This morning Grace and I were invited on a helicopter tour of the greater Los Angeles area in a R44 Raven II. This was my second time in a chopper and far more memorable than the first.
 I've been sailing 18 foot skiffs with a local real estate developer that needed to log some flying time. We were in the air within an hour of the invitation and enjoyed a relaxing, aerial tour. We flew up to the 'no-fly' zone of today's Rose Bowl, down to Long Beach and up the coast to Malibu. The highlight for me was flying along the beach by LAX at a 150 feet of altitude and over 150 kt of speed.  Commercial planes were taking off too the West over our blades.

A big thank you goes out to all those with both means and generosity. Proof that 'trickle down' can work when we all subscribe too 'he with the most toys wins!'

Safety first.
T