It was the first Birthday Present that my youngest Grandson Ewan bought me.
Admittedly I have had to wait two years for it to come to fruition, cancellations due to bad weather on each scheduled day eventually ended yesterday with success!
Mind you Ewan might have organised so that he would be old enough to wave me off!
It was not just any Helicopter Flight over Derbyshire but an extended flight called the ‘Dam Busters Run’.
The bonus was that it was a flight that encompassed a complete scenic tour of Derbyshire, as well as the historic flight over Howden Reservoir and Dam, used by the Dam Busters as training locations for those famous raids of W.W.2.
Helicopter G-PTOO was our call sign…..
and our Helipad was this remote location on the Derbyshire Staffordshire moorlands near Axe Edge…..
soon converted into temporary refuelling point and makeshift Departure and Arrivals Gate.
The Pre Flight Formalities were soon over and done with and time for Ewan to wave me goodbye……..
and up and away into a not quite cloud free sky and our first glimpse of the treats to come….
A blink of an eye and we were soaring above Axe Edge Moor and banking to the north for a memorable and very scenic flight…come and enjoy the trip with us….
Whilst the run took us over the famous Dam’s was terrific, equally as memorable was the birds eye view of Chatsworth House, packed with visitors who like us were enjoying a great summers day out in Derbyshire…….
It may well have been a 2 year wait but it genuinely was a trip worth waiting for and an experience not to be missed. I have only ever been on a commercial North Sea Helicopter years ago, journeying out to a North Sea Gas Platform in great discomfort….this flight was purely for fun…..and it was.
But a word to photographers who might also get the opportunity of a Pleasure Flight like this….be prepared. Have your camera set up, before you get on board, the windows don’t open, they are also tinted, rotas and glare get in the way, you are tight for space and even though it is an executive copter it still shakes and you shake. Nor do you have time to play about…just shoot as it happens in front of you…hesitate and the moment is gone. As for camera settings, I pre-set to 1000sec at F6.3, auto ISO and Auto WB. Forget Polarisers or Graduated Filters you just don’t have the time. If you want serious aerials then go Charter a Copter….if not just enjoy the trip and accept that any images are a bonus.
17th August
© David Oakes 2014
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 