The Kopp-Etchells Effect: Eerie Halo of a Helicopter's Rotor Blades in a Dust Cloud

1. helimx
   September 1st, 2009 at 6:19 pm

   I've heard a few of the old timers at the shop call it " tip arch", but I think they just made that up.

   I think that's a pretty cool tribute to the 2 soldiers.

   I'm a helicopter;mechanic, so I dig this type of stuff.
   thanks for posting it.

2. The Manticore
   September 1st, 2009 at 8:42 pm

   Strinking indeed!

3. Craig
   September 1st, 2009 at 9:48 pm

   "Strinking"????

4. free games for kids
   September 1st, 2009 at 10:25 pm

   wow. interesting phenomenon... for a moment i'd thought they tied christmas lights to the blades.

5. Alex
   September 1st, 2009 at 11:45 pm

   striking ... fixed

6. LisaL
   September 2nd, 2009 at 12:17 am

   Wow, very cool, and also very cool naming it after the 2 soldiers.

7. Charles
   September 2nd, 2009 at 12:34 am

   A cousin who spent some time in Kuwait as a Marine in the mid 90s saw a couple of guys get knocked out cold after jumping out of the chopper before it was properly grounded and the static discharged. Great pic!

8. Foreigner1
   September 2nd, 2009 at 2:34 am

   I also know this phenomenon just as tip arch. 1st time I had a ride on a chopper in high dusty summer we were warned for the static discharge. And I live probably halfway around the world from where helimx lives.

9. plonk
   September 2nd, 2009 at 3:00 am

   Soldiers suck. War sucks. Invading Irak and Afghanistan is a total failure. I'll call it the static electricity effect.

10. helimx
    September 2nd, 2009 at 3:53 am

    I live in Alaska foreigner.

    and yes, static discharge is a major thing to watch out for. when a helicopter does sling loads it builds up a lot of static charge. I've heard stories of ppl having fingertips blow off during dust or rain storms when grabbing the hook.

    and plonk, I'm assuming you're NOT an american? because IF you are, soldiers have given you the right to be able to say what you just said. it's called freedom. there are countries in the world, that if you said that about THEIR army, you'd already have your head chopped off. ya douche canoe.

11. seefish3
    September 2nd, 2009 at 4:04 am

    The Constitution and the Bill of Rights give us the right to say what we want, Helimx, not the barrels of guns.

12. Larfin Jackarse
    September 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 am

    @seefish3. Good come back and accurate too.

    Now just where did Oz put their Bill of Rights? Must go and have a looksee.

13. Foreigner1
    September 2nd, 2009 at 5:58 am

    No Plonk in the very strict sence of an ideal paradise world has a point- War and soldiers suck - IF we would have other means to get those Other bad guys to behave peaceful....

    Most soldiers would agree after they and their buddies were shot at some deadly times that war sucks multiple colours sh*t in their pants at some point. But that at the same time you can call them any time someone tries to do harm to them or their loved ones.

    So if Plonk has better solutions than war and soldiers in Iraq and The Stan - Let him bring tham on...!

14. BrianD
    September 2nd, 2009 at 7:57 am

    I saw this effect myself in Desert Storm. It is very impressive at night, it looks like something from a science fiction movie. I hope the name honoring the fallen soldiers is adopted into general use.

    Plonk: you're a troll, and not a very intelligent one.

15. RonMoses
    September 2nd, 2009 at 10:20 am

    Michael Yon's excellent work is entirely reader-supported. So please consider clicking "Support Next Dispatch" and contributing what you can.

16. Dave D
    September 2nd, 2009 at 11:35 am

    War sucks, soldiers do not. (At least, not any more than other people, and in many cases, less.)

17. helimx
    September 2nd, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    to seefish and larkin...

    what allowed us to be able to write the constitution and the bill of rights??? hmmmmm. war. Had we not gone to war with the british, we'd probably have the queen on our money.

    I agree with Dave D. here.. I am not a supporter of the current war in Iraq. but I will ALWAYS support our troops. I'm not a "pro war" person. but it makes me sad that people have all of these freedoms, but hate the people who die every day to keep them.
    I have lost 4 friends in Iraq/afghanistan, and I believe they died defending something that they believed in. don't take that away from them.

18. Airborne Paratrooper
    September 2nd, 2009 at 9:35 pm

    It is the Soldier, not the church
    Who has given us freedom of religion.

    It is the Soldier, not the reporter
    Who has given us freedom of the press.

    It is the Soldier, not the poet
    Who has given us freedom of speech.

    It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
    Who has given us freedom to protest.

    It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
    Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

    It is the Soldier, not the politician
    Who has given us the right to vote.

    It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
    Who serves beneath the flag,
    Whose coffin is draped by the flag,
    And who allows the protester to burn the flag.
    -Unknown

    I also know this as tip arch. it looks amazing under NVG's (night vision goggles)! It is pretty awkward while riding in a Chinook or blackhawk though and seeing this and a bit eerie, but interesting.

    Though many of us feel that the Iraq war was the wrong turn for the war on terrorism, as it most definitely was and as an Iraq Veteran against the War.. One thing is for certain in wars like these...

    Soldiers don't fight and die for the 'cause' but for the Soldiers to the left and right of them.

    I've lost over 15 that I've known personally through out friends, and the within the military. Lookup: Staff Sergeant Leroy Alexander and realize that he had a wife Marissa with two kids, twins that he never got to see or hold. And I am sorry for your loss as well Helimx.

    As well as the over 600,000 Iraqi civilians that should never have gotten to know American Foreign Policy in that manner...

    The sad truth is we should have finished OBL and the Taliban in Trashcanistan before going or doing anything else. Bombing Iceland would have made about as much sense as Iraq after 9/11...What the fuck was Bush thinkin?? And from him on down the line to Cheney, Rumsfield, etc. should be tried for War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity to show the world that America can uphold justice. But it probably won't happen. Read the Peoples History of the United States by Zinn.

    Seefish
    The Bill of Rights and the entirety of the Constitution and all of its amendments are as good as what we call 'Shit-tickets' with out the means to enforce and uphold them.

    As for Plonk:
    If you're some dumbass, spoiled, suburban, new-age piece of shit, that never worked a hard day in your pathetic little life, with your bars-tool and coffee-shop philosphy and no real fuckin experience to back it up "American." Why don't you post your address and I'll give you a reason to think Soldiers suck.

    Courtesy of my fallen comrades and the US Army.

    RIP Corporal Benjamin Kopp and Corporal Joseph Etchells

19. Ananst22
    September 5th, 2009 at 7:32 pm

    *yawn*
    If I cant stand anything its those american military types that expect everybody to kiss their feet, for whatever reason. Nobody made you go into the military, dont act like your a better breed of person.

    Western democracy is NOT ensured by soldiers alone, or even for the most part. Its upheld by thousands and thousands ordinary citizens, *all* civilians, every day.
    In any case, and in my mind, soldiers are regular people too, they dont magically become a better or even good person because they join the service. Dont shut off your brain because people argue against fighting and killing - you should praise them, since most likely their motivation is to not have *anyone*, including *you* needlessly dying.

    For those particular military types that deem all peaceoriented civilians as "liberal scum" or worse, please step to the frontline. You will not be missed.

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