It was a warm, sunny day over the St. Lawrence River. A light breeze from the south was helping our OGE hover as we watched the speedboats linup for the beginning of the race. In the front was Melissa from Red Life International – http://www.redlifeintl.com. In the back, operating their camera, was Shiloh. Over the intercom, Shiloh was busy commanding my inputs as we hovered for the perfect shoot angle. “Aww Curt – that’s perfect! That’s the money shot!”, he exclaimed as I worked it around for another view of the harbor. In the front, Melissa was snapping stills, and I was busy making sure we were safely maneuvering above all the helicopter traffic moving back and forth below.
The boats worked their way into a flotilla, anxiously awaiting the start of the race. As we hovered approximately a thousand feet above the water, I too anticipated the ride to come as I was maneuvering the machine to best position for the start of the race. Without warning, the rooster tails became clearly noticeable as the boats powered their way into the St. Lawrence seaway. This was the start of the race!
Race Start
“Go! Go! Go! Cmon Curt – follow that boat!”. Shiloh yelled over the headset as we pulled pitch and nosed the helicopter over to accelerate with the leading boats. One of which was, of course, My Way. Melissa was still keeping busy shooting stills using her personal camera.
My Way
The leaders rounded the harbor and accelerated up to their top speeds. There was no way that I could have anticipated just how fast the boat “My Way” was, even with the warning from both Shiloh and Melissa. After all, a boat faster than the Robinson 44? As I cut the corner inside My Way, it became evident just how fast this boat really was. As I accelerated to my “doors off Vne” of 100 knots, My Way was slowly increasing her speed, leaving us in the proverbial “dust” as we both made our way North up the St. Lawrence.
My Way
Over the next 20 minutes we would catch up to My Way a few times, as she navigated through some narrows. But for the most part, after the islands our filming would be complete. There was no way we would catch her as she continued her voyage up the St. Lawrence. Truly an awesome machine – My Way is the fastest boat I’ve ever seen, and it was a privilege to film her from above as she sped off North into the beautiful St. Lawrence River.
My Way on the Road
Now for the sales pitch. We’re not just a flight school, we’re also a provider of helicopter services – tours – filming, aerial photography and aerial observation are just some of what we can provide. We have locations outside Boston, Massachusetts and also in the Alexandria Bay, New York – Thousand Islands Area. We are also a Part 141 flight school.
Thousand Islands
If you have any questions, check out our website – http://www.northandoverflightacademy.com
And again – thanks for reading our helicopter flight school Boston blog!
