ID this chopper?

[DaveC426913]

I just saw a helicopter fly over my neighborhood twice, probably out of Hamilton ON. I'd guess maybe it has to do with a search & recovery effort East of here.

Anyway, very deep thump on approach, like a Bell military chopper makes. This was ... I dunno how to categorize them - civilian? This was similar to the "Ornge" medical choppers that fly over Toronto regularly, but it wasn't one of them. Maybe a little larger, but still streamlined. Searchlight on the nose. And midnight blue in colour.

 

Just Googled some choppers. It looked Like an AW139 but not:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=AW139

 

Of note: It had a V-shaped tail - one vertical fin, one off to starboard about 45 degrees from vertical. I did not see a tail rotor, but I can't be positive.

I've browsed about a thousand pics and have seen nothing that has a tail like this (except the little MD-500 - but definitely not it).

 

[Wally]

AugustaWestland 101, maybe? Helicopters make different sounds in different flight regimes, come in different colors...

 

"Choppers" look like this (in the movies)

[pilot#476398]

I have often wondered (as I've seen this phenomenon many times) if on motorcycle forums when someone uses the word "chopper", is there always that guy who comes on and posts a picture of a helicopter?

[DaveC426913]

AugustaWestland 101, maybe? Helicopters make different sounds in different flight regimes, come in different colors...

 

 

AW101 is a little too large. And too military. This was sleek like a civilian craft.

 

And forget about the sound. The key is the tail configuration. I find nothing like it.

 

It had a V-shaped tail - one vertical fin, one off to starboard about 45 degrees from vertical. I did not see a tail rotor, but I can't be positive.

 

 

So, picture this tailfin configuration:

 

 

but on a craft much like this:

 

 

It was NOT a little Bell Jet copter. Nor was it a Bell Huey.

[SBuzzkill]

The tail isn't angled but maybe you saw a Super Puma?

 

http://www.google.com/imgres?biw=1288&bih=639&tbm=isch&tbnid=hZvnFTcOfQwpjM%3A&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcitizen1987.deviantart.com%2Fart%2FEurocopter-Super-Puma-184772396&docid=JVjXDu9uz_zTxM&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Ffc09.deviantart.net%2Ffs70%2Fi%2F2010%2F306%2F6%2Fc%2Feurocopter_super_puma_by_citizen1987-d320bak.jpg&w=1024&h=768&ei=yiMqU9qvBeSOyAHCsYGoCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=1339&page=5&start=70&ndsp=19&ved=0CMcCEIQcMEg

[DaveC426913]

The tail isn't angled but maybe you saw a Super Puma?

 

 

Nyaaah. Sikorsky S92 is closer, but that has a prominent, unmistakable tail rotor.

[Francis Meyrick]

 

"Choppers" look like this (in the movies)

I think he meant a heli-whopper

[aeroscout]

I think he meant a heli-whopper

Helicopter pilots tell the biggest lies !

[DaveC426913]

AugustaWestland 101, maybe? Helicopters make different sounds in different flight regimes, come in different colors...

 

"Choppers" look like this (in the movies)

 

This reminds me of a dark moment in film history on the set of the Twilight Zone film, back in '83 when a helicopter crashed, decapitating two of the actors.

I believe it was in National Lampoon, but if Twitter has existed back then, director John Landis' tweet would have been: 'People, please stop calling them choppers.'

 

Too soon?

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2012/07/the_twilight_zone_tragedy_how_vic_morrow_s_death_changed_the_way_films_are_made.html