剧情简介
2002美国纪录片短片《直升机在行动》由David Douglas导演，马丁·辛主演，影片讲述的是：
Agusta 109K2 Alpine Medivac Rescue
Straight Ups exploration of vertical flight begins with a highimpact alpine rescue amid an avalanche The dramatic opening sequence documents the dangerous work of the Rega mountain rescue team and the invaluable role of the Agusta A109K2 helicopter in saving lives and minimizing injuries
As the camera pans over beautiful vistas of the snowcovered Swiss Alps it cuts to a cornice as a chunk of snow breaks free triggering an avalanche The tranquil scene is shattered as the avalanche thunders down the mountain slopes With terrifying speed it heads straight for a mother and child trapped in their car wheels spinning on the icy road
The mother calls for help on her cell phone and a second call from a snowplow prompts radio dispatch The Rega mountain rescue team already is airborne en route to the scene the red cross painted on the helicopters white underbelly signaling that medical help is on the way The mother escapes but her son is missing Within minutes of the helicopter landing the rescue team dig out the car extract the trapped boy apply first aid and airlift him and his mother to safety
A significant mountain hazard avalanches are responsible for many deaths each year Time is of the essence in avalanche rescue work A person has a 90 percent chance of survival if found within the first 15 minutes but ones chances of survival diminish with each passing minute Not only do helicopters provide quick access for rescue teams they also provide a lifeline to medical care Flying the injured to the nearest hospital as rapidly as possible is not the only type of rescue operation often helicopters bring the hospital to the injured who receive treatment at the scene
The powerful avalanche was shot in British Columbias Selkirk Mountains under the supervision of the Canadian Avalanche Association The CAA controls avalanche risk for the safety of heliskiers To capture the avalanche headon avalanche expert and filmmaker Steve Krochel and David Douglas developed a quarterinchthick steel container for the IMAX camera which was equipped with a triggering device and a beeper so that the camera could be found once the avalanche had swept it down the mountain
The rescue was completed in Switzerlands Bernina Pass near the Italian border Filming the Rega rescue helicopter airtoair sequence turned into an international excursion as Douglas chased the sunlight over Italy in one direction and in Austria in another before setting down in Switzerland In another dramatic shot Douglas centered the red cross in the crosshairs of the camera lens as the craft descended To facilitate this shot Douglas dug a hole in the snow large enough to accommodate himself and the IMAX camera Inside the hole 3 feet below the helicopter he filmed its takeoff
According to Douglas The helicopter is the instrument of rapid response to natural physical and social disasters around the world alleviating human suffering on a major scale For the individual caught beyond the limits of training or equipment often the last chance for survival is the hope that a helicopter will get to them in time
The Pitcairn PCA 2 Miss Champion
For centuries humans dreamed of flight The Chinese in the 12th century developed a toy helicopter made from a pair of slats mounted on a stick but serious efforts had to wait until the early 20th century Then after the Wright brothers historic flight at Kitty Hawk we dreamed of flight unfettered by the limitations of runways and airports Yet by the early 1930s we were still at the dawn of the practical rotorcraft which promised to give form to humanitys vision
The ten year period between 1925 and 1935 was an exciting time in aviation history but few aircraft so caught and held the publics attention as the Autogiro Nicknamed the flying windmill this strangelooking aircraft was first successfully flown in 1923 by the Spanish inventor Juan de la Cierva who had been working on the development of such a craft since 1919 The Autogiro fascinated the airminded public because of its remarkable performance and high degree of safety attracting such leaders of American aviation as Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart
Juan de la Cierva sold the American manufacturing rights to Harold Pitcairn in 1928 Pitcairns Autogiro boasted a more modern fuselage with better aerodynamic qualities It also provided prospective buyers with a choice of either a 300 or 420horsepower engine
In the film Harold Pitcairns son Stephen flies Miss Champion a 1931 model This Autogiro used for promotion by the Champion Spark Plug Company is controlled like an airplane but is lifted with blades Although the original rotor blades have seen 1600 hours of flight time they are still airworthy With a 330horsepower Wright R 975E engine the Autogiro has a cruising speed of 98 mph and a top speed of 118 mph Miss Champion led a National Air Tour and made the thenrisky 300 milelong flight from Miami to Havana Cuba Until then the longest overwater flight by an Autogiro had been 25 miles in length Later Miss Champion flew nonstop over a distance of 500 miles to Chichen Itza in the Yucatan rainforest Miss Champion was retired from active service in 1932 after setting a new altitude record for rotarywing aircraft Climbing to a height of 21500 feet in 1932 the Autogiro surpassed the previous record set by Amelia Earhart Today the Autogiro is considered to be the evolutionary missing link from which the practical helicopter was born
Forty years later Stephen Pitcairn began the formidable task of collecting and restoring examples of his fathers aircraft He tracked down Miss Champion and in October of 1982 began the painstaking task of restoration using the original Pitcairn factory drawings In the spring of 1985 Miss Champion flew again
The Bell 47G A Flying Lesson
Since Pitcairns Autogiro improved control systems allow the airframe to rise directly from the ground with a powered rotor Straight Up puts you in the pilots seat of a Bell 47G as the basic elements of helicopter operation are demonstrated The Bell 47Gs singlerotor configuration is by far the most common type used today Your flying lesson begins
As a helicopter pilot the pilot uses all four limbs to fly all at the same time With the left hand holding the collective pitch control lever he pulls up ever so slightly and we go straight up into a slowmotion hover The spinning rotor blades act as small wings but they spin so fast that they create one continuous disc of lift When the blades change angle or pitch collectively the helicopter rises or falls The pilots right hand always holds the cyclic control effectively tilting the whirling disc above Point left tilt left Point right tilt right The camera then closes in on the tail rotor Once again the altering of the blades affects direction The chopper spins in response to the pilots depressing one of the two foot pedals If he depresses the second pedal the helicopter spins in the opposite direction
The Piasecki H21B Tandem Rotor Aircraft The Flying Banana
The last flying H21B helicopter in the world takes off heads for the beach and cruises 100 feet above the Pacific surf off the coast of California One of the earliest tandem helicopters the H21B represents the birth of the heavy lift helicopters and dates back to the early 1950s Nicknamed The Flying Banana for its shape the H21B had more power and greater stability than previous helicopters The tandemrotor H21B carries two sets of wooden blades situated nearly 50 feet apart but operated by one set of helicopter flight controls The pilot must be ever vigilant as this helicopter could rapidly invert should the pilot let go of the controls
The vintage H21B used for the film was decommissioned from the US Air Force in 1972 and was restored by the Californiabased Classic Rotors The Rare and Vintage Rotocraft Museum This nonprofit museum and restoration facility dedicated to the preservation of unique vintage and rare rotorcraft spent more than 10000 hours returning the H21B to airworthiness Every hour flown requires 100 hours of maintenance Classic Rotors is the only museum of its kind to maintain eight helicopters in flying condition When its new facility in San Diego has been completed the museum will expand its exhibits from 15 to 30 vintage rotorcraft
One of the highlights of its collection is a famous relative of the H21B This is a V 44 the commercial version of the H21nicknamed The Holy Oneand is the only one to land at the Vatican and be blessed by the pope While on a 1959 demonstration tour in Europe the helicopter and its crew had provided help to Italian communities following a devastating earthquake
Future Helicopter Designs
One aspect of current research centers around the development of quiet technology that will allow helicopters to become better neighbors and to operate more stealthily in police and military operations
Quiet technology advances rely on a combination of technologies which include improved rotor blade design and the user of rotor systems with four or more blades Replacing the tail rotor with a Coandaeffect NOTAR NoTailRotor system goes a long way in reducing noise as does shrouding the tail rotor in an arrangement know as a faninfin Other advances focus on noisedampening air inlets and improved engine nozzles
New helicopter designs are tested in the worlds largest wind tunnel at the NASA Ames Flight Research Center located at Moffett Field in California Ames was founded in 1939 as an aircraft research laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics which became part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA in 1958 NASA has the leading role in aerospace operations systems which include air traffic control flight effects on humans and rotorcraft technology NASA Ames scientists and engineers study robotic helicopters highspeed hybrids and advances in quiet technology The center also has major responsibilities for the creation of design and development tools and for wind tunnel testing
The NASABell XV15 Tiltrotor
In the film an XV15 converts over DallasFort Worth Airport The XV15 is an experimental rotorcraft the parent of a new family of aircraft called tiltrotors The tiltrotor combines the hovering ability of the helicopter with the speed of a fixedwing aircraft The XV15 can take off and land like a helicopter The audience will see the engines tilting forward as the tiltrotor becomes a highspeed plane
The BellBoeing V22 Osprey
A V22 Osprey unwraps emerging like a prehistoric flying dinosaur Built primarily for the US Marines Air Force and Navy the V22 Osprey has wings that pivot and rotors that fold to facilitate its storage at sea In less than 90 seconds you will see the V22 complete this process Although still classified as a tiltrotor it is faster with three times the range and more than ten times the payload of its predecessor It shows the promise of longdistance travel without airports
The Hawk 4 Gyroplane
Rotorcraft evolution is also in the hands of the entrepreneur and this independent spirit is most evident in the Hawk 4 Gyroplane While some designs produce groundbreaking changes this aircraft brought the economy and safety of the Autogiro into the space age A rotor is used for slowspeed flight but at highspeed cruising all the lift is provided by the wing while the rotor has no lift The Gyroplane shows promise as a highspeed lowdiscloading rotorcraft
The BoeingSikorsky RAH66 Comanche
The Comanche rips and dips across the screen set against a sunset This prototype helicopter has stealth technology Its smart agile fast and invisible to radar Its the first helicopter to provide realtime digital data to headquarters Seeing in the dark sensing the forces at play around us and acting on the evidence in real time the Comanche is a complex flying machine with a human being at its heart Everyday in unexpected ways it extends our powers and puts us to work with a revolutionary tool
The Comanche is the central element of the US Armys future Objective Force In addition to its complement of missiles and 20mm cannon the aircraft carries stateoftheart sensors and avionics to provide battlefield commanders with so much accurate information about enemy movements This knowledge will translate into more precise targeting increasing the effectiveness of friendly forces beyond current capabilities
The US Army has defined a requirement of more than 1200 Comanches for the Objective Force The RAH Comanche the armys 21stcentury combat helicopter is being developed by the US Army and a team of leading aerospace companies headed by the Boeing Company and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation a unit of United Technologies Corporation
The Sikorsky UH60 Black Hawk and AS 350 B2 AStar Enforce the Law
Events swiftly unfold as the radar plane spots an unidentified Cessna dropping bundles of drugs off the coast of Miami at dawn A signal alerts the Marine and Air Branch of US Customs who speed out to intercept the smugglers Just as the drugs are transferred from boat to van The AStar helicopter bursts over the treetops deploying a tactical team to arrest the driver While the smugglers Cigarette boat attempts to escape a Black Hawk helicopter dips down to create a giant backwash In a stunning display of impeccable teamwork this action forces the fleeing boat to swerve to a halt as a Customs boat cuts it off and apprehends the criminals
On a typical day the US Customs Service examines 13 million passengers 2642 aircraft 50889 truckscontainers 355004 other vehicles 588 vessels 64923 entries and undertakes the following enforcement actions 64 arrests 107 narcotic seizures 223 other seizures 9 currency seizures These amount to 5059 pounds of narcotics 443907 in currency 228803 in conveyances 525791 in merchandise and more than 15800 in arms and ammunition
Filmed over a period of five days off the coast of Miami the air land and sea drug bust was staged by the US Customs Service which relies heavily on helicopters during such operations
US Customs pilot Tom Stanton participated in the shoot with his copilot Kimberly Kessel Kessel is one of seven women US Customs pilots and only one of two qualified to fly Black Hawks Both pilots volunteered to work with the film crew Says Kessel a graduate of EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University They were phenomenal ready to try anything
In addition to daytime flights Stanton flies the riskier night missions Flying at night is dangerous as you lose all perception of whats up or down because both the sky and ocean are black so they just kind of run in together Theres no horizon on those dark nights says the veteran pilot
Typically he flies from 300 to 500 feet above the water at 120 to 150 knots Not many people fly that low even in the daytime says Stanton Theres no autopilot so its hands on Plus youre chasing someone You have to be aware It can get tense out there
Stanton describes an air chase Once theres a target we launch a jet with radar The jet pilot calls the helicopter out and we link up flying in formation We follow the bad guy wherever he goes If he has extendedrange fuel tanks we leapfrog and send another helicopter out to take up the chase The Black Hawk carries five hours of fuel When he gets into his landing configuration we call the local police or sheriff to help us out The Black Hawk which can carry up to 14 people typically carries 4 or 5 armed personnel so we instantly have a force of police officers there to get the bad guys
If its a boat we have Cigarette boats like the smugglers Well call our boat and have it intercept Stanton flies the Black Hawk next to the boat making it hard for the smugglers to navigate It intimidates them into giving up Sometimes they do but sometimes we chase them for hours Or well follow them into a marina and block them until our boats come If they hit the beach well call the state police or sheriff and they set up a perimeter so the guy cant get out
Stanton who flies missions as often as once or twice a week has been flying for 26 years 13 of those as an army helicopter pilot before he joined US Customs in Miami where he is the standardization instructor pilot He makes sure that everybody flies the same way so that when they team up the pilots easily work in tandem Pilots fly 8hour shifts and the operation goes on 24 hours a day 7 days a week in areas covering both the Canadian and Mexican land borders the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines and the Gulf of Mexico
The MD 500E Helicopter
A MD 500 helicopter hovers directly above 500000volt power lines As it inches closer a lightning bolt suddenly zaps out from the hot line arcing toward the wand extended by a lineman perched on an aluminum platform that juts out from the helicopter The hotlinequalified lineman clamps onto the power lines and helicopter backs off leaving him to wire walk crawling along parallel lines to inspect the PPL power line grid 100 feet off the ground To reboard the helicopter the lineman must bond off reversing the procedure
I dont give two hoots and a holler about flying inside a helicopter Put me outside thats where I want to be says Daniel Spider Lockhart AgRotors lineman Theres only three things Ive been afraid of most of my life One was electricity one was heights and the other was women And Im married too he grins The safest lineman is one that is afraid of electricity When we bond to the power lines energized at halfamillion volts we have to bring ourselves to the same potential That is why you see that arc jumping out to our wand as we make both the helicopter and the power line at the same potential so that we can eliminate the flow of current explains the veteran lineman
Spider wears a protective hot suit 75 percent Nomex for fire retardation and 25 percent stainless steel thread The metal thread basically means I have a cage around me that can be energized at very high voltage levels A halfmillion volts pass over my body but I can work without interference from the electricity
He continues Watching that electricity jump out while youre energizing the helicopter is a thrill Getting on the wire walking the wire to do repairs is a thrill The biggest thrill I get is from doing what I do is being able to do both togetherthe electrical part and the helicopter part of it the speed at which we can do it and still be safe There are so many things that the helicopter enables us to do as linemen which is very rewarding
The teamwork of the skilled helicopter pilots and highly trained linemen ensure that the PPL Corp provides a constant source of electricity to its 13 million customers in Pennsylvania in addition to 44 million in Latin America and Europe To maintain the integrity of the transmission system to residential and commercial establishments and to ensure the safety of the operation the team plans and rehearses every move while on the ground before takeoff Even so unanticipated gusts of wind and glare from the wires can affect the pilots depth perception requiring total concentration during his hours at the controls As the helicopter is isolated from the ground the pilot and lineman clad in protective stainless steel suits must bond onto the transmission lines to bring themselves to the same voltage potential of the line to work safelyparalleling what a bird does when it sits on a wire
Probably the most unusual place that the director rigged the camera was on the end of the platform on the MD 500 which is designed to carry the lineman as he bonds onto the halfmillionvolt power line We took away the lineman and put the camera in his place the lineman rode behind the camera and used his wand to draw the arc of electricity right onto the camera lens I dont think its been done before It blew all the electronics out of the camera a couple of times before we figured out how to do it recalls Douglas
The Boeing 234 Helicopter Helilogging with Limited Environmental Damage
Floating above the forest in northern California a 12ton Boeing 234 helicopter selects its target with precision Selective logging is a process where only a portion of the available timber is removed from a logging site A single tree is lifted straight up from the forest floor leaving the rest of the area environmentally intact Removing such timbervery often trees that are already dead or diseasedallows the remaining trees to thrive on the additional resources of sunlight water and soil nutrients Helilogging is environmentally friendly in other ways as well First since the logs are lifted from the ground little soil erosion typical of conventional logging methods occurs Second in many cases the helicopter is able to use existing roads for landings meaning no new roads need to be built into the area being logged
Columbia Helicopters cuts more logs each year than any other helicopter logging company To prepare the timber for the helicopter the specially trained logging crew cut it into carefully weighed sections Columbias flight crews are among the most experienced at longline work in the world With speed and precision they are able to move heavy loads of logs at the end of lines up to 350feet long Once the line is lowered from the Boeing 234 helicopter steel tongs clamp the log and the entire tree is removed without disturbing the balance of nature Its kinda like lookin down 25 stories and picking up a telephone pole comments the helicopter pilot Dave Stroupe who deposits the timber at a nearby transfer yard The unique thing about this helicopter is that when we take off from the ground we weigh approximately 22000 pounds And were rigged for about 26000 pounds when we get low on fuel So the load actually weighs more than the helicopter Its exciting and harrowing all at the same time
The Boeing 234s have a lift capacity of 28000 lb 12727 kg but most often carry loads between 23000 lb 10454 kg to 24000 lb 10909 kg due to elevation and air temperature considerations The company trains loggers to work with helicopters because load weight is such a dramatic part of what they do Weight is determined using a formula which are a function of the volume and the type of wood Different tree species have different weights per volume
When one of the pilots suggested using the log as a platform for the camera Douglas realized another exciting camera angle The possibility existed that the branches could scrape off the camera as the log was hauled up Douglas prevented this by placing the camera inside a heavy steel avalanche box which he anchored on the end of a big log Once the log was grappled the helicopter hauled the protected camera right through the branches giving the audience a breathtaking view from the perspective of the log The US Marine Corps AV8B Harrier AH1W Cobra CH53E Super Stallion and CH46E Sea Knight on a Military Mission
An AV8B Harrier jet demonstrates its vertical landing ability followed by a force reconnaissance inservice exercise from an aircraft carrier as Marines climb aboard the CH53E AH1W Cobras and Harriers form an assaultsupport package as the reconnaissance team sets out on a mission to obtain invaluable intelligence about the enemy
Inside the CH53E the machinegunner is at the ready as a Cobra fires three rockets The action heats up as the IMAX camera captures the Marines fastroping through the hell hole and sliding down a rope dangling from the CH53E landing in enemy territory The leader of the reconnaissance team says By the time you get to touch rope in a live situation you and your men feel tighter than family Your fates are tied like the strands of a rope
Two hours later the Marines have completed their mission and are ready to be evacuated Now the enemy hunts them on the ground Trees shake as the rescue CH53E helicopter hovers overhead lowering a rope to the squad now up to their waists in water One after the other in a matter of seconds the men clip themselves onto the rope Extraction even more than insertion is when you need speed Youve been awful quiet Suddenly youre awful loud says Sgt James Kenneke the squad leader Hes first in and last out Lifted up like washing on a line the squad dangles beneath the helicopter as it is escorted by Cobras out over the Atlantic
Its a relief to get out But theres that moment of doubt Everything slows down while youre exposed � holding your breath for that happy ending And when you get it you feel on top of the world Of course then weve got to commute home just like everybody else smiles Kennecke
The Mi26 and Mi8 Deliver Humanitarian Aid
Sometimes something very precious must be delivered behind enemy linesfood Sierra Leone is a nation that has suffered years of conflict From the food depot to the hot spot helicopters provide an air bridge Hoisting food and medical supplies to distressed people behind rebelheld territories they have the ability to hop over hot zones in desperate situations
The worlds largest production helicopterthe Russianmade Mi26is the workhorse for the United Nations UN peacekeeping operation in wartorn Sierra Leone The heaviest production helicopter in the world this majestic eightbladed craftone of four chartered by the UN from Russiacan carry a maximum of 44090 lb 20040 kg of internal payload or up to 70 troops The Mi26s top speed is 183 mph 295 kph and it has a range of 304 miles 400 km
In this sequence the Mi26 is loaded with cargo to supply UN troops protecting an isolated community in the center of rebelheld territory The worlds largest food agency the UN World Food Program WFP organized a massive air campaign targeting internally displaced persons that had congregated near a clinic for malnourished children Once rebels from the Revolutionary United Front RUF had surrounded the area and blocked road access the WFP was prevented from completing a bulk distribution Instead they loaded up their Mi8 and flew to the Daru clinic where the most vulnerable women and children were located
All children under five who are malnourished are given a special feeding program in Daru And the underfive are always the first ones you target for any kind of extreme malnourished cases because they die very quickly says Aya Shneerson program officer for the WFP Daru is a kind of an island a safe island surrounded by areas that are unsafe she says and for that reason it always served as a sort of magnet for the very vulnerable people coming out
Another big WFP operation Food for Peace gives food to child excombatants in an effort to attract them to disarmament and demobilization camps
The heavily laden craft flew out of the capital city Freetown situated on the west coast of Africa between Guinea on the north and Liberia on the south The WFP supervises a variety of feeding programs in the displacement camps feeding 5000 in an operation that targeted Bunbuna Kabala and Daru in 2000
Throughout the world helicopters have saved millions of human lives There are 777 million people in developing countries according to the WFP In 2001 the WFP fed 77 million hungry people 10 percent of the hungry poor in 82 countries
Diamonds which should have brought prosperity to Sierra Leone instead resulted in one of the modern worlds most brutal insurgencies dating back to 1991 when rebels launched a war to overthrow the government In the ensuing years continuous battles between the various factionsrebels the army and the governmentdisplaced tens of thousands of innocent civilians resulting in hunger and famine In 1998 UN observers documented reports of ongoing atrocities and human rights abuses In 1999 negotiations began between the government and the rebels and an agreement was signed in Lome to end hostilities and form a government of national unity By 2000 the UNs expanded role resulted in the deployment of 17500 military peacekeeping personnel to various parts of the country Free elections in May 2002 have given hope and a fresh started in Sierra Leone
The AS 350 B2 and AS 350 B3 Used for Wildlife Relocation
In South Africa helicopters are helping to save the black rhino from extinction Protected in a few remote preserves their numbers are rising However should the rhinos feel overcrowded they will fight to the death To protect the species some must be relocated to safe habitats but this is easier said than done
A platform dangles from a helicopter overhead Inside another helicopter flying low over the South African veldt a man with a rifle takes aim at a black rhinoceros dodging through the bushes below The pilot concentrates on flying 5 feet above and 10 to15 feet behind the rhino Anticipating its every move a wildlife veterinarian pulls the trigger of his gun loaded with a tranquilizer dart scoring a direct hit that successfully penetrates the rhinos inchthick skin
When I am darting animals like the black rhino there is this immense trust between myself and Piet the pilot says wildlife veterinarian Dr Douw Grobler who specializes in immunizations and translocations I know exactly what hes going to do and where hes going to place me I dont have to think I can just concentrate on the animals I just know hes gong to put me there in the right spot at the right time Its almost that he senses what the animals going to do In that way he can change the animals mind with his helicopter
Grobler has measured a specific drug dosage which can keep a rhino asleep for up to two hours Once the rhino is darted the ground crew lands as soon as possible to undertake a multitude of tasks They monitor the beasts vital signs take skin and blood samples to study its basic health and to detect any nutrients that are lacking This ensures that the habitat is healthy for longterm propagation They also conduct pregnancy testing Each rhinos ear is notched so that it can be identified easily from the air and ground The tip of the second horn is removed to provide material for genetic research and a transmitter is fitted into the rhinos horn for tracking its whereabouts Poachers present a constant danger to the rhinos security Should a poacher remove the horn for export the transmitter would trigger an alarm
When two males inhabit the same territory one must be relocated before they battle to the death Placing a sling in position the crew rolls the rhino aboard the platform making sure it is fully asleep With a lifting capability of 3500 lb 1590 kg the AStar B 3 can relocate the 2250lb 1022kg rhino to an area of the sanctuary that is accessible only by helicopter
The extensive research on eleven black rhinos acquired during the fourday shoot was made possible only through SK Films financial contribution My field of expertise lies in the capture and relocation of African wildlife I am extremely grateful to Straight Up for sponsoring this incredibly important research and relocation program at the game park Without the film this research would not have happened says Grobler who organized the capture research and relocation project with the films production crew Every animal is just so valuable he says and any information that can be collected on them is worth its weight in gold
The prehistoric ancestor of todays rhinos existed more than 50 million years ago Among todays five rhino species the black rhino which has two horns has suffered the most spectacular rate of decline From a population of 65000 in 1970 it had been hunted almost to extinction declining to a population of 2300 by 199293 Current statistics indicate that the African black rhino population has risen to 3500 as a result of the protection of nature reserves developed by conservancy groups agencies and governments to facilitate breeding and relocation programs
This segment of Straight Up was filmed in one such reserve in South Africa where black rhinos had been reintroduced in 1986 The helicopter an irreplaceable co
Agusta 109K2 Alpine Medivac Rescue
Straight Ups exploration of vertical flight begins with a highimpact alpine rescue amid an avalanche The dramatic opening sequence documents the dangerous work of the Rega mountain rescue team and the invaluable role of the Agusta A109K2 helicopter in saving lives and minimizing injuries
As the camera pans over beautiful vistas of the snowcovered Swiss Alps it cuts to a cornice as a chunk of snow breaks free triggering an avalanche The tranquil scene is shattered as the avalanche thunders down the mountain slopes With terrifying speed it heads straight for a mother and child trapped in their car wheels spinning on the icy road
The mother calls for help on her cell phone and a second call from a snowplow prompts radio dispatch The Rega mountain rescue team already is airborne en route to the scene the red cross painted on the helicopters white underbelly signaling that medical help is on the way The mother escapes but her son is missing Within minutes of the helicopter landing the rescue team dig out the car extract the trapped boy apply first aid and airlift him and his mother to safety
A significant mountain hazard avalanches are responsible for many deaths each year Time is of the essence in avalanche rescue work A person has a 90 percent chance of survival if found within the first 15 minutes but ones chances of survival diminish with each passing minute Not only do helicopters provide quick access for rescue teams they also provide a lifeline to medical care Flying the injured to the nearest hospital as rapidly as possible is not the only type of rescue operation often helicopters bring the hospital to the injured who receive treatment at the scene
The powerful avalanche was shot in British Columbias Selkirk Mountains under the supervision of the Canadian Avalanche Association The CAA controls avalanche risk for the safety of heliskiers To capture the avalanche headon avalanche expert and filmmaker Steve Krochel and David Douglas developed a quarterinchthick steel container for the IMAX camera which was equipped with a triggering device and a beeper so that the camera could be found once the avalanche had swept it down the mountain
The rescue was completed in Switzerlands Bernina Pass near the Italian border Filming the Rega rescue helicopter airtoair sequence turned into an international excursion as Douglas chased the sunlight over Italy in one direction and in Austria in another before setting down in Switzerland In another dramatic shot Douglas centered the red cross in the crosshairs of the camera lens as the craft descended To facilitate this shot Douglas dug a hole in the snow large enough to accommodate himself and the IMAX camera Inside the hole 3 feet below the helicopter he filmed its takeoff
According to Douglas The helicopter is the instrument of rapid response to natural physical and social disasters around the world alleviating human suffering on a major scale For the individual caught beyond the limits of training or equipment often the last chance for survival is the hope that a helicopter will get to them in time
The Pitcairn PCA 2 Miss Champion
For centuries humans dreamed of flight The Chinese in the 12th century developed a toy helicopter made from a pair of slats mounted on a stick but serious efforts had to wait until the early 20th century Then after the Wright brothers historic flight at Kitty Hawk we dreamed of flight unfettered by the limitations of runways and airports Yet by the early 1930s we were still at the dawn of the practical rotorcraft which promised to give form to humanitys vision
The ten year period between 1925 and 1935 was an exciting time in aviation history but few aircraft so caught and held the publics attention as the Autogiro Nicknamed the flying windmill this strangelooking aircraft was first successfully flown in 1923 by the Spanish inventor Juan de la Cierva who had been working on the development of such a craft since 1919 The Autogiro fascinated the airminded public because of its remarkable performance and high degree of safety attracting such leaders of American aviation as Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart
Juan de la Cierva sold the American manufacturing rights to Harold Pitcairn in 1928 Pitcairns Autogiro boasted a more modern fuselage with better aerodynamic qualities It also provided prospective buyers with a choice of either a 300 or 420horsepower engine
In the film Harold Pitcairns son Stephen flies Miss Champion a 1931 model This Autogiro used for promotion by the Champion Spark Plug Company is controlled like an airplane but is lifted with blades Although the original rotor blades have seen 1600 hours of flight time they are still airworthy With a 330horsepower Wright R 975E engine the Autogiro has a cruising speed of 98 mph and a top speed of 118 mph Miss Champion led a National Air Tour and made the thenrisky 300 milelong flight from Miami to Havana Cuba Until then the longest overwater flight by an Autogiro had been 25 miles in length Later Miss Champion flew nonstop over a distance of 500 miles to Chichen Itza in the Yucatan rainforest Miss Champion was retired from active service in 1932 after setting a new altitude record for rotarywing aircraft Climbing to a height of 21500 feet in 1932 the Autogiro surpassed the previous record set by Amelia Earhart Today the Autogiro is considered to be the evolutionary missing link from which the practical helicopter was born
Forty years later Stephen Pitcairn began the formidable task of collecting and restoring examples of his fathers aircraft He tracked down Miss Champion and in October of 1982 began the painstaking task of restoration using the original Pitcairn factory drawings In the spring of 1985 Miss Champion flew again
The Bell 47G A Flying Lesson
Since Pitcairns Autogiro improved control systems allow the airframe to rise directly from the ground with a powered rotor Straight Up puts you in the pilots seat of a Bell 47G as the basic elements of helicopter operation are demonstrated The Bell 47Gs singlerotor configuration is by far the most common type used today Your flying lesson begins
As a helicopter pilot the pilot uses all four limbs to fly all at the same time With the left hand holding the collective pitch control lever he pulls up ever so slightly and we go straight up into a slowmotion hover The spinning rotor blades act as small wings but they spin so fast that they create one continuous disc of lift When the blades change angle or pitch collectively the helicopter rises or falls The pilots right hand always holds the cyclic control effectively tilting the whirling disc above Point left tilt left Point right tilt right The camera then closes in on the tail rotor Once again the altering of the blades affects direction The chopper spins in response to the pilots depressing one of the two foot pedals If he depresses the second pedal the helicopter spins in the opposite direction
The Piasecki H21B Tandem Rotor Aircraft The Flying Banana
The last flying H21B helicopter in the world takes off heads for the beach and cruises 100 feet above the Pacific surf off the coast of California One of the earliest tandem helicopters the H21B represents the birth of the heavy lift helicopters and dates back to the early 1950s Nicknamed The Flying Banana for its shape the H21B had more power and greater stability than previous helicopters The tandemrotor H21B carries two sets of wooden blades situated nearly 50 feet apart but operated by one set of helicopter flight controls The pilot must be ever vigilant as this helicopter could rapidly invert should the pilot let go of the controls
The vintage H21B used for the film was decommissioned from the US Air Force in 1972 and was restored by the Californiabased Classic Rotors The Rare and Vintage Rotocraft Museum This nonprofit museum and restoration facility dedicated to the preservation of unique vintage and rare rotorcraft spent more than 10000 hours returning the H21B to airworthiness Every hour flown requires 100 hours of maintenance Classic Rotors is the only museum of its kind to maintain eight helicopters in flying condition When its new facility in San Diego has been completed the museum will expand its exhibits from 15 to 30 vintage rotorcraft
One of the highlights of its collection is a famous relative of the H21B This is a V 44 the commercial version of the H21nicknamed The Holy Oneand is the only one to land at the Vatican and be blessed by the pope While on a 1959 demonstration tour in Europe the helicopter and its crew had provided help to Italian communities following a devastating earthquake
Future Helicopter Designs
One aspect of current research centers around the development of quiet technology that will allow helicopters to become better neighbors and to operate more stealthily in police and military operations
Quiet technology advances rely on a combination of technologies which include improved rotor blade design and the user of rotor systems with four or more blades Replacing the tail rotor with a Coandaeffect NOTAR NoTailRotor system goes a long way in reducing noise as does shrouding the tail rotor in an arrangement know as a faninfin Other advances focus on noisedampening air inlets and improved engine nozzles
New helicopter designs are tested in the worlds largest wind tunnel at the NASA Ames Flight Research Center located at Moffett Field in California Ames was founded in 1939 as an aircraft research laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics which became part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA in 1958 NASA has the leading role in aerospace operations systems which include air traffic control flight effects on humans and rotorcraft technology NASA Ames scientists and engineers study robotic helicopters highspeed hybrids and advances in quiet technology The center also has major responsibilities for the creation of design and development tools and for wind tunnel testing
The NASABell XV15 Tiltrotor
In the film an XV15 converts over DallasFort Worth Airport The XV15 is an experimental rotorcraft the parent of a new family of aircraft called tiltrotors The tiltrotor combines the hovering ability of the helicopter with the speed of a fixedwing aircraft The XV15 can take off and land like a helicopter The audience will see the engines tilting forward as the tiltrotor becomes a highspeed plane
The BellBoeing V22 Osprey
A V22 Osprey unwraps emerging like a prehistoric flying dinosaur Built primarily for the US Marines Air Force and Navy the V22 Osprey has wings that pivot and rotors that fold to facilitate its storage at sea In less than 90 seconds you will see the V22 complete this process Although still classified as a tiltrotor it is faster with three times the range and more than ten times the payload of its predecessor It shows the promise of longdistance travel without airports
The Hawk 4 Gyroplane
Rotorcraft evolution is also in the hands of the entrepreneur and this independent spirit is most evident in the Hawk 4 Gyroplane While some designs produce groundbreaking changes this aircraft brought the economy and safety of the Autogiro into the space age A rotor is used for slowspeed flight but at highspeed cruising all the lift is provided by the wing while the rotor has no lift The Gyroplane shows promise as a highspeed lowdiscloading rotorcraft
The BoeingSikorsky RAH66 Comanche
The Comanche rips and dips across the screen set against a sunset This prototype helicopter has stealth technology Its smart agile fast and invisible to radar Its the first helicopter to provide realtime digital data to headquarters Seeing in the dark sensing the forces at play around us and acting on the evidence in real time the Comanche is a complex flying machine with a human being at its heart Everyday in unexpected ways it extends our powers and puts us to work with a revolutionary tool
The Comanche is the central element of the US Armys future Objective Force In addition to its complement of missiles and 20mm cannon the aircraft carries stateoftheart sensors and avionics to provide battlefield commanders with so much accurate information about enemy movements This knowledge will translate into more precise targeting increasing the effectiveness of friendly forces beyond current capabilities
The US Army has defined a requirement of more than 1200 Comanches for the Objective Force The RAH Comanche the armys 21stcentury combat helicopter is being developed by the US Army and a team of leading aerospace companies headed by the Boeing Company and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation a unit of United Technologies Corporation
The Sikorsky UH60 Black Hawk and AS 350 B2 AStar Enforce the Law
Events swiftly unfold as the radar plane spots an unidentified Cessna dropping bundles of drugs off the coast of Miami at dawn A signal alerts the Marine and Air Branch of US Customs who speed out to intercept the smugglers Just as the drugs are transferred from boat to van The AStar helicopter bursts over the treetops deploying a tactical team to arrest the driver While the smugglers Cigarette boat attempts to escape a Black Hawk helicopter dips down to create a giant backwash In a stunning display of impeccable teamwork this action forces the fleeing boat to swerve to a halt as a Customs boat cuts it off and apprehends the criminals
On a typical day the US Customs Service examines 13 million passengers 2642 aircraft 50889 truckscontainers 355004 other vehicles 588 vessels 64923 entries and undertakes the following enforcement actions 64 arrests 107 narcotic seizures 223 other seizures 9 currency seizures These amount to 5059 pounds of narcotics 443907 in currency 228803 in conveyances 525791 in merchandise and more than 15800 in arms and ammunition
Filmed over a period of five days off the coast of Miami the air land and sea drug bust was staged by the US Customs Service which relies heavily on helicopters during such operations
US Customs pilot Tom Stanton participated in the shoot with his copilot Kimberly Kessel Kessel is one of seven women US Customs pilots and only one of two qualified to fly Black Hawks Both pilots volunteered to work with the film crew Says Kessel a graduate of EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University They were phenomenal ready to try anything
In addition to daytime flights Stanton flies the riskier night missions Flying at night is dangerous as you lose all perception of whats up or down because both the sky and ocean are black so they just kind of run in together Theres no horizon on those dark nights says the veteran pilot
Typically he flies from 300 to 500 feet above the water at 120 to 150 knots Not many people fly that low even in the daytime says Stanton Theres no autopilot so its hands on Plus youre chasing someone You have to be aware It can get tense out there
Stanton describes an air chase Once theres a target we launch a jet with radar The jet pilot calls the helicopter out and we link up flying in formation We follow the bad guy wherever he goes If he has extendedrange fuel tanks we leapfrog and send another helicopter out to take up the chase The Black Hawk carries five hours of fuel When he gets into his landing configuration we call the local police or sheriff to help us out The Black Hawk which can carry up to 14 people typically carries 4 or 5 armed personnel so we instantly have a force of police officers there to get the bad guys
If its a boat we have Cigarette boats like the smugglers Well call our boat and have it intercept Stanton flies the Black Hawk next to the boat making it hard for the smugglers to navigate It intimidates them into giving up Sometimes they do but sometimes we chase them for hours Or well follow them into a marina and block them until our boats come If they hit the beach well call the state police or sheriff and they set up a perimeter so the guy cant get out
Stanton who flies missions as often as once or twice a week has been flying for 26 years 13 of those as an army helicopter pilot before he joined US Customs in Miami where he is the standardization instructor pilot He makes sure that everybody flies the same way so that when they team up the pilots easily work in tandem Pilots fly 8hour shifts and the operation goes on 24 hours a day 7 days a week in areas covering both the Canadian and Mexican land borders the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines and the Gulf of Mexico
The MD 500E Helicopter
A MD 500 helicopter hovers directly above 500000volt power lines As it inches closer a lightning bolt suddenly zaps out from the hot line arcing toward the wand extended by a lineman perched on an aluminum platform that juts out from the helicopter The hotlinequalified lineman clamps onto the power lines and helicopter backs off leaving him to wire walk crawling along parallel lines to inspect the PPL power line grid 100 feet off the ground To reboard the helicopter the lineman must bond off reversing the procedure
I dont give two hoots and a holler about flying inside a helicopter Put me outside thats where I want to be says Daniel Spider Lockhart AgRotors lineman Theres only three things Ive been afraid of most of my life One was electricity one was heights and the other was women And Im married too he grins The safest lineman is one that is afraid of electricity When we bond to the power lines energized at halfamillion volts we have to bring ourselves to the same potential That is why you see that arc jumping out to our wand as we make both the helicopter and the power line at the same potential so that we can eliminate the flow of current explains the veteran lineman
Spider wears a protective hot suit 75 percent Nomex for fire retardation and 25 percent stainless steel thread The metal thread basically means I have a cage around me that can be energized at very high voltage levels A halfmillion volts pass over my body but I can work without interference from the electricity
He continues Watching that electricity jump out while youre energizing the helicopter is a thrill Getting on the wire walking the wire to do repairs is a thrill The biggest thrill I get is from doing what I do is being able to do both togetherthe electrical part and the helicopter part of it the speed at which we can do it and still be safe There are so many things that the helicopter enables us to do as linemen which is very rewarding
The teamwork of the skilled helicopter pilots and highly trained linemen ensure that the PPL Corp provides a constant source of electricity to its 13 million customers in Pennsylvania in addition to 44 million in Latin America and Europe To maintain the integrity of the transmission system to residential and commercial establishments and to ensure the safety of the operation the team plans and rehearses every move while on the ground before takeoff Even so unanticipated gusts of wind and glare from the wires can affect the pilots depth perception requiring total concentration during his hours at the controls As the helicopter is isolated from the ground the pilot and lineman clad in protective stainless steel suits must bond onto the transmission lines to bring themselves to the same voltage potential of the line to work safelyparalleling what a bird does when it sits on a wire
Probably the most unusual place that the director rigged the camera was on the end of the platform on the MD 500 which is designed to carry the lineman as he bonds onto the halfmillionvolt power line We took away the lineman and put the camera in his place the lineman rode behind the camera and used his wand to draw the arc of electricity right onto the camera lens I dont think its been done before It blew all the electronics out of the camera a couple of times before we figured out how to do it recalls Douglas
The Boeing 234 Helicopter Helilogging with Limited Environmental Damage
Floating above the forest in northern California a 12ton Boeing 234 helicopter selects its target with precision Selective logging is a process where only a portion of the available timber is removed from a logging site A single tree is lifted straight up from the forest floor leaving the rest of the area environmentally intact Removing such timbervery often trees that are already dead or diseasedallows the remaining trees to thrive on the additional resources of sunlight water and soil nutrients Helilogging is environmentally friendly in other ways as well First since the logs are lifted from the ground little soil erosion typical of conventional logging methods occurs Second in many cases the helicopter is able to use existing roads for landings meaning no new roads need to be built into the area being logged
Columbia Helicopters cuts more logs each year than any other helicopter logging company To prepare the timber for the helicopter the specially trained logging crew cut it into carefully weighed sections Columbias flight crews are among the most experienced at longline work in the world With speed and precision they are able to move heavy loads of logs at the end of lines up to 350feet long Once the line is lowered from the Boeing 234 helicopter steel tongs clamp the log and the entire tree is removed without disturbing the balance of nature Its kinda like lookin down 25 stories and picking up a telephone pole comments the helicopter pilot Dave Stroupe who deposits the timber at a nearby transfer yard The unique thing about this helicopter is that when we take off from the ground we weigh approximately 22000 pounds And were rigged for about 26000 pounds when we get low on fuel So the load actually weighs more than the helicopter Its exciting and harrowing all at the same time
The Boeing 234s have a lift capacity of 28000 lb 12727 kg but most often carry loads between 23000 lb 10454 kg to 24000 lb 10909 kg due to elevation and air temperature considerations The company trains loggers to work with helicopters because load weight is such a dramatic part of what they do Weight is determined using a formula which are a function of the volume and the type of wood Different tree species have different weights per volume
When one of the pilots suggested using the log as a platform for the camera Douglas realized another exciting camera angle The possibility existed that the branches could scrape off the camera as the log was hauled up Douglas prevented this by placing the camera inside a heavy steel avalanche box which he anchored on the end of a big log Once the log was grappled the helicopter hauled the protected camera right through the branches giving the audience a breathtaking view from the perspective of the log The US Marine Corps AV8B Harrier AH1W Cobra CH53E Super Stallion and CH46E Sea Knight on a Military Mission
An AV8B Harrier jet demonstrates its vertical landing ability followed by a force reconnaissance inservice exercise from an aircraft carrier as Marines climb aboard the CH53E AH1W Cobras and Harriers form an assaultsupport package as the reconnaissance team sets out on a mission to obtain invaluable intelligence about the enemy
Inside the CH53E the machinegunner is at the ready as a Cobra fires three rockets The action heats up as the IMAX camera captures the Marines fastroping through the hell hole and sliding down a rope dangling from the CH53E landing in enemy territory The leader of the reconnaissance team says By the time you get to touch rope in a live situation you and your men feel tighter than family Your fates are tied like the strands of a rope
Two hours later the Marines have completed their mission and are ready to be evacuated Now the enemy hunts them on the ground Trees shake as the rescue CH53E helicopter hovers overhead lowering a rope to the squad now up to their waists in water One after the other in a matter of seconds the men clip themselves onto the rope Extraction even more than insertion is when you need speed Youve been awful quiet Suddenly youre awful loud says Sgt James Kenneke the squad leader Hes first in and last out Lifted up like washing on a line the squad dangles beneath the helicopter as it is escorted by Cobras out over the Atlantic
Its a relief to get out But theres that moment of doubt Everything slows down while youre exposed � holding your breath for that happy ending And when you get it you feel on top of the world Of course then weve got to commute home just like everybody else smiles Kennecke
The Mi26 and Mi8 Deliver Humanitarian Aid
Sometimes something very precious must be delivered behind enemy linesfood Sierra Leone is a nation that has suffered years of conflict From the food depot to the hot spot helicopters provide an air bridge Hoisting food and medical supplies to distressed people behind rebelheld territories they have the ability to hop over hot zones in desperate situations
The worlds largest production helicopterthe Russianmade Mi26is the workhorse for the United Nations UN peacekeeping operation in wartorn Sierra Leone The heaviest production helicopter in the world this majestic eightbladed craftone of four chartered by the UN from Russiacan carry a maximum of 44090 lb 20040 kg of internal payload or up to 70 troops The Mi26s top speed is 183 mph 295 kph and it has a range of 304 miles 400 km
In this sequence the Mi26 is loaded with cargo to supply UN troops protecting an isolated community in the center of rebelheld territory The worlds largest food agency the UN World Food Program WFP organized a massive air campaign targeting internally displaced persons that had congregated near a clinic for malnourished children Once rebels from the Revolutionary United Front RUF had surrounded the area and blocked road access the WFP was prevented from completing a bulk distribution Instead they loaded up their Mi8 and flew to the Daru clinic where the most vulnerable women and children were located
All children under five who are malnourished are given a special feeding program in Daru And the underfive are always the first ones you target for any kind of extreme malnourished cases because they die very quickly says Aya Shneerson program officer for the WFP Daru is a kind of an island a safe island surrounded by areas that are unsafe she says and for that reason it always served as a sort of magnet for the very vulnerable people coming out
Another big WFP operation Food for Peace gives food to child excombatants in an effort to attract them to disarmament and demobilization camps
The heavily laden craft flew out of the capital city Freetown situated on the west coast of Africa between Guinea on the north and Liberia on the south The WFP supervises a variety of feeding programs in the displacement camps feeding 5000 in an operation that targeted Bunbuna Kabala and Daru in 2000
Throughout the world helicopters have saved millions of human lives There are 777 million people in developing countries according to the WFP In 2001 the WFP fed 77 million hungry people 10 percent of the hungry poor in 82 countries
Diamonds which should have brought prosperity to Sierra Leone instead resulted in one of the modern worlds most brutal insurgencies dating back to 1991 when rebels launched a war to overthrow the government In the ensuing years continuous battles between the various factionsrebels the army and the governmentdisplaced tens of thousands of innocent civilians resulting in hunger and famine In 1998 UN observers documented reports of ongoing atrocities and human rights abuses In 1999 negotiations began between the government and the rebels and an agreement was signed in Lome to end hostilities and form a government of national unity By 2000 the UNs expanded role resulted in the deployment of 17500 military peacekeeping personnel to various parts of the country Free elections in May 2002 have given hope and a fresh started in Sierra Leone
The AS 350 B2 and AS 350 B3 Used for Wildlife Relocation
In South Africa helicopters are helping to save the black rhino from extinction Protected in a few remote preserves their numbers are rising However should the rhinos feel overcrowded they will fight to the death To protect the species some must be relocated to safe habitats but this is easier said than done
A platform dangles from a helicopter overhead Inside another helicopter flying low over the South African veldt a man with a rifle takes aim at a black rhinoceros dodging through the bushes below The pilot concentrates on flying 5 feet above and 10 to15 feet behind the rhino Anticipating its every move a wildlife veterinarian pulls the trigger of his gun loaded with a tranquilizer dart scoring a direct hit that successfully penetrates the rhinos inchthick skin
When I am darting animals like the black rhino there is this immense trust between myself and Piet the pilot says wildlife veterinarian Dr Douw Grobler who specializes in immunizations and translocations I know exactly what hes going to do and where hes going to place me I dont have to think I can just concentrate on the animals I just know hes gong to put me there in the right spot at the right time Its almost that he senses what the animals going to do In that way he can change the animals mind with his helicopter
Grobler has measured a specific drug dosage which can keep a rhino asleep for up to two hours Once the rhino is darted the ground crew lands as soon as possible to undertake a multitude of tasks They monitor the beasts vital signs take skin and blood samples to study its basic health and to detect any nutrients that are lacking This ensures that the habitat is healthy for longterm propagation They also conduct pregnancy testing Each rhinos ear is notched so that it can be identified easily from the air and ground The tip of the second horn is removed to provide material for genetic research and a transmitter is fitted into the rhinos horn for tracking its whereabouts Poachers present a constant danger to the rhinos security Should a poacher remove the horn for export the transmitter would trigger an alarm
When two males inhabit the same territory one must be relocated before they battle to the death Placing a sling in position the crew rolls the rhino aboard the platform making sure it is fully asleep With a lifting capability of 3500 lb 1590 kg the AStar B 3 can relocate the 2250lb 1022kg rhino to an area of the sanctuary that is accessible only by helicopter
The extensive research on eleven black rhinos acquired during the fourday shoot was made possible only through SK Films financial contribution My field of expertise lies in the capture and relocation of African wildlife I am extremely grateful to Straight Up for sponsoring this incredibly important research and relocation program at the game park Without the film this research would not have happened says Grobler who organized the capture research and relocation project with the films production crew Every animal is just so valuable he says and any information that can be collected on them is worth its weight in gold
The prehistoric ancestor of todays rhinos existed more than 50 million years ago Among todays five rhino species the black rhino which has two horns has suffered the most spectacular rate of decline From a population of 65000 in 1970 it had been hunted almost to extinction declining to a population of 2300 by 199293 Current statistics indicate that the African black rhino population has risen to 3500 as a result of the protection of nature reserves developed by conservancy groups agencies and governments to facilitate breeding and relocation programs
This segment of Straight Up was filmed in one such reserve in South Africa where black rhinos had been reintroduced in 1986 The helicopter an irreplaceable co
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