Archive for June, 2012
You are currently browsing the Draw Jerel Draw blog archives for June, 2012.
27
Jun
2012
Weekly Whirly
This Week: KL-51N
Barnstormers are small copter craft that are used in dazzling displays of stunts and piloting prowess. Barnstorming teams will often travel the countryside looking for small towns and villages to set up camp and put on shows. These shows will often incorporate fancy flying maneuvers like loops and dead drops, as well as piloting stunts, like craft or climbing out on the fuselage, hopping from copter to copter, or swinging free from the craft suspended on wires. This doesn’t come without risk, and many pilots have met their deaths doing these circuits, of course that fact tends to draw the crowds even more. The KL-51N, nicknamed “Kellies” are extremely popular in the Barnstorming circles. They are light-weight, can carry a pilot and co-pilot, are durable, are very maneuverable and durable, able to withstand some of the moves that put extra strain on the vehicle.
20
Jun
2012
Weekly Whirly
I have something a little bit different for this week. In the ever expanding World of Whirlies I wanted to take a chance and start populating it with some of the personel who make the modern era of copter aviation happen. Every few weeks or so (I don’t really have a schedule lined up or anything, I just follow my whims mostly) I’ll be presenting a new pilot, engineer, mechanic, crewman or anyone else who might have found themselves involved in the whirly world.
This Week: Berny Bennett
Here we have Bennett in the cockpit of the famous Josephine Trirotor. Just a week prior to his 25th birthday Bennett and his crew made history with their 18 hour flight to the north pole and back again. They were the first to do it and amid heavy competition for the prize became the first people ever to see the north pole from the air. This trip earned Bennett wide acclaim as an aviator and he quickly became sought after by fellow explorers eager to get their own names in the record books, and with copter companies on both sides of the ocean. However Bennet was known to be a loner, and stayed independent until, sadly, before his 30th birthday, Bennett passed away. He died in solo cross continental flight, a flight with which he had hoped to break another record. No one is exactly sure what went wrong on this trip. His body and his aircraft were discovered in the mountains weeks after his disappearance.
13
Jun
2012
Weekly Whirly
This Week: The Mountain Queen
Ferries like this one are pretty common in a world full of folks always trying to get somewhere. There are certainly more glamorous ways to get where you are going, but hopping on the Mountain Queen is affordable and efficient, making regular trips three or four times daily. This bird can pack in up to 50 passengers per trip and during peak season it rarely makes it jaunt without a full docket. The Mountain Queen is outfitted with one main double rotor for lift and a secondary rotor for added stability. It’s not fast, and it’s open deck, a popular (though a bit breezy) feature, prevent it from doing any fancy flying. But it’s a smooth ride with a great view, and she’ll get you there.
6
Jun
2012
Weekly Whirly
This Week: The Copter Crane
Rigs like this one are used much like land-bound cranes, with a bit more flexibility due to their being airborne. Outfitted with two double rotors for plenty of lift, and at least three more smaller rotors for added stability, Copter Cranes can hover nearly motionless with several tons of gear, freight, building material or nearly anything else from their winches and grabbers for an extended period. It is quite a sight to see one of these big craft floating like that among the hustle and bustle of daily copter traffic zipping around them.
And don’t forget you can get your very own original one of a kind watercolor copter over on my etsy store! Check them out!
