This is either a mysterious lighter than air helicopter or a photographer who was able to synchronize his cameras shutter speed with the helicopters rotors.
I still prefer fixed wing aircraft.
Nal located this information from this site:
They do this all the time during maintenance tests. There is a radio source on the helicopter linked to the rotors’ rotational speed, which the camera pics up and uses to trigger the shutter. The technicians can use the video to look at loading and stresses, as well as any deformations. They can use this information to replace damaged or out-of-spec blades.
Seeing is believing?
JT,
Whenever helicopters come up, my Dad always says “You know they don’t fly, they just keep from falling.”
My favorite manifestation of shudder speed vs. movement is in old Westerns when the wagon wheels appear to be spinning backwards.
This was phenomenal. I think it has something to do with the shutter speed time lapse.
Just as amazing as the improbable synchronization of shutter speed to rotor speed, is the fact the rotors are crisp. You’d think they’d move a little while the shutter is open. I guessing that the helicopter is being craned and someone photoshopped out the wires. The wind is causing the tail rotor to spin.
As a po’ ol’ white boy a’loosin’ hisn gawd-givin’ rights tae rule in ‘dis ‘sheer cuntree, I luv this wimmin caint parlel park bashin’
OK, I don’t like the crane idea anymore. The landing gear retracts.
rong thread…
nal,
whats the problemo? just joint our paramilitary battalion in Tejas. W can show you how to fly.
From here:
They do this all the time during maintenance tests. There is a radio source on the helicopter linked to the rotors’ rotational speed, which the camera pics up and uses to trigger the shutter. The technicians can use the video to look at loading and stresses, as well as any deformations. They can use this information to replace damaged or out-of-spec blades.
Thanks Nal, I will add that to the blog posting!
nal,
The Professor has spoken, my heart is broken. I am just pokin fun at you. Teacher Pet. So here’s to you and yes, of course, Clark Gable was a great actor too. Drunk a lot, had to wait until he sobered up a few times to shoot some scenes. In the movie reflecting the tragedy of northern influence as an interjection of social morals and values more commonly known as “Gone With The Wind” here you go.
You people just don’t understand. What this video actually proves is the presence of aliens walking among us, right here, right now. We simply do not have the technology to make these types of videos. I’m surprised no one caught onto that fact. This can only means one thing. Aliens have brought some of their older junk equipment (it looks more discreet) as they “tourist” here on earth. The video was originally broadcast on the Inter Seller Network’s smash hit, “Earth Bloopers”. Should you have the correct security clearance, you can see the original on the computers at the Very Large Array.
All of the perfectly plausible ‘how it was done’ comments here (including the ‘X Division’ and ‘Fringe Program’ allusions) kind of bring me down; I was becoming hopeful that some of the gazillion dollars we have given DARPA was starting to pay off.
I guess I’ll just have to be content with the microwave death-ray that melts peoples eyeballs from them. Here I was thinking that they finally got that anti-grav thingy working, silly me. 
Another video is here.
It looks like the main rotor and the video frame rate just happen to be synchronized, most of the time. I’m not so keen on the radio controlled synchronization anymore, I haven’t been able to confirm that claim.
The MI-24 has a main rotor diameter of 17.3 meters. With a main rotor RPM of say 200, and a video camera with a “shutter speed” of 1/10000, the blades would look fairly crisp (0.7 inches of blur).
You can see the same effect from the onboard cameras in the Red Bull Air Race. It looks extremely odd to see the planes’ propellors still or turning slowly, almost as if the planes are gliding. Shots from other cameras show the propellers spinning as fast as you would expect.
hey this is a good one.Those Ruskis make some damn good Helicopters.Remember that according to Physicists Bumblebees cannot fly given their anatomy which is according to physicists icapable of flight sooooooo……
Chazz