The Helicopters photograph

The Helicopters

Use attributes for filter !
Active from 1981
GenresNew Wave/Post-Punk
AlbumsSizing Up the Distance
How to Fake Fall Asleep
Record labels helicopters
Record Union
FlyCasual Records
Date of Reg.
Date of Upd.
ID2186966
Send edit request

About The Helicopters


The Helicopters were a South African pop rock band active in the 1980s. They formed in 1981 in Vereeniging and were stylistically similar to the new wave bands Duran Duran and A Flock of Seagulls.

The indiscriminate devastation of Canada's raging wildfires

The indiscriminate devastation of Canada's raging wildfires
Aug 26,2023 11:10 pm

... The Helicopters flew and dropped water virtually from dawn till dusk and were back again the next day...

Why are tensions mounting on the Belarus-Poland border?

Why are tensions mounting on the Belarus-Poland border?
Aug 10,2023 6:31 am

... BBC Verify has matched the serial numbers on The Helicopters to...

No hope of survivors from MRH-90 helicopter crash in Australia

No hope of survivors from MRH-90 helicopter crash in Australia
Jul 31,2023 12:41 am

... The fleet was pulled from the skies after an engine failure in one of The Helicopters during a training exercise in March, forcing the crew to ditch into the sea off the coast of New South Wales...

Mapping the search for Colombia's plane crash children

Mapping the search for Colombia's plane crash children
Jun 16,2023 11:10 pm

... The Helicopters broadcast messages in the Huitoto language recorded by the children s grandmother urging them to stop moving and stay put in order to give the army a better chance of finding them...

Dmitry Mishov, Russian airman who defected, gives BBC interview

Dmitry Mishov, Russian airman who defected, gives BBC interview
Jun 11,2023 10:20 pm

... " Now they can replace The Helicopters, but there are not enough pilots, " Dmitry says...

Ukraine war: The mothers going to get their children back from Russia

Ukraine war: The mothers going to get their children back from Russia
May 31,2023 12:20 am

... Then The Helicopters and the firing...

Australia helicopter collision: Pilot did not hear radio call, interim report says

Australia helicopter collision: Pilot did not hear radio call, interim report says
Mar 7,2023 12:30 am

... The Helicopters were being used for short sightseeing trips by Sea World Helicopters...

Ukraine war: On board low-flying helicopter with renowned airman

Ukraine war: On board low-flying helicopter with renowned airman
Feb 26,2023 8:41 pm

... " As soon as The Helicopters land, maintenance crews converge, refuelling and rearming the aircraft to be ready for the next flight...

Ukraine war: On board low-flying helicopter with renowned airman

Jan 5,2023 6:31 am

By Orla GuerinBBC News

The best way to come back alive is to stay low, hugging the ground, and skimming the treetops. Too low and you can be shot down by machine gun Fire - too high and you can be detected by enemy air defence systems.

For helicopter pilots in war-time Ukraine, there is little margin for error.

Just ask Roman.

He has flown countless Combat Missions for Ukraine's Sikorsky Brigade and been decorated For Valour . He tells us his age - 34 - But not his last name.

" The Closer to The Target , the lower we fly. It's one or two metres Above Ground , " he tells The Bbc . " It's not enough just to strike The Target . You have to come back safe and bring your crew and helicopter back safely for The Next mission. "

Over The Past year some of his fellow pilots have not made it back.

We were given rare access to Ukraine's war in The Skies at an air strip on a patch of open ground. We can't say where it is - if Russia could identify the location, it would be a major target.

We watch Roman Take Off for his latest sortie on Ukraine's Eastern Front with our camera in The Cockpit . His helicopter is followed by two others; their blades slice the air beneath a muddy grey sky.

Below them a Ukrainian trench zigzags across the landscape, and a village lays deserted.

They speed across a frozen lake As If skating On Ice . Half an hour later they return, having unleashed 80 missiles.

Roman comes in to land circling low enough over our heads for us to see him wave from The Window . He's renowned among fellow airmen in his brigade for executing difficult manoeuvres - a Ukrainian Top Gun in an ageing Soviet aircraft.

His Mi-8 helicopter is about as old as he is, and lacks heavy armour, or modern warning systems about incoming missiles. Every mission could be his last.

" Of course, there is some risk, " he says after touching down. " I just don't think about this. If it happens, it will not Be My problem, it will be a problem for my relatives". It sounds like a joke, But his expression is concealed by his balaclava.

He will not disclose his target, But Chances Are it was.

" It was just an ordinary mission. You concentrate 100% on your task, " he says. " You think of your guys waiting For You on the ground. They are really striving if they call for aviation. "

What he doesn't think about is The Russian troops on the receiving end.

" If they came here with war, " he tells me, " We Are just protecting Our Country . We Are not aggressors. We Are The Victim . And if to win this war we should kill Russian soldiers, We Are ready to kill them all. "

As soon as The Helicopters land, maintenance crews converge, refuelling and rearming the aircraft to be ready for The Next flight.

The missiles are loaded by hand. One is inscribed with a crude message to Russian troops.

Within minutes Roman has co-ordinates for a new target and is Wheels Up again.

He says Ukraine can't win this war with the Soviet equipment it's got.

A spokesman for his brigade spells it out.

" We need new helicopters with navigation equipment, high precision weapons and ammunition, " he tells us. " We need everything. "

Add this to The Fighter jets already requested by President Volodymyr Zelensky , and it's a long list for what may be a Long War .

When Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Last Year , Roman was part of a Ukrainian peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Now this former peacekeeper sees a danger of endless conflict with Russia.

" Just look back at our history, " he says. " We have always had problems with our neighbour. When we win this one if they don't change, they will come back to attack us again, in years or in decades. "

Related Topics

Source of news: bbc.com

Next Profile ❯