Page 5 - Density Altitude News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> in utah, it's about 5,000 feet elevation and it was a warm day that day. >> this creates a condition called high density altitude, which actually means hotter, thinner air, giving the pilot less lift and less power. >> i had to take certain steps, make certain changes to my routine. >> dennis calculates the changes he'll make and at first, everything goes smoothly. >> the standard routine commences with pirouette, rotating the helicopter. >> i got the camera out to take footage of his performance. i was excited about capturing it on camera. >> i turned to 300 feet, then back flip away from ...

Out of the chopper, shaken but only slightly hurt. >> he actually wasn't even hurt that bad. a few cuts on the face and couple of teeth knocked out, i understand. >> the chopper has not fared as well. >> the helicopter was totaled, completely totaled. unusable. >> within an hour, a rueful dennis is not just walking and talking, he's giving the news conference he had always hoped to avoid. dennis, the safety evaluator, has to assess his own performance and realizes where he had gone wrong. he had forgotten one adjustment to his program and had fallen victim to the high density altitude at the a...

Couple of teeth knocked out, i understand. >> the chopper has not fared as well. >> the helicopter was totaled, completely totaled. unusable. >> within an hour, a rueful dennis is not just walking and talking, he's giving the news conference he had always hoped to avoid. dennis, the safety evaluator, has to assess his own performance and realizes where he'd gone wrong. he had forgotten one adjustment to his program and had fallen victim to the high density altitude at the airfield that day. >> as soon as i started the maneuver, i thought this helicopter is performing fairly normally so i ran i...

At an air show in utah in june of 2008, and one person eager to see it, and videotape it, is tina tyler, an american gyrocopter pilot. >> i packed up my gyro and headed to utah with my camera in hand. >> for dennis, there's a setback at the beginning of the event. the helicopter is unfamiliar and it's heavier than he's used to. >> i normally fly with ten gallons on board, which weighs 80 pounds, 72, in fact, and i had 30 on board, three times the weight. >> as dennis takes off, he's aware of another element that will have a major impact on his performance. >> the air park had two things going ...

>> in utah, it's about 5,000 feet elevation and it was a warm day that day. >> this creates a condition called high density altitude, which actually means hotter, thinner air, giving the pilot less lift and less power. >> i had to take certain steps, make certain changes to my routine. >> dennis calculates the changes he'll make and at first, everything goes smoothly. >> the standard routine commences with pirouette, on the left front skids, rotate the helicopter. >> i got the camera out to take footage of his performance. i was excited about capturing it on camera. >> i turned to 300 feet, th...