grant_stevens

Hey Mary! Randy has good advice. I was a UH-60 Blackhawk pilot in the Army for about 12 years and I wanted to add a little to Randy's suggestions. First, EVERYTHING you bring on board needs a place where it can safely be stored and if possible, tied down. An air crew in Iraq had a pair of chocks that became wedged over the collective lever and it caused a terrible accident. Things shift in flight, especially if you have any fast drops in altitude, as helicopter pilots love to do. The static thing is also absolutely true and it is universal. It won't shock you unless you are one the ground and the airframe is at a hover and you touch it, but it will cause static in your headphones. All of the gear you plan to use during the shoot needs to be connected to you. I used to call this putting a "dummy cord" on it, but basically, anything you use should have a sturdy strap on it such that, should an angry gorilla want to take it from you, it won't go without the rest of you. The vibration issue is more accentuated at what is called Effective Translational Lift. This happens somewhere around 12 to 18 knots (around 15 to 20 MPH) so the best place to take photos with a slower shutter speed will be either at a hover or over 25 knots. This does depend on the airframe. In a Blackhawk, 120 knots was a sweet-spot, but closer you got to max speed the more shake you can feel. And like Randy said, do EVERYTHING the pilot says to do. The pilot can explain the "why's" in pre-flight and post flight, but in-flight isn't the time to ask "why?" You're in for a good time. Let us know how it goes!