The pilot flies alone for the freestyle competition performing skilful manoeuvres demonstrating the unique properties of the helicopter to music and sometimes with smoke canisters. Other than the pilot’s ability, the only limits are the display area in which the event is performed and the flying...
Perhaps the greatest addition to the flying events has been the media events as they give the crowd a spectacle to watch and make the competition worthy of been screened on television. Each event is flown against the clock but because there are two helicopters on the course at the same time it...
Nothing challenges the crews’ ability to communicate more! A bucket full of water is held on a 5 metre rope by the crewman out of site of the pilot, the object is to fly the bucket through a course 185 metres long by 50 metres wide containing 11 gates in total. The gates are 2 metres high by 1...
Fender rigging involves accurate flying whilst manoeuvring a boat fender through a course to place the fender in a pre-determined series of containers half a metre wide. The fender is deployed on a rope with handling aids at 4, 6 and 8 metres. The event begins with the pilot flying the helicopter...
The precision event tests the skill of the pilot to fly a low level course with manoeuvres. For this event two ropes with chains are attached to the under-carriage of the helicopter where they cannot be seen by the pilot nor the co-pilot. One rope is two metres long and must not touch the ground;...
The most taxing of all the events which calls on all the skills of rotary wing control -airmanship, navigation, and communication. With 5 minutes to prepare prior to departure, the crews are given the task to plot turning points which form part of the course (ranging from 70 to 90 kilometres) on a...