business or a private hunt Sound like you are very serious about waterfowl hunting Yukon jeff cool observation in regards to the skills of the best pilots and how well they are able to adapt to whatever the situation requires AND Titiania Some incredible shots of things that are unusual they are been the one thing that has kept some people from leaving this earth Thanks to the many points of view in this post Very worthwhile by al that replied.

The Good:




The Bad:


The Ugly:

First time trying to share pictures but if it works here are some of my pilot,me and a view of the Pryor Mts before we dropped back down on the line it was a great job for over 20 years

Tatiana yes those big choppers were used in the power gride pole and line installing back in the day. I remember seeing them used on Interstate 29/94 going to Minneapolis on the line from the ND power plants. They were also used in Manitoba putting up the power line going SE to Minn. and a line to the west to Sask and Alberta.
The Western Royal Aviation Museum in Winnipeg has one of the first " choppers" produced that flew from a couple of farmers near Homewood Manitoba in the 1930's.
Chopper Guide wire cutters were also invented here in Winnipeg and if I could post from my phone..well that's another story. One of the aviation mechanics lived at the lake and would show....cool stuff he was working on