Most Expensive Top Gear Episode Ever

Sure they deal with a lot of expensive cars and even wreck some of them.  Nothing that would cost this much though:

During a filming of the Korean Top Gear, an AH1 Cobra helicopter was being used to film a Corvette in the Arizona desert, when the pilot lost control. Amazingly, both helicopter pilots were treated at the scene and walked away unharmed.

Pretty funny.  I hope for the sake of the pilot’s self esteem and job they will find something went haywire with the avionics.  Wikipedia lists the 1994 price of the AH1 helicopter as $11.3M… OUCH!

Maybe the damage will just buff out?


Comments

17 responses to “Most Expensive Top Gear Episode Ever”

  1. DanTheViking Avatar
    DanTheViking

    Weeeeeeeel shit.

  2. Fiendir Avatar

    >That’s how I fly in BF3 lol

    People keep stealing my horrible comments all the time.

    1. MrMaigo Avatar

      Thats what I was gonna say too

  3. NikonMikon Avatar
    NikonMikon

    lord have mercy

  4. overkill556x45 Avatar
    overkill556x45

    “If the wings are moving faster than the fuselage, it’s probably a helicopter, and therefore unsafe.”

  5. Shitty day for that pilot. He probably worked and trained like crazy for years to earn a seat in that machine… I hope there was a malfunction.

  6. I saw this story somewhere and it said that it was an engine failure. It also said that the helicopter was racing the car down a runway, not filming it.

    1. Considering it was an AH1 and not a standard civilian chopper, that would make a lot more sense.

      1. Yeah, I’m sure there are much better and more economical platforms for aerial photography than a 30 year-old attack helicopter.

  7. Not as expensive as you think, there are a few surplus out there in the civilian market for less than $1 million, I have a link to an ad but it won’t let me post it apparently…

    www. controller. com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/BELL-AH-1G/BELL-AH-1G/1174413.htm?
    Take out the spaces, I bet you can talk them down to at least $750,000

    1. The helicopter that crashed is 16 years newer than the one for sale. It is an “f” model – much more modern than a Vietnam-era Cobra.

      1. Don’t get me wrong, aircraft values can vary greatly, but as you say there are limited things a Cobra can do in the civilian market. The only thing that would have changed from those models would mainly be the engine, airframe upgrades, and total time on the airframe. Most of the military advantage upgrades in avionics are lost to the de-mil process. The Cobra only pretty much only falls into the niche uses of rich boy toys, airshows, firefighting, and apparently photography. I wouldn’t expect even that -F go for much more than $1 million (can’t find one for sale right now). It is the part of the same reason why surplus jet trainers like L-39s are able to be found for less than a new Cessna 172 (which sticker price is around $300,000 this year). They may be more fun, but in the long run they are actually less practical aircraft.

  8. Finally, the Top Gear hosts win a race.

  9. hydepark Avatar

    I just told my dad to watch this video (he piloted various huey-types in Vietnam and later in peace time) and he lol’d. Said he would have liked to have it instead of it becoming expediently “demilled”

    1. ENDO-Mike Avatar
      ENDO-Mike

      haha that’s great.

    2. Said he would have liked to have it instead of it becoming expediently “demilled”

      Well, technically, it was no longer a military helicopter, so it would have already been “demilled.” That helo is/was owned by a 501(c)(3) corporation – the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation and Museum. Definitely ashamed that it was destroyed like this though…

      http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6508269&nseq=1

      This is probably a good example of why flying at altitude too low to allow you to react to mechanical failure or wind shear and turbulence. Matt the CF double I can speak to that better than me, if he’s still watching this thread.

      1. Definitely ashamed that it was destroyed like this though…

        Wow, am I not paying attention to what I’m doing – “a shame that is was destroyed…”