*White* Helicopters??!!!

[Stephen Harding]

Russian *White* helicopters, the analog to our ubiquitous,
yet never confirmed "black helicopters"?

A couple days ago the news mentioned Russians rescuing some
Russian (??) scientists at an Antarctic station. I think
the ice had broken loose from the continent.

Some video of the rescue showed the helicopters to be white
in color! I thought to myself that this is a rather
unusual color scheme for arctic work, where orange is more
typically applied.

Knowing the Russian penchant for secrecy and varying degrees
of paranoia, is this an actual official color scheme for an
arctic based chopper, or one dragged up for other purposes
being locally used?

Perhaps white helicopters from the former Nazi secret Antarctic
submarine base??!!!


SMH

[Kevin Brooks]

"Stephen Harding" > wrote in message
...
> Russian *White* helicopters, the analog to our ubiquitous,
> yet never confirmed "black helicopters"?
>
> A couple days ago the news mentioned Russians rescuing some
> Russian (??) scientists at an Antarctic station. I think
> the ice had broken loose from the continent.
>
> Some video of the rescue showed the helicopters to be white
> in color! I thought to myself that this is a rather
> unusual color scheme for arctic work, where orange is more
> typically applied.
>
> Knowing the Russian penchant for secrecy and varying degrees
> of paranoia, is this an actual official color scheme for an
> arctic based chopper, or one dragged up for other purposes
> being locally used?
>
> Perhaps white helicopters from the former Nazi secret Antarctic
> submarine base??!!!

Interestingly enough, and in all seriousness, the US Army once experamented
with the "white helicopter" bit. Rather stupidly, too. When my brother was
flying dustoff in Vietnam, some underemployed staffer got the bright idea
that if they painted the medevac birds white, then maybe the NVA would stop
shooting at them so much. It was not a very popular move with the crews, who
promptly labled them as "White Elephants". For good reason the idea did not
catch on beyond a couple of trial versions--one of which flew into a
mountainside with the loss of the crew. My brother was selected to
investigate the mishap, and in one of those strange twists of fate the world
sometimes tosses at us, during his review of the crew records found that the
crew chief on that bird was born in the same very small western North
Carolina town that he himself had been born in. Years later when I was in
the area I called my brother and got the guys name, then after a quick check
in the phone book ended up talking to one of his cousins; turned out his
parents were still alive but not in good health, so I didn't bother them but
the cousin said she'd stop by and tell them their son had not been
forgotten. Went over to the local courthouse and found the guy's name on the
county war memorial on the front lawn.

Brooks

>
>
> SMH
>

[John]

Kevin Brooks wrote:

>
> Interestingly enough, and in all seriousness, the US Army once experamented
> with the "white helicopter" bit. Rather stupidly, too
>
> > SMH
> >

IIRC: Air America flew "White helicopters" in SEA. as well..

[Kevin Brooks]

"John" > wrote in message
...
>
> Kevin Brooks wrote:
>
> >
> > Interestingly enough, and in all seriousness, the US Army once
experamented
> > with the "white helicopter" bit. Rather stupidly, too
> >
> > > SMH
> > >
>
> IIRC: Air America flew "White helicopters" in SEA. as well..

Close to it. From what I have seen they tended more towards the natural
metal, though there is a replica AA Huey with predominant white surfaces.
The White Elephants were all white. You can see a photo of an AA Huey at:

http://airwarvietnam.com/Bell%20UH-1B%20%20N1304X%20TanSonNhut25FEB70%20SlideSheet10. jpg

You can see a photo of a White Elephant at:

http://www.dustoff.org/photo/images/Huey1.jpg

Brooks
>
>
>
>

[Chad Irby]

In article >,
Stephen Harding > wrote:

> Russian *White* helicopters, the analog to our ubiquitous,
> yet never confirmed "black helicopters"?

Black "camouflage" doesn't really work that well at night. Medium gray
is much better.

Not to mention the pink ones (pink camouflage works quite well in many
situations).

--
cirby at cfl.rr.com

Remember: Objects in rearview mirror may be hallucinations.
Slam on brakes accordingly.

[Grantland]

"Kevin Brooks" > wrote:

>
>"Stephen Harding" > wrote:

>> Russian *White* helicopters, the analog to our ubiquitous,
>> yet never confirmed "black helicopters"?
>>
>> A couple days ago the news mentioned Russians rescuing some
>> Russian (??) scientists at an Antarctic station. I think
>> the ice had broken loose from the continent.
>>
>> Some video of the rescue showed the helicopters to be white
>> in color! I thought to myself that this is a rather
>> unusual color scheme for arctic work, where orange is more
>> typically applied.
>>
>> Knowing the Russian penchant for secrecy and varying degrees
>> of paranoia, is this an actual official color scheme for an
>> arctic based chopper, or one dragged up for other purposes
>> being locally used?
>>
>> Perhaps white helicopters from the former Nazi secret Antarctic
>> submarine base??!!!
>
>Interestingly enough, and in all seriousness, the US Army once experamented
>with the "white helicopter" bit. Rather stupidly, too. When my brother was
>flying dustoff in Vietnam, some underemployed staffer got the bright idea
>that if they painted the medevac birds white, then maybe the NVA would stop
>shooting at them so much. It was not a very popular move with the crews, who
>promptly labled them as "White Elephants". For good reason the idea did not
>catch on beyond a couple of trial versions--one of which flew into a
>mountainside with the loss of the crew. My brother was selected to
>investigate the mishap, and in one of those strange twists of fate the world
>sometimes tosses at us, during his review of the crew records found that the
>crew chief on that bird was born in the same very small western North
>Carolina town that he himself had been born in. Years later when I was in
>the area I called my brother and got the guys name, then after a quick check
>in the phone book ended up talking to one of his cousins; turned out his
>parents were still alive but not in good health, so I didn't bother them but
>the cousin said she'd stop by and tell them their son had not been
>forgotten. Went over to the local courthouse and found the guy's name on the
>county war memorial on the front lawn.
>
>Brooks
>
I'm touched - no lie.

Grantland

(I also see several feasible derogatory comebacks.. heh)

[David Windhorst]

Chad Irby wrote:

>
>
>
>Not to mention the pink ones (pink camouflage works quite well in many
>situations).
>
>
>
I'm almost afraid to ask... ;>)

[Kevin Brooks]

"David Windhorst" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Chad Irby wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >
> >Not to mention the pink ones (pink camouflage works quite well in many
> >situations).
> >
> >
> >
> I'm almost afraid to ask... ;>)

Pink is a pretty good shade for desert camouflage. IIRC, shades approaching
pink were even included in the UD desert BDU pattern (the one that
immediately followed the "chocolate chip" pattern).

Brooks
>

[Chad Irby]

In article >,
David Windhorst > wrote:

> Chad Irby wrote:
>
> >
> >Not to mention the pink ones (pink camouflage works quite well in many
> >situations).
> >
> I'm almost afraid to ask... ;>)

Well, for ships there's "Mountbatten Pink."

<http://www.shipcamouflage.com/3_2.htm>

Then there's the SAS "Pink Panther" desert camo:

<http://www.landroverclub.net/Club/HTML/Pink_panther.htm>

Funny things happen when you start looking at how to hide things. Like
putting lights on them (light up a plane a certain amount during the day
or dusk, and contrast goes away).

--
cirby at cfl.rr.com

Remember: Objects in rearview mirror may be hallucinations.
Slam on brakes accordingly.

[Errol Cavit]

Stephen Harding > wrote in message >...
> Russian *White* helicopters, the analog to our ubiquitous,
> yet never confirmed "black helicopters"?
>
> A couple days ago the news mentioned Russians rescuing some
> Russian (??) scientists at an Antarctic station. I think
> the ice had broken loose from the continent.
>
> Some video of the rescue showed the helicopters to be white
> in color! I thought to myself that this is a rather
> unusual color scheme for arctic work, where orange is more
> typically applied.

The RNZAF used to have a detachment of 4 Hueys in East Timor as part
of the UN mission. Normally UN choppers are white (with a big "UN" on
the side), but due to the constant cycling of individual machines
through the detachment and the costs of repainting them, we were only
required to keep two deployed choppers in the 'right' colours. However
occasionally a white chopper (with the "UN" painted over) would be
used within NZ. Year before last an early snowstorm saw our Hueys
being used to distribute feed to stock in the snow-covered high
country - including at least one white one seen on TV.

So maybe the unit they came from has been on UN (or maybe NATO in
Kosovo?) duties somewhere, and not repainted?

Cheers, Errol Cavit
"You should never bet against anything in science at odds of more than
about 10^12 to 1." Attributed to Ernest Rutherford.

[Alan Minyard]

On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 08:50:14 -0500, Stephen Harding > wrote:

>Russian *White* helicopters, the analog to our ubiquitous,
>yet never confirmed "black helicopters"?
>
>A couple days ago the news mentioned Russians rescuing some
>Russian (??) scientists at an Antarctic station. I think
>the ice had broken loose from the continent.
>
>Some video of the rescue showed the helicopters to be white
>in color! I thought to myself that this is a rather
>unusual color scheme for arctic work, where orange is more
>typically applied.
>
>Knowing the Russian penchant for secrecy and varying degrees
>of paranoia, is this an actual official color scheme for an
>arctic based chopper, or one dragged up for other purposes
>being locally used?
>
>Perhaps white helicopters from the former Nazi secret Antarctic
>submarine base??!!!
>
>
>SMH

I recently saw a photograph of some abandoned helos at Chernobyl
and they were white also. They did not appear to be "cocooned", as
numerous other vehicles in the shot are of different colors.

FW IW

Al Minyard

[David E. Powell]

"Kevin Brooks" > wrote in message
...
>
> "David Windhorst" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Chad Irby wrote:
> >
> > >Not to mention the pink ones (pink camouflage works quite well in many
> > >situations).
> > >
> > I'm almost afraid to ask... ;>)
>
> Pink is a pretty good shade for desert camouflage. IIRC, shades
approaching
> pink were even included in the UD desert BDU pattern (the one that
> immediately followed the "chocolate chip" pattern).
>
> Brooks

Also, pink or pinkish-orange shades were part of the mottling in some old
Soviet camo patterns for aircraft.

As for white choppers used in the Arctic, white is a good camo color there,
and they also could have been commandeered from another place or civilian
service. If one was going to make a modern "white helicopter" camoflage
pattern, I would suppose whitish LCD panels might be possible for daytime
use, capable of being shifted to gray or black for night.

DEP

[David E. Powell]

"Errol Cavit" > wrote in message
om...
> Stephen Harding > wrote in message
>...
> > Russian *White* helicopters, the analog to our ubiquitous,
> > yet never confirmed "black helicopters"?
> >
> > A couple days ago the news mentioned Russians rescuing some
> > Russian (??) scientists at an Antarctic station. I think
> > the ice had broken loose from the continent.
> >
> > Some video of the rescue showed the helicopters to be white
> > in color! I thought to myself that this is a rather
> > unusual color scheme for arctic work, where orange is more
> > typically applied.
>
> The RNZAF used to have a detachment of 4 Hueys in East Timor as part
> of the UN mission. Normally UN choppers are white (with a big "UN" on
> the side), but due to the constant cycling of individual machines
> through the detachment and the costs of repainting them, we were only
> required to keep two deployed choppers in the 'right' colours. However
> occasionally a white chopper (with the "UN" painted over) would be
> used within NZ. Year before last an early snowstorm saw our Hueys
> being used to distribute feed to stock in the snow-covered high
> country - including at least one white one seen on TV.
>
> So maybe the unit they came from has been on UN (or maybe NATO in
> Kosovo?) duties somewhere, and not repainted?

Very good point. If there is no need to repaint a unit's choppers, might as
well let it go. Certainly the crews in question deserve a well done either
way.

> Cheers, Errol Cavit
> "You should never bet against anything in science at odds of more than
> about 10^12 to 1." Attributed to Ernest Rutherford.

[Kulvinder Singh Matharu]

On Mon, 8 Mar 2004 14:00:26 -0500, "Kevin Brooks"
> wrote:

[snip]
>Pink is a pretty good shade for desert camouflage. IIRC, shades approaching
>pink were even included in the UD desert BDU pattern (the one that
>immediately followed the "chocolate chip" pattern).

And don't forget the "Pink Panthers" from Gulf War '91 ;-)

--
Kulvinder Singh Matharu
Contact details : http://www.metalvortex.com/form/form.htm
Website : http://www.metalvortex.com/

"It ain't Coca Cola, it's rice" - The Clash