KGW Sky8 http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/ en Copyright 2007 Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:22:55 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Good to be back! After being gone on two weeks of vacation it is nice to be back and flying . Yesterday was my first day back and it was a welcoming environment to fly in such nice weather. We had lots of great stories to cover including the Beavers Baseball team arriving back winners as well as some hot weather related stories. Well keep watching and don’t forget to email me if you have any questions or comments about Sky8. Bsonnier@kgw.com

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/06/good_to_be_back.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/06/good_to_be_back.html General Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:22:55 -0800 The ships are Coming!!!! Well it is that time of year again when the Ships come in. We should be getting some great footage from the helicopter today on the arrival of the Ships for the Rose Festival. One thing we are working with these days is much stricter security. We have to make special calls when we are flying around the ships and we have to avoid overflying the ships even when they are close to the heliport. There are also restrictions to private boat use in that area while the ships are docked on the waterfront. So come down and check out the ships as well as a PT boat this year.

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/06/the_ships_are_c_1.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/06/the_ships_are_c_1.html Rose Festival Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:03:37 -0800 The ships are coming!!!! Well it is that time of year again when the Ships come in. We should be getting some great footage from the helicopter today on the arrival of the Ships for the Rose Festival. One thing we are working with these days is much stricter security. We have to make special calls when we are flying around the ships and we have to avoid overflying the ships even when they are close to the heliport. There are also restrictions to private boat use in that area while the ships are docked on the waterfront. So come down and check out the ships as well as a PT boat this year.

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/06/the_ships_are_c.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/06/the_ships_are_c.html Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:00:01 -0800 Busy Friday We hit the ground running this morning as we had two big stories to cover with Sky8. We were sent to a scene right next to Aurora Airport where a man lost his arms in a terrible hay machine accident. Then we were sent to a cargo ship fire docked in Vancouver that took lots of logistics and man power to get under control. We call them "Braking News Fridays "as it seems many of our big stories happen on Fridays. The rest of the middle of the day was spent working on a microwave problem with our helicopter then we were up and ready for the Evening Shows. Keep watching and as always feel free to ask me questions or give me topics to share concerning Sky8 stuff. Thanks Brian

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/06/busy_friday.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/06/busy_friday.html General Fri, 02 Jun 2006 17:24:15 -0800 The ever changing mountain Well it was a great day to fly the ever-changing MT ST Helens yesterday. The weather was nice and calm and we got some great new shots of the changes it is making. I am always impressed when I see the huge developments and growth when I fly over the mountain each time. This is going to be a fun story to monitor as the Mountain grows to its pre eruption status someday. We have some great video so check it out here at kgw.com .

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/05/the_ever_changi_1.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/05/the_ever_changi_1.html Mt. Saint Helens Wed, 31 May 2006 15:00:58 -0800 What a view!!! What a great view we had Sunday Morning when the cooling tower at Trojan came tumbling down. Even though the view as great from the helicopter the airspace around that site was very busy. At the time of the event there were over 12 aircraft flying in circles around the tower. The media helicopters and Police were all coordinating well with radio communication but lots of private pilots in small planes joined the mix and it was very busy. That is one of the added stress factors fling a news helicopter. It was a very busy and fun Sunday Morning. Check out the footage on our website.

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/05/what_a_view.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/05/what_a_view.html Wed, 24 May 2006 17:31:37 -0800 Bad accidents this morning
This morning was a terrible day for accidents. We covered a few during the Morning show then there were a few others later from 730 to 10 AM. . Even though the weather was not that bad there were lots of accidents. In this time of cell phones and high stress levels it is important to remind ourselves to slow down a little stay more focused on our driving. It is actually much more dangerous to drive to work than to fly over it in a helicopter like I do. Lets all stay safe and keep watching. I have a link below for some footage of one of the worst ones. As always email me if you have any questions. bsonnier@kgw.com Brian


http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=53331&catId=131

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/03/bad_accidents_t_1.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/03/bad_accidents_t_1.html Wed, 01 Mar 2006 15:53:13 -0800 Pictures and link from prior entry smallgorge.jpg

smallme.jpg

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/pictures_and_li_1.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/pictures_and_li_1.html Fri, 24 Feb 2006 16:17:48 -0800 Another great day of flying We had fun in the sky yesterday. We had Bruce Sussman with us working a story on the slide situation on the Columbia Hwy. We were also busy flying in the morning for a small plane that had a forced landing and flipped over near Twin Oaks Air Strip. I will put the link below so you can check out our footage. The weather is getting better and the days are getting longer which makes our job much easier. The picture below is of the Vista House when we flew by it on Wed. Keep watching and as always send me your emails. Brian bsonnier@kgw.com

http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=52434&catId=131

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/_another_great.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/_another_great.html Fri, 24 Feb 2006 15:34:57 -0800 Nice flying without the winds Well it is nice to have the winds not be an issue for flying this week. Last week was very windy and turbulent and it made flying quite a chore. It is also nice to have the longer days to have more light to get improved footage from Sky8. We had a couple fires on Monday morning and it reminds us to be careful with our heaters and manage our flammable items careful around the home. I am going to try and get some more pics from the air with my digital camera and post them here. I am checking out the Sky8 photographers on the camera so we can get some good stuff. I did get a pretty good shot of the Vista House and the Gorge yesterday with photographer Jim Culp and I will get that posted by tomorrow. Keep watching and stay in touch with us. Brian Sonnier bsonnier@kgw.com

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/nice_flying_wit.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/nice_flying_wit.html Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:32:52 -0800 blogmtn1.jpg

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/post_1.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/post_1.html Wed, 15 Feb 2006 20:18:53 -0800 A fun day and a tight landing Today we had a great flight. We went up to a mountain top 75 miles NW of Portland to repair one of our repeaters. We took off at 1030 AM and we arrived at the 3100 Ft Mountaintop just past 11. It was a wonderful sunny day and even better the wind was very mild. I took one of our senior Engineers Steve and about 100 pounds of test and replacement equipment to a very tricky landing near the building that housed the electronic equipment. There were not many good options for a place to land but finally I made an approach to a small opening where the logging road opens up to the buildings and the antennas. Lucky for us the snow was mild and hard and did not blow up on us when we set down. It was a tight approach as we set down with only a few feet of clearance on either side of the rotor system. Steve found the problem fast in a power supply unit and he replaced it and we took off and headed back for Troutdale and landed just in time for lunch at 1 PM. Little missions like these make my job fun and interesting. It is fun to have challenges in the day to day flying to keep things fresh. Check out the pictures below and please write if you have any questions or comments. Thanks Brian

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/a_fun_day_and_a.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/a_fun_day_and_a.html Wed, 15 Feb 2006 20:14:18 -0800 blogmtn2.jpg

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/post.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/post.html Wed, 15 Feb 2006 20:12:25 -0800 Rain or Snow? We had a great morning of flying during the traffic flight this AM. We had a little Rain-Snow mix and it was a great visual. Lucky for us it did not effect most of the traffic on the major roads. The weather is getting better for flying these days and I am looking forward to getting some great pictures on the BLOG soon. On Wed. I am going to fly some engineers up to one of our Mountain top sites to repair some equipment. This is one of the versatile uses for Sky 8. I will be landing in a small field next to a very large antenna at 3100 ft. We are hoping that the weather will hold out and I will get some great pics and put them on the Blog. Again please feel free to email me with questions or comments. Keep watching and reading. Brian

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/rain_or_snow.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/02/rain_or_snow.html Tue, 14 Feb 2006 15:32:45 -0800 A break from the rains Well we finally got a break from the rains. We will be flying over the slide areas around Oregon City this afternoon so please check ou those pictures on our newscast today. One part of the helicopter we get lots of questions on is our IR Camera on the side of the aircraft. Not only do we have a great FLIR camera for normal footage but we also have an IR (infa-red) camera on the side of SKY 8 that senses heat to form a picture. It is great for shooting fires or when we are searching for a lost person or group to help authorities. We have also shot some great footage of Mt. St. Helens when it is acting up which shows unique heat sources that we can not see with the naked eye. It is a great asset to have here at KGW. Please do not hesitate to email me with questions on Sky 8 as I would love to talk to you. Keep watching and send your comments. Brian

]]> http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/01/a_break_from_th.html http://www.beloblog.com/KGW_Blogs/sky8/archives/2006/01/a_break_from_th.html Tue, 24 Jan 2006 12:29:48 -0800