Helicopter Capture Compilation

[tormenter]

There is a reason they get hazard pay. We had a close family friend lose his son a few ago's in a helicopter crash doing this job. Kinda choking up thinking about it. It would have been my dream job also until this happened and a few weeks earlier I was trying to get my son a job with him.

Sorry if this is buzz kill, but I needed to get it off my chest after reading the comments.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I flew around in a 500D every day for about 4 months. Awesome machines.

Thank you so much for sharing your footage!

 

[mtmuley]

I don't usually watch video links. Glad I did this time. Spectacular. mtmuley

 

[HappyCamper]

Flight skills are unreal. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Dougfirtree]

Thanks for posting. Super impressive!

 

[JMG]

Cool stuff … right there. I suppose you find the ride on Space Mountain (at Disney) boring. Not too many people can say they did catch and release with a trophy bull elk, mtn. goat, buck mule deer, etc.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Bambistew]

There were many times where we had to push something out of the timber and into a small opening. The pilot then had to time it right so that for a split second the animal and the gunner were both lined up before pulling up and missing the trees on the other side of the clearing. Had a few times while I was onboard where tree tops scraped some paint off the skids and belly.

Is that a reportable event? I've been in a cub that scraped the tree tops with the tires, no one wanted to do that again. Helos scare me way more for some reason. I haven't' flown in one that much, maybe a dozen times, but I couldn't imagine flying like that. I've done recon out of one, flying really low up stream valleys looking for mineral seeps and the hovering and turning in a circle, and back tracking gets me every time. It worse than seasickness, and I learned after the first trip, to skip breakfast, and also drinking the night before on any flyout trip.

 

[MT_elk]

Wow. Thanks for sharing. Absolutely incredible.

 

[Hem]

Ugh, don't remind me! Iv'e only gotten seasick once and it was while below deck in some crazy irregular swells, but the first couple days every year in the helicopter was torture. Those days would be spend puking out the door or next to a deer I was working on until I was dry heaving. Best ab workout ever! Im sure some of those deer were very confused why an alien would swoop down out of the sky just to puke on them. I seriously considered quitting every year by the end of the first day, but thankfully my body would acclimate to the extreme gyrations and I would be fine for the rest of the winter.

Thanks for sharing @theat
Your pilots were amazing. I'm sure you were wearing a harness, but I kept thinking how easy it would be to get tossed out anyway, since you have to lean forward to shoot the net.
Pretty ballsy chit.

 

[Nicoli7153]

So pray tell what does one do for excitement after that????

Really spectacular!

 

[andrew11]

Thanks for sharing @theat. Always enjoy your gopro videos!! Was that you jumping onto the mountain goats back?
That had to be pretty intense!!

 

[520 Road Sow]

That stuff is incredible thanks for sharing @theat.

How'd you get into something like that? I'm sure you've covered it but it's not everyday you see a job opening like that on Indeed.

 

[Straight Arrow]

theat, when you applied for that job ... you must have rolled in with gonads in a wheelbarrow!

Thanks for sharing. It takes me back to Vietnam, low level down the rivers through the trees and skimming over the waves of South China Sea at two feet awl (above wave level).
Reminds me of crew chief and gunner standing on Huey skids as aircraft skimmed over rice paddy so they could catch ducks and trade them to Mommasan for noodles dish.

That was exciting flying, but nothing like netting wildlife from a twisting and veering aircraft! Your pilot was obviously a great "stickman"! You done good!

 

[JohnCushman]

Holy $hit, Travis!!!!

 

[DFS]

No, I was the one filming that one. That was my former coworker from Wyoming. He is one of the toughest guys I know and also an incredible shot.

I've jumped out of the helicopter onto the backs of running animals quite a few times. The most memorable one was a cow elk just north of the Jarbridge Mountains. Usually it would end up with me either immediately knocking them down with my sudden weight on them, or I would run along side them leaning over their back trying to grab the opposite side front leg to knock them over. This cow had a net on her but only one of the front legs was hung up in the net wrapped around her head. When I landed on her back she bucked a couple times and when my feet landed on the ground, one of them ended up in the net. Another couple bucks later, my feet went out from under me and off she went with me in tow. Thankfully she only made it about 50 yards before also getting tripped up in the net.

Your story’s are fascinating. I couldn’t even imagine.

 

[Southern Elk]

You fellows would make good steer wrestlers.

 

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

Fascinating to watch , thanks for posting, watching the cows in slo-mo pile up was wild. Gives a different perspective on the size and power of those animals when they go down in a sprint.

My brother flew helicopters for the Air force for 18 years doing combat rescue, I sent him the link looking forward to his comments on your pilots you go a chance to work with.
Cool stuff

 

[kansasdad]

@theat

Do the muggers wear pads/flak jackets for protection?

Pretty special moments when the animals were netted and the POV was shown from a ground camera. That really emphasizes the ground speed for me, more than the helo view.

Once down and immobilized, are you then responsible for blood draws, nasal swabbing, hair/skin samples, etc?

 

[520 Road Sow]

I had a lot of previous experience with helicopters while working in the wildfire biz. After that I ended up working for the state department primarily doing survey work along the western US/Canada border. In Alaska and a lot of the mountainous parts of the NW, getting to survey sites along the border would be impractical/impossible without a helicopter. We contracted work with quite a few different helicopter companies, but in Alaska we always used the company that I ended up working for doing the wildlife capture work. Other than a couple of Canadian pilots we had worked with, those capture pilots were on a whole different level. I got to be friends with one of those pilots. He really had no choice in the matter since we were mostly working out of tent or remote work shack camps and were stuck with each other for months on end. He showed me some of his capture videos and I talked him into talking the owner of the company into giving me a shot.

I don't think you will ever see a job posting for a mugger or gunner position. Its a pretty tough nut to crack and you pretty much have to be recommended by someone in the industry. It is also definitely not for everyone. Over the years that I was part of it, I got to work with quite a few guys that thought they were pretty tough. Not many of them made it a week. Not to say I'm particularly tough...more of a combination of hard headedness and a lack of self preservation.

Pretty remarkable to say the least. That's awesome man thanks for sharing those shots and video.

 

[kansasdad]

@theat

Does the pilot have a co-pilot to watch for terrain issues so he can concentrate on the animal pursuit, or must he do both?