Can you ID this Helicopter?

A couple days back I was on my patio grilling and this bird came over the hill to the north of me.
It was olive drab, but metallic or glossy with a horizontal white stripe each tail fin.
It was hovering over a neighbor of ours, lets say half mile a way, for a good 3 min or so. Very low as well, just above power line level.
It then continued south and went behind a hill to the east of me and it was gone for a couple min, honestly looked like it landed behind the hill. Popped out and headed south with some pass.

North of me is a Border Patrol checkpoint and the station is another 20 miles or so north of that.
Camp Pendleton would be south west of me and MCAS Miramr about 40 miles south. Just to give you an idea of who would be flying around.
I do have pictures, but by the time I got my phone he was far away.
Hopefully these help



I have a few more but it is of it going down behind the hill and it blends in very nicely with the hills and the brush.
Oh and the guy I could see in the bird, only got a good look at the guy in the door, was wearing what looked like what the marine pilots wear
www.gibson-barnes.com...
The guy on the right, the lighter color suit.

a reply to: Sremmos80

Hard to say for sure without bigger pictures but it looks like a eurocopter BK117, which is commonly used as an air ambulance or for search and rescue.



link

That is the Eurocopter UH72 Lakota. It is used as a medevac bird typically by the US Army. Not sure if its used by the marine corps for anything but you arent terribly far from NTC. Dont be surprised if you see them from time to time.

a reply to: projectvxn

well..that was easy ..and yes

a reply to: DeadSeraph

Ya this is it. And i imagine if the us army uses it then it was the border patrol.
Good deal, thanks

a reply to: projectvxn
Ya we get stuff flying around all day. Just I usually know what it is cause it is out of one of the base's. Just had never seen that particular bird and it was snooping around.
Thanks for the help tho

Really? You have nothing better to do besides taking pictures of random helicopters and taking notes of who goes inside them and what they're wearing posting them on forums linking their exact uniforms and then act like its all natural?

Paranoid much?

a reply to: FraternitasSaturni

Sorry for having a vivid recollection of the day it happened.
Yes I thought it was out of the ordinary and it was a helicopter I didn't recognize.
Take it for what it is worth, this happened like 2 weeks ago and I just got around to uploading the pics
Ya I guess I lied in op. Sue me

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: FraternitasSaturni

Sorry for having a vivid recollection of the day it happened.
Yes I thought it was out of the ordinary and it was a helicopter I didn't recognize.
Take it for what it is worth, this happened like 2 weeks ago and I just got around to uploading the pics
Ya I guess I lied in op. Sue me

See... it wasnt that hard. No need to pretend. Its not like 90% of this forum is "normal" in some way or another anyway... lol

hehe Take care mate.

a reply to: projectvxn

BUT it's black! It is the mysterious black helicopter...lol! I agree with the UH 72 or a BK117.

I've personally seen black, Blackhawk helicopters parked on the pad of a nearby Coast Guard base. Only marking was a Homeland Security seal on the main door. Bottom was black, and no apparent tail numbers, etc. No fiction here, observed fact.

I've seen them flying around every now and then, mostly pretty low, lower than local traffic choppers. Not sure what they are looking for when they do, as often making several passes over the same area. No reason to doubt they are either assisting the military or law enforcement.

a reply to: Gazrok

Look at the picture, then apply the "inverse square law" on a planar view, that's why it is black...lol!


BTW, what is the significance of black helicopters? Why are people so moved to always comment when one flies over...black is not an uncommon color for a civil helicopter. Are we so backward that they are in awe of flying helicopters? How about white helicopters with high-vis markings with national insignia on the sides? Some white ones are heavily armed too! Is it fear of ugly colored helos and the perceived weapons on board. Just a consideration for the black helicopter watchers; they are extremely expensive to maintain, extremely expensive to fly and expensive to keep pilots proficient to fly them and they won't be out there to mess with the public. The Blackhawk for example cost approx. 2500 dollars an hour to operate. The Marine CH 53 Jolly Green Giant cost about 10 grand an hour to fly.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: DeadSeraph

Ya this is it. And i imagine if the us army uses it then it was the border patrol.
Good deal, thanks

Yes, the U.S military uses it. As one of the members above pointed out, it's military designation in the U.S is the UH-72 / Eurocopter EC145 which is a variation of the BK 117. Lots of state search and rescue units use the civilian variation, as well as hospitals for air ambulance.

a reply to: Gazrok

Or they are flying traffic patterns for pilot progression.

Those tail numbers are there though. Sometimes they are black so they are hard to see.

originally posted by: buddah6
a reply to: projectvxn

BUT it's black! It is the mysterious black helicopter...lol! I agree with the UH 72 or a BK117.

I would agree with the BK117 but the description of the color scheme is the same as the Lakota helos being flown at NTC.

a reply to: projectvxn

What NTC is near me?
Cause it was the first one that I have seen, and haven't seen another since.
Only other birds i see are the 46's and 53's from pendlton and miramar, well not only those two, but I see those the most.
Also, if they were out of the NTC, would they be checking out houses in a valley?

I do live by a abundance of nursery's in So Cal... seems border patrol is the most logical answer at this point
Would explain the the color scheme too would it not?

a reply to: projectvxn

I got some great pics of a stripped down Blackhawk sitting in a truck stop on a trailer recently. I was MAYBE 30 feet away, and zoomed in on the tail boom, and you can barely make out the United States Army on it.

a reply to: Sremmos80

Im not sure if BP uses Lakota helos. NTC is an enormous reservation taking up a lot of real estate to include many bases in southern California and Nevada.

a reply to: Zaphod58
Well then please post them! When you get the spare time of course.

a reply to: Mikeultra

They're already up in another thread. I'll see if I can find them in my library and repost them.