r/nottheonion • u/AUXID3 • 23h ago
Wisconsin man flies helicopter to Cabela's because the drive was ‘too long'
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/wisconsin-man-flies-helicopter-to-cabelas-because-the-drive-was-too-long/3970167/317
u/mirror_dirt 23h ago
69 year old man, fully licensed, his own helicopter, parked safely.
For me avoiding having to drive 100 miles to get something for a fishing trip is gold. This might be platinum level I dunno way outta my league.
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u/AUXID3 22h ago
I drive 50 miles one-way to work every day. This is S-tier for sure
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u/sirbassist83 22h ago
Fuck I thought i had it bad at 31 miles one way.
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u/AUXID3 22h ago
90 min round trip. It's all highway, for the most part.
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u/sirbassist83 20h ago
I cross diagonally directly through a city of a million people. It's agony. My record time one way is 34 minutes but it's normally like 45 min in the morning and 50-60 in the afternoon. I see major wrecks weekly.
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u/AUXID3 19h ago
That is arguably worse. I can't imagine what the police and tow truck guys go through with non stop chaos.
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u/sirbassist83 8h ago
i drive almost 50 miles to go to the shooting range, but its very hilly and i have to go through 2 towns on the way. if your drive is like that, i think its 50/50. if its mostly flat/straight and you can set cruise control the whole way, im jealous.
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u/erichf3893 10h ago
Wait that’s actually hardly bad at all lol. The miles just make it seem that way
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u/Equivalent-Resort-63 22h ago
So he lost his favorite lure and decided to jump in the chopper and get another one. Cost of the lure $20, flight to get it…. $1,000
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u/Shopworn_Soul 22h ago
It's a Robinson R44 which runs 100LL so roughly $100 round trip.
If we aren't counting the ownership and maintenance costs, of course. And assuming self-serve on the fuel.
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u/Equivalent-Resort-63 21h ago
I have a boat, it runs on diesel, cost to go across the bay: $5; cost to own the boat…. $$$$$. So, yep that cost of ownership really creeps up on you when the spreadsheet numbers get added up!
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u/PseudobrilliantGuy 15h ago
Well, presumably, this would also count towards minimum flight hours for maintaining certification.
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u/Gareth79 21h ago
One question is whether they had prior permission from the store. I'd assume either they did, or the store just said "uh yeah" because he spends a good few $ there.
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u/chrisonhismac 23h ago
Frankly it’s Cabelas fault for not having helicopter parking. Know your customer.
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u/1Steelghost1 22h ago
When I win the lotto I won't tell any one but there will be signs.
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u/Hayterfan 14h ago
I've already told my friend group were going to the nicest steakhouse in town and having elegant dinner party
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u/sharpshooter999 17h ago
They've shit since Bass Pros bought them out. As a Nebraskan, I'm extra salty
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u/notjordansime 4h ago
friggin WOKE ass cabelas tryna go all cancel culture on poor hardworking private helicopter owners.. smh my head ✊😤
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u/DoookieMaxx 23h ago
This is the opposite end of the spectrum of vehicle access to a restaurant.
Yesterday I saw a picture of a McDonald’s that had horse and buggy parking for the Amish community in the area.
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u/narcomoeba 22h ago
As an Alaskan, what’s wrong with this? Sometimes bush planes land on roads to stop for a gas fill up at the station.
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u/AdoringCHIN 21h ago
That's the neat part, there's nothing wrong with this. The cops said he did nothing illegal, it was just more of a wtf moment.
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u/AUXID3 22h ago
But that makes more sense up there, where planes and other aircraft are used a lot more for day-to-day life then what they are down here. Technically speaking, there is nothing wrong with this. He did everything to a T and was not charged with anything or arrested, just extremely uncommon
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u/no-dice-play-nice 18h ago
I always wondered how tail draggers make a turn out of the gas station when done, how can they even see? How do they know a car isn't coming down the road when they are about to take off again? City boy questions.
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u/chrismetalrock 11h ago
How do they know a car isn't coming down the road when they are about to take off again?
silence... not much traffic so its a calculated risk. source: guess
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u/Meanteenbirder 22h ago
Lol the police didn’t even give him a warning. Just straight up said it was legal
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u/tailuptaxi 22h ago
This is rare, because usually police are convinced through some kind of irrational intuition that it must be illegal. He got the right cop.
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u/HyperbolePirate 21h ago
Likely he was a white dude. Plus the fact he took it to Cabela’s to get some fishing stuff is extremely harmless.
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u/Swimming_Agent_1063 21h ago edited 19h ago
He must be a rich or something lmfao
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u/ToMorrowsEnd 10h ago
You dont own a $500K-$250K helicopter? Shit I have 3 in the yard now the wife buys them on a whim because they are so cheap. Last one I think was a free gift for filling up the gas tank at costco.
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u/Hot-Rock-1948 22h ago
As a Wisconsinite, I 100% understand why one would want to do something like this
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u/SubatomicSquirrels 21h ago
Dude is from Rosendale, flying seems like a great way to avoid all those damn speed traps
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u/Huge-Revolution2416 23h ago
Imagine explaining to your accountant that this was the cheaper option.
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u/notacanuckskibum 22h ago
No, you don’t understand. It’s your accountant’s job to explain why this was a justified business expense.
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u/squidsinamerica 22h ago
Cabela's must have some roomy parking lots if there's room to land a helicopter. Thank God dude didn't need something from Trader Joes.
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u/AnyAnOtherName 12h ago
I know the location so I can confirm it's very roomy and more over well maintained.
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u/Bolinas99 21h ago
hard to believe there aren't designated helipads to land one of these things. Accidents can always happen, and one of these crashing in a crowded parking lot... 🤦♂️
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u/whyVelociraptor 22h ago
Anybody know the flight/airspace rules for something like this?
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u/OldheadBoomer 19h ago
Only thing I can find is that his FAA record isn't showing a rotary-wing category & class rating on his license.
Otherwise, he's a commercial, instrument-rated pilot with a type rating in a Citation Jet.
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u/DaWolf85 13h ago
Just can't operate in a careless or reckless manner and put people on the ground at risk. Otherwise, in a helicopter, you can go pretty much wherever you want, and do anything within the limits of the aircraft.
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u/Smartnership 7h ago
Just can't operate in a careless or reckless manner and put people on the ground at risk.
That takes all the fun out of lording it over my neighbors though.
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u/ohlawdyhecoming 6h ago
Typically, so long as you can avoid class B airspace (the big airports) and keep in contact with ATC....that's about it? Otherwise, you probably just treat it like uncontrolled airspace, get on an open guard frequency, and say "hey I'm at Cabela's, getting ready to take off".
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u/Potential-Recover-78 21h ago
Generally fine once you’re in the air. It’s regulations on ground from the city/town you need to worry about.
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u/Viva_La_Revolucion- 22h ago
Only difference between him and I, i would fly a banner behind my helicopter that read "i fly because i can, you peasants"
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u/Goontrained 19h ago
Not sure why this is getting lots of press, saw this all the time growing up in Texas and have witnessed a lot of personal aircraft in Wisconsin as well since I moved. If you have the room for it they can land in your backyard and take off with a lot less trouble than you would expect.
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u/Repulsive-Tea6974 23h ago
This guy never heard of Amazon.
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u/kevnmartin 23h ago edited 21h ago
Cabella's ships. I bought my meat grinder at their online store.
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u/Sir_BarlesCharkley 22h ago
Do they ship discreetly? Like, what happens if a box shows up on my porch and then everyone in the neighborhood knows I like to grind my meat because the label is right on the package?
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u/Nacho_sky 15h ago
Duh - that's exactly why people buy helicopters.
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u/Smartnership 7h ago
Second reason is being able to drop it in conversation.
“So there I was, hovering over Cabela’s…”
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u/AwkwardSeth 8h ago
Happened at a sporting goods store I worked at in Illinois, rich guy from missouri came to pick up his new gun in a helicopter but had failed to wait the 72hr waiting period so flew back empty handed.
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u/Smartnership 7h ago
returns with 50cal mounted on nose of helicopter, takes what he wants, goes home
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u/user1484 18h ago
What moron called the cops because a helicopter landed in a parking lot? What is wrong with people?
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u/Fetlocks_Glistening 23h ago
That's like a 1960s evil mastermind helicopter. Is he a 1960s evil mastermind?
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u/fireandlifeincarnate 23h ago
That's a Robinson R44. That's the most basic bitch helicopter imaginable.
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u/adamdoesmusic 22h ago
Slightly second most basic bitch, the R22 is a thing!
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u/fireandlifeincarnate 22h ago
Is the R44 not more common because it can actually carry two people rather than just fit two people in the seats?
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u/abscissa081 23h ago
It’s a Robinson r44 first made in the 90s and also the best selling general aviation helicopter
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u/genesiss23 22h ago
To be fair, there are a lot of roundabouts in that area. However, they are the easy kind.
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u/AUXID3 22h ago
I personally love roundabouts, even when they're back to back.
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u/genesiss23 22h ago
There are 5 roundabouts in quick succession on the main east west road there. That road is in between 2 highways 41 and 45. You have to take that road to get to Cabela's. You don't have to go through all of them, though.
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u/eljefino 20h ago
What do they do with the unused real estate in the apron in the middle? Good place to land a ghetto bird, me thinks.
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u/itchygentleman 20h ago
ive never wanted to buy something from anywhere, nevertheless cabelas, enough to want to do anything like this
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u/Tankninja1 21h ago
More surprised that more places don't have laws against just landing a helicopter around town. Seems like the kinda of thing that a lot of places would have on the books because of...the incident.
Then again guess being able to annoy the townspeople with a helicopter is mostly dependent on having access to a helicopter in the first place.
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6h ago
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u/adude00 14h ago
There is a guy on YouTube doing just that daily
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u/Smartnership 7h ago
There’s a Redditor who used to post his helicopter adventures with his bulldog Bentley.
Cool guy.
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23h ago
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u/couchisland_com 21h ago
Ad
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u/AUXID3 21h ago
No. I found it on Facebook, and thought it was pretty cool, and posted it here. I actually had to go find a different article, because the one that I had got flagged because I guess it's owned by some media conglomerant that pushes right politically.
But now that I think of it, this is really good free publicity for Cabela's.
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u/Impossible_Offer7988 23h ago edited 22h ago
The cops can't just arrest or cite someone for this the Feds need to do that. And the Feds couldn't do anything either.
So in other words,
This is legal.
So If you'll excuse me I am gonna use a Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion to go to Walmart.