These video clips might make a few people a little queasy. It’s a compilation of helicopter footage we’ve shot over the years. It’s a fun ride; so take a look.

Good idea? I don’t think so.

This couple is assembling the helicopter Joe is about to take off in for a shoot in The Netherlands.

Here Joe is taking off from The Netherlands with a former Royal Air Force pilot from Great Britain. (Let’s see, the war ended in 1945. This is 1999. How old is this guy?)

This is Neil hanging out the side with the door off a Bell JetRanger, which is always a thrill. When the pilot makes a hard right turn it’s a good idea to have the lap belt fastened securely.

I had trouble focusing the camera during one flight, only to realize that one of the prescription lenses from my sunglasses had popped out and was hurtling toward the rooftops of Bay View.

We were shooting the Orville Redenbacher Popcorn Festival one year in rural Indiana and I saw a pilot giving helicopter rides from a cornfield.

We did a shoot for Flight for Life in Chicago one year and, after spending the day in the air, we were landing at Mitchell Field in Milwaukee.

As we got below about 3,000 feet, the pilot pulled back on the stick to slow our descent. And then he pulled some more. And some more.

He pulled harder. And HARDER. “I’M JAMMED UP,” he yelled. “I’M JAMMED UP!”

And we continued to lose altitude. Rapidly.

2,500ft. 2,000 1,500 500

It was at this point – with the tarmac quickly getting closer – that we realized our very heavy video recorder had slipped in behind the co-pilot’s tandem control stick and was about to cause our death. We quickly lifted the gear; the pilot pulled back hard and we soared skyward. 

The sweating pilot turned and uttered a quick “thank you,” as we made a second, more sedate approach and landing