I fly a helicopter, not a chopper.
When people find out I’m involved with helicopters, they often make comments about choppers. I often get the feeling they’re doing it to make themselves sound knowledgeable or cool. Like they’re in on the industry slang.
But when I hear the word chopper, I think of a ridiculously proportioned, terribly uncomfortable, likely loud motorcycle. Something from Easy Rider. I don’t think of anything that flies.
I don’t use the words helicopter and chopper interchangeably. I fly helicopters. I might see a chopper parked in front of a biker bar or tattoo parlor. I wouldn’t ride one, though. I have two motorcycles I occasionally ride.
I’ve been told that folks who live in San Francisco hate to hear their city referred to as Frisco. I don’t know if it’s true, but I suspect my feelings about the word chopper are similar.
Are you a helicopter pilot or someone who works with helicopters? If so, please do leave a comment letting us know which you prefer. I have to admit that I don’t know any helicopter pilots who call their rides choppers — unless they have two wheels and a kickstand. If you’re one who does, speak up!
Helicopter. At worst, if I need to abbreviate, Heli.
Chopper is a bike, end of discussion! Totally with Maria on this one.
I agree 100%, and some of the WORST offenders are medical staff.
How funny……. when I read your twitter and before I even clicked the link to your blog, the Frisco analogy was the first thing to run through my head.
Agree, chopper is a bike. Guess I’m partially guilty as I use helo and Frisco.
Markk: I guess they’re thinking M*A*S*H.
Paul: It popped into my head, too. It seemed the perfect analogy.
Dan: Helo or Heli (my preferred version) isn’t so bad. It’s chopper that helicopter pilots don’t seem to like. And Frisco is a lot easier to say than San Francisco, but I stopped using it when I heard that it bothered San Franciscans.
What about “whirlybird”? Anybody got a Dictionary of Americal Regional English handy — an etymological expedition in the making.
And yes, “please don’t call it Frisco” — Frisco is a town in the Colorado Rockies. Around here, we just say “I’m heading into the city today”, and that doesn’t mean Oakland.
Love the blog!
Marie from Berkeley
(not, thank you, “berzerkeley”)
I’m only half your size Maria (an R22 pilot) but agree completely. I doubt you’d ever hear the word “chopper” come out of my mouth.
I do have an “aged” neighbor however whose dentist just put a new set of “choppers” in his mouth! LOL
Tom
Marie: Sadly, whirlybird is seriously outdated. So is eggbeater when used in this sense. That doesn’t mean people who aren’t helicopter pilots don’t use those words. They might. But I don’t think you’ll find a helicopter pilot who does.
Tom: Very funny! :-)
Thanks Marie. Something about Maria’s post somehow sparked a fragment of memory about a TV programme that used to be on when I was a kid and that was about or featured helicopters. Tada: it was called Whirlybirds – a word that had disappeared from my brain. Found info on it in Wikipedia.
Prefer helicopters, but it’s sooo cumbersome in conversation. Chopper, helis, helos…none really do the trick. I end up interchanging them.
Chris: Are you a helicopter pilot? Just curious.
@Maria Langer
Yup. One of the many CFIs that finished just before the economy tanked (fortunately, I’m also a medical writer, and that’s helping to pay the bills). Your blog has been a great resource. Thanks.
I was the writer/helicopter pilot who stirred anew the outrage, and in some replies it was; about ‘copter being a non-pilot, wannabe reference to helicopters, to which the above entries make direct and indirect reference.
Interestingly when I began my instruction, a 15,000+ hour military- trained co-owner of the FBO with whom I flew some and the 10,000+ hour CP both used ‘copter after the first call to a tower or Approach, or when announcing their position to avoid traffic, then they’d shorten it down, thus my use of the contraction which entered my vocabulary accordingly as a student.
They aren’t the only two, high time turbine people, in my perhaps dimuinutive and needless defense, who do so, at least around Southern California.
As I mentioned on JH today, one of the big time pilot types who criticized me, apparently he read pussy, said he calls it a “helo.” and how out of order I was to use ‘copter. Funny, there’s such animosity and snobbery in our midst, while I agree, “chopper,” “whirlybird,” “egg beater,” “mix-master,” etc., are out of the park, I also think helo is wrong as it implies one can’t spell helicopter if it’s serving as an abbreviation.
At age 71, I am a lot more tolerant of such horrible “transgressions” than I used to be, while “San Fran,” still irritates me like “Frisco,” for describing the City.
When we become less self absorbed as age progress and humbles us and decide that being a pilot, doctor, lawyer, isn’t really who we are–doesn’t define us as people like father, son, brother , sister, we don’t clamp down on good intentions and jump quite so fast to make the other guy or lady wrong. Sparp, sarcastic retorts to the good intentions of folks only signify not feeling very well about one’s self to my mind.
Another psychologically insecure and likely dangerously demented critic of my query said that he wished he could be a writer, sit around and do nothing all day, unlike pilots like himself.
Funny, he never gave thought that it was a post 40 year career avocation that pays me about $0.02 an hour at best. Too bad there are so many pilots, many pros at what they do, who ccan be so miserable inside. It’s a good job, requiring talent and skills well beyond what so many in the working field posses, yet because so many pilots are under or uneducated, it’s very pitfully, all they can do and they life in misery. Hats off to the pros, though, who fly, love it and treat others right.
Y’all take care and fly safe. Thanks for the platform and your varied opinions. Doug Templin
Doug: Actually, at the Grand Canyon, Papillon’s call signs all start with “Copter” (as in “Copter 30″). But I don’t know any pilots these days who refer to a helicopter as a copter or chopper. I think I may have heard helo (pronounced “hee-low”). I agree about the abbreviation not looking like good spelling.
As for JH’s forums, I really can’t believe that people with better things to do with their time waste any time there. The only reason I showed up was because someone here had linked back to it. It’s a sad thing. The trolls in the forum threads are so obnoxious and overbearing that they likely chase the real (serious) pilots away. Their behavior prompted my post, “Why Forums Suck” (http://www.aneclecticmind.com/2008/04/11/why-forums-suck/).
I agree with your comments about the critics on forums being insecure and possibly demented. I don’t tolerate that crap here. And I think most forums would be a lot better if they were properly moderated to remove the bitterness and hate.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I hope you’ll stop by again!
Personally, I use ‘heli’, it’s easy and just seems right. Like you said, choppers are something out of “Easy Rider” or like the other reply said, something to used for eating.
Keep up the good work, love your stuff.