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No pleasure at all from the helicopters



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Published Date: 24 April 2008
ACCIDENT waiting to happen? Never fails to astound and bug peace-loving citizens that pleasure-trip choppers are granted the freedom of Edinburgh's skies to flutter low and often over the city.
You've been there. You're relaxing in your garden and this bloody contraption keeps whirring above you.

The infernal machines haven't been away completely over the winter. Now, with summer supposedly on the way, they're back big style, breaching t
he weekend peace. Trippers up above seem blissfully unaware of the frequency of helicopter fatalities, civil and military.

Nor, apparently, do they realise that the pilot doesn't call the nearest airport, telling them to clear the runway and have an ambulance ready.

A wonky chopper drops like a stone and it's goodnight Vienna. Besides, over a city like Edinburgh, real tough on the punters below.

So enjoy your trip, suckers! If you crawl out of the wreckage or should a pleasure chopper obliterate your house, make sure your insurers squeeze a fortune out of the CAA or whoever grants these people the right to random romps over the city. Your kin can sue for plenty.

We're not talking colossal 'copters here, understand. Not the pleasure-seeking kind that William flies, the huge Chinook. Should he land in your garden this weekend, be sure to have a few bottles of Cristal in the fridge.

Un-Holy mess
Tracks of your tears. On top of the trams turmoil, Scotia Gas Networks, who are gouging great holes out of raped and pillaged Holyrood Road (leaving them unattended for ages before filling them in), are apologising profusely to pedestrians and traffic for the inconvenience.

You never see an apology for the often grotty workmanship Scotlia Gas Networks leave in their wake. Their apology is rejected. Categorically.

Afterwords . .
. . . courtesy of my bosom body Abi Titmuss (we remember well our snuggle at the back of Murrayfield Stadium): "Like in many other areas of life, men underestimate what women are capable of. Women are not only good liars but they are much better than men at reading body language and that plays such a large part."





The full article contains 356 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 24 April 2008 10:15 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: John Gibson
 
1

Grumpy,

24/04/2008 12:45:16
Oh Dear - how mis-informed you are. Helicopters do not "drop like a stone". In fact, pilots train to put the helicopter into auto-rotation which slow the drop down to aout 30-40mph - much, much less than the terminal velocity of a stone.

OK, the drop will still hurt - but, unlike the sudden stop from 100mph of a stone, the sudden stop from 40mph will likely be survivable.

And if they were hated so much, then why do we have emergency service choppers up there? For fun? No. becuase it's a balance of danger v safety v benefit.
2

Indie Rep Kid,

24/04/2008 12:48:48
Maybe Gibbo (or John R Douglas) can enlighten us as to how many times a helicopter has landed in a built up area, killing everyone on the ground.

And, quite frankly, they have never been a problem to me.......has anyone actually noticed a plethora of helicopters?

Sounds to me like Gibbo was refused a freebie ride in one.......
3

Indie Rep Kid,

24/04/2008 12:53:49
You know, JG comes across as a sick old man here - it's like he is actually wanting a crash to happen so he can "i told you so".

Sad.
4

tomias,

Edinburgh 24/04/2008 13:51:08
J G once again balances out some of the mojor EEN items elsewhere- he writes and he says what many are thinking.
Thankyou J G.
5

Indie Rep Kid,

24/04/2008 14:10:31
#4 NO HE IS NOT!!!

How many times do you hear people complaining at the swarm of helicopters over Edinburgh??!?!!!?

"See those choppers! Bloomin' everywhere....I had one crash into my shed last week. The cooncil should do something"

Madness!!
6

,

24/04/2008 16:54:06
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