Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Ted Grant wrote: > > I believe there must be a few of us on the LUG who have helicopter > experience in both civilian and military situations. > > Mine began in the summer of 1957 when we auto-rotated into the arctic ocean! :) > Gotta be a few more around here with Leicas and helicopters in the blood. > Lots of air time, maybe not too much tripod time though! ;) > > ted One of the last times I was doing aerial photography was for an engineering firm. I was doing photos of an intersection they had designed and using my Hasselblads. I tie everything to me and I always tape seatbelt buckles (a trick taught to me by an old pilot) because I hate to have a camera strap disengage it while not paying attention. I had my shot list on a mini-clipboard between me and the pilot. And of course it wasn't tied down. I asked the pilot to come around again for another pass on a desireable angle and he put it into a hard diving turn. Whoosh! I felt something hit my leg and just caught the clipboard out of the corner of my eye as it went out the door. I didn't see where it landed. The pilot and I just looked at each other as we compared our liability policies. Unfortunately, the only name on the paperwork was my client's. I called them upon landing and told them what had happened and that they would be the first to receive any news (probably in the form of a lawsuit) if it hit anyone or anything. Then I called my insurance agent and told her that there was a remote likelihood that I might actually have a claim against my policy. I sweated bullets for two months and watched the news for the next couple of nights. Usually, if something is going to go bad it's going to go real bad. Fortunately, luck was with me. I never got the clipboard back but I'm glad about that. Now, everything is tied down-- even my tripod :-) Carl Socolow http://members.tripod.com/SocPhoto/