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01-02-2021, 12:05 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: GP AB
Posts: 16,293
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Helicopter Crash near GP
A family of four crashed in a helicopter today, no survivor's. 
They haven't released names, but people my wife and family know. Horrible.
Condolences to family.
https://everythinggp.com/2021/01/02/...-hills-county/
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'Once the monkeys learn they can vote themselves a banana, they'll never climb another tree.'. Robert Heinlein
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01-02-2021, 12:32 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: West Central Alberta/Costa Rica
Posts: 1,116
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That's horrible!! Condolences to the Family as well.
I know a couple of guys who bought 44's up GP way.
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01-02-2021, 01:23 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2013
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Tragic news we know the family. Absolutely heart breaking
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01-02-2021, 03:49 PM
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,195
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I sure hope it wasnt anyone from Highland helicopters that I know and fly with lots.
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01-02-2021, 05:28 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: GP AB
Posts: 16,293
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Esox
I sure hope it wasnt anyone from Highland helicopters that I know and fly with lots.
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I believe it was an owner/pilot in his own aircraft, with his wife and 2 of his children.
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'Once the monkeys learn they can vote themselves a banana, they'll never climb another tree.'. Robert Heinlein
'You can accomplish a lot more with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.' Al Capone
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01-02-2021, 07:06 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: GP AB
Posts: 16,293
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On a side not my brother in law had a Robinson R44 at one time as well, and crashed it in his yard but luckily walked away. His wife hated it, so he got into flying fixed wings, and then ended up crashing a new plane in a heavy fog trying to land (he did not survive). But I remember him talking to me about the R44, and he said that because of the price point a lot of new pilots got them because they could afford it, but because of the rotor design it was actually a tricky aircraft to fly in his opinion. Not a very forgiving aircraft. So I will be curious to learn what happened in this crash.
I also found this article about the R44, which paints a certain picture. I'm not a pilot, and have no experience and don't have an opinion, I just recall anecdotally what my wife's brother told me about them.
https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-...ccident%20rate.
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'Once the monkeys learn they can vote themselves a banana, they'll never climb another tree.'. Robert Heinlein
'You can accomplish a lot more with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.' Al Capone
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01-02-2021, 07:40 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Calgary
Posts: 8
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I do know from experience that they have very poor autorotative capabilities due to the size of their rotor blades. So if he got into a power loss situation with a full load, which he had, depending on how much altitude he had you have little to no time to react. Very sad. Condolences to the family.
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01-02-2021, 07:50 PM
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,195
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck
I believe it was an owner/pilot in his own aircraft, with his wife and 2 of his children.
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A couple of the guys had their own private ones to.
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01-02-2021, 07:51 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caroline
Posts: 7,312
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck
On a side not my brother in law had a Robinson R44 at one time as well, and crashed it in his yard but luckily walked away. His wife hated it, so he got into flying fixed wings, and then ended up crashing a new plane in a heavy fog trying to land (he did not survive). But I remember him talking to me about the R44, and he said that because of the price point a lot of new pilots got them because they could afford it, but because of the rotor design it was actually a tricky aircraft to fly in his opinion. Not a very forgiving aircraft. So I will be curious to learn what happened in this crash.
I also found this article about the R44, which paints a certain picture. I'm not a pilot, and have no experience and don't have an opinion, I just recall anecdotally what my wife's brother told me about them.
https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-...ccident%20rate. |
I have countless hours in jet turbine engine helicopters. Even steered them around with dual controls. Mostly 212's/205's, as well as A-stars and 206's. Only time I was in a reynolds was a quick flight over my hometown at the 100th centennial. They always scared me and have zero desire to be in one.
But they are cheap to buy and operate.
What a tragedy!
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01-02-2021, 08:04 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: GP AB
Posts: 16,293
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Esox
A couple of the guys had their own private ones to.
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This was a local farming family, very well known and respected in the community, involved in summer camps and so forth. That's how my daughter knew them. I don't think he was a 'professional' pilot.
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'Once the monkeys learn they can vote themselves a banana, they'll never climb another tree.'. Robert Heinlein
'You can accomplish a lot more with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.' Al Capone
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01-02-2021, 08:51 PM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: A bit North o' Center...
Posts: 11,233
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So sad to hear. Condolences to those that lost their loved ones.
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01-03-2021, 06:42 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: West Central Alberta/Costa Rica
Posts: 1,116
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DJTC56
I do know from experience that they have very poor autorotative capabilities due to the size of their rotor blades. So if he got into a power loss situation with a full load, which he had, depending on how much altitude he had you have little to no time to react. Very sad. Condolences to the family.
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That and a few other reasons is why I bought a 206. As TC said price point and maintenance costs for the 44 are cheap compared to the 206 and others. Frankly I wouldn't climb in a 44 with four people and a decent amount of fuel.
A very sad and tragic loss.
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01-03-2021, 10:49 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: GP AB
Posts: 16,293
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__________________
'Once the monkeys learn they can vote themselves a banana, they'll never climb another tree.'. Robert Heinlein
'You can accomplish a lot more with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.' Al Capone
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01-03-2021, 11:19 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 10
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sad
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01-03-2021, 04:18 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Blake
That and a few other reasons is why I bought a 206. As TC said price point and maintenance costs for the 44 are cheap compared to the 206 and others. Frankly I wouldn't climb in a 44 with four people and a decent amount of fuel.
A very sad and tragic loss.
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What's your operating cost on a 206? something tells me its out of reach for most private guys.
I'm a fixed wing pilot myself, it's never fun to hear that a fellow aviator has gone down. It impacts a lot of lives.
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01-03-2021, 04:22 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: GP AB
Posts: 16,293
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__________________
'Once the monkeys learn they can vote themselves a banana, they'll never climb another tree.'. Robert Heinlein
'You can accomplish a lot more with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.' Al Capone
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01-03-2021, 04:31 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 9,981
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That's just SAD 
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01-03-2021, 07:30 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Leslieville
Posts: 2,520
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RIP Wade, Aubrey and girls. Wade was a heck of a nice guy and the family was very active in the community.
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We talk so much about leaving a better planet to our kids, that we forget to leave better kids to our planet.
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01-04-2021, 06:49 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: West Central Alberta/Costa Rica
Posts: 1,116
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRF
What's your operating cost on a 206? something tells me its out of reach for most private guys.
I'm a fixed wing pilot myself, it's never fun to hear that a fellow aviator has gone down. It impacts a lot of lives.
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I know I sure think about tragedies like this many times after they occur. The aviation "family" is a big one in size but something like this hits home big time with everyone whether you knew the people involved or not.
To answer your question I budget $600.00/hour for operating cost. So far that is pretty close.
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01-04-2021, 12:27 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 81
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Condolences to the family. I lost an uncle in a Cessna crash in Northern Alberta in the 80's which was sadly never found. I understand the heart break this brings.
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01-04-2021, 01:39 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Sherwood Park Ab
Posts: 6,294
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrisPbacon
Condolences to the family. I lost an uncle in a Cessna crash in Northern Alberta in the 80's which was sadly never found. I understand the heart break this brings.
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Gavin Edkins left Fort Smith in his Cessna 150 bound for Red Deer and has never been found. This was in 1996. I remember this as my Dad had airplanes in McMurray growing up and I remember when Fort McMurray flight services realized he was late...
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An awful lot of big game was killed with the .30-06 including the big bears before everyone became affluent enough to own a rifle for every species of game they might hunt.
Last edited by 1899b; 01-04-2021 at 01:46 PM.
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08-03-2021, 11:11 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 8
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Gavin Edkins - He is still out there some where.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1899b
Gavin Edkins left Fort Smith in his Cessna 150 bound for Red Deer and has never been found. This was in 1996. I remember this as my Dad had airplanes in McMurray growing up and I remember when Fort McMurray flight services realized he was late...
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I was on that search for Gavin when I was with Fort McMurray Civil AIr Search and Rescue. He went missing on May 19, 1996. Searching such a vast area is difficult as Fort McMurray area is wilderness; thousands of square miles of swamps and endless flat tamarack forests. GPS units were only just coming into use in Fort McMurray at that time, so you had to fly your grid with landmarks only. In May, there is still a patch of un-melted snow on the north side of every spruce tree, which means white patches were everywhere, making it very difficult as we were looking for white pieces of Air Plane wings and fuselage. We flew with local pilots and volunteer pilots who were friends and coworkers of Edkins from the Northwest Territories, and elsewhere, who had come to help search for him. After while, the Army came took over the search.
The story of this search is written up in the book "Lost: True Stories of Canadian Aviation Tragedies" by Shirlee Smith Matheson (ISBN-10: 189485618X). It is an interesting read as lots of things I never knew about were going on in the background. He is still out there some where.
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