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Helicopter Blow Football

 Utilise that downdraft
  (+4, -1)
(+4, -1) 		  [vote for,
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There was a story recently in the UK papers about an enterprising Coastguard helicopter pilot who used the downdraft from his vehicle to push a drowning man to shore - this set me thinking...

Imagine the biggest beachball you've ever seen. Now imagine two crazed chopper pilots whose only goal is to drive that son of a bitch into his opponent's goal... Hey presto - you've got helicopter blow football.

Admittedly, the playing area would have to be quite large - perhaps the size of a small country for a really interesting game - but the results would be very watchable.

—lostdog, Feb 27 2003

Penguin Bowling http://www.snopes.c...rs/wild/penguin.htm
Aw, man, it's only an urban legend. [DrCurry, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

The Prisoner http://www.retroweb.com/prisoner.html
[hippo, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

The inspiration http://news.bbc.co....england/2518687.stm
[angel, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

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       Sounds a little dangerous, but in our imaginary world where we have high altitude aircraft running off an overhead power grid, this would fit right in.   

       Not sure how accurately they could aim the ball, though. And I don't believe the story you based this on for a minute.
—snarfyguy, Feb 27 2003
   

       They do this to make penguins fall over as well,penguins' are attracted to aircraft and copters,when they look up and follow the flightpath they lose their balance and topple over. Military copters also have this nasty habit of swooping penguins 'and knocking them over like dominoes.   

       British,French and German naval pilots at the South Pole are exploiting penguins' equilibrium problem.Klaus Doer a German pilot boasts a personal best of 27 birds in one flyover "they just fall over and get back up again" he says.   

       With craned necks combined with the shaking of the ground caused by rotor blades they lose their balance.   

       <wwn,ioap> This of course is Fictitious.
—skinflaps, Feb 27 2003
   

       That must look pretty funny.
—snarfyguy, Feb 27 2003
   

       I'm now imagining lots of penguins arranged in intricate patterns, in much the same way as every so often on TV you see a new world record attempt at domino dropping.
—lostdog, Feb 27 2003
   

       Penguins must be starved of decent entertainment. Poor buggers.
—lostdog, Feb 27 2003
   

       I'd worry about rotor contact between the choppers being an issue. But I like it, still.
—waugsqueke, Feb 27 2003
   

       By the way have croissant.
—skinflaps, Feb 27 2003
   

       Now *that's* penguin bowling.
—DrCurry, Feb 27 2003
   

       dog, you get my pick for the two funniest annos of the week, back to back.   

       // Penguins must be starved of decent entertainment. Poor buggers. //   

       Yep. All dressed up and nowhere to go.
—RayfordSteele, Feb 27 2003
   

       what [Ray] said +1
—po, Feb 28 2003
   

       Will this game include Patrick McGoohan running about avoiding the giant ball? (see link)
—hippo, Feb 28 2003
   

       // This would be the most dangerous sport ever invented //   

       No, The Most Dangerous Sport Ever Invented is "Grenade Cricket", played in a minefield.
—8th of 7, Feb 28 2003
   

       Im laughing at the thought of the two choppers' blades meeting... Croissant
—KaZaAm, Feb 28 2003
   

       //Im laughing at the thought of the two choppers' blades meeting//
You wouldn't if you knew the crews who went down in that way. Or maybe you would.
—angel, Feb 28 2003
   

       I'm not laughing either.
—8th of 7, Feb 28 2003
   

       Is this worth a new idea? Now I'm thinking of helicopters dropping big sacks of paint and using the downdraft to make huge, abstract pictures, much in the same way as you used to use straws to blow paint around a piece of paper in nursery school.   

       I know you can become ordained online - anyone know a link where I can get a dodgy helichopter licence with a couple of mouse clicks? I really need to get up there and start experimenting... And start coming up with ideas that blow rather than suck
—lostdog, Feb 28 2003
   

       Airwolf must be going cheap now that the series has ended...
—lostdog, Feb 28 2003
   

       "helicopter" and "cheap" don't mix very well.   

       You could try an R/C helicopter for your rotorwash painting. I think you might be surprised at the behavior of the wind below the blades, though, as there are tip vortices and all manner of oddball air currents coming off of rotor blades, particularly when close to the ground. Also, the pattern of these currents changes dramatically when you move the helicopter up out of ground effect.   

       Nonetheless, I think it would be an amusing exercise.
—bristolz, Mar 04 2003
   

       Pretty insteresting.   

       Gets my vote.
—DesertFox, Jun 09 2004
   

       You used straws to blow paint around a piece of paper in school? That sounds like chasing the dragon, without the heroin or the fire. What a thing to teach youngsters!   

       This is an interesting idea, but impractical. A one-copter shootout format might work better. I'm giving you the bone here.
—disbomber, Apr 03 2005
   


 

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