So, I don't know very much about aircraft, but what type of geographical range can a helicopter cover? Maybe this means the island is closer to "civilization" than we may have thought?

Couldn't a helicopter take off from an aircraft carrier???

So, I don't know very much about aircraft, but what type of geographical range can a helicopter cover? Maybe this means the island is closer to "civilization" than we may have thought?

That's a very good point. If that was in fact a helicopter, it either came from dry land fairly close by or off a ship or platform's (like an oil rig) helipad. Whatever the case, other people are nearby. In the end, I think we'll find out that the Island is a lot closer to civilization than it would seem.

i actually asked this in the 'watching live' thread i think, and someone said a military helicopter with extra tanks could fly for about 3-4 hours, if i remember correctly (i'll go double check). anyway, i thought the fact that it was a helicopter would be significant as well, but i guess a bit more info is needed to confirm/deny

It could have been a VTOL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VTOL)(vertical take-off & landing) aircraft.. An airplane, but with rotors to allow for vertical ascent/descent.. This type specifically is a tiltorotor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiltrotor)

I posted this exact thought on another thread. Wondering what kind of range a helicopter has and the fact that they have to be either fairly close to another island or mainland or the copter took off from a ship or carrier.

We need someone who knows about helicopters to fill us in on this. Anyone?

A helicopter can stay up in the air indefinetly...because they can refuel in flight...(A Perfect Storm, anyone?). If it was getting refuelled mid-flight, Penny is pulling no punches in finding that island!! But she said herself..."With enough money and determination...you can find anyone".

I have a feeling it didn't run outta gas...I think it smacked into the same invisible sheild around the island that 815 smacked into when it ripped into pieces.

If its was a Helicopter then it was ditched for some reason. The pilot bailed out and landed on the island. Or the island is close to where the Potuguese's are located. Ben is obiviously lying about the island or someone knows how to get to the island???

I think the helicopter was sent by Penny and the parachute girl is working with the guys in Antarctica. They knew where the island was from when the sky turned purple.

Penny send her.

The Portugese guys got her an exact gps location and she sent a ship out to it but they were blocked by the barrier. I believe they found out it was a dome shaped one they could'nt break through at sea level, so they just tried breaking through from the top center by taking a chopper to a high altitude to slowly drop straight down in hopes it would cause less turbulence.

I believe this because she was wearing an oxygen mask, indicating high altitude flight. She was over the 'dome' tryin to come down through it. The chopper crashed a good distance away because of the barrier. In a sense it 'rolled' down it into the sea.

That makes sense. It's a far out theory ... but somehow it comforts me.

It might be a clue about when the Island is.

"Is a helicopter supposed to sound like that?"

What, with the rotors speeding up and slowing down, like it was crossing some sort of time barrier.....

I don't quite understand the pilot's pressure suit, helmet and oxygen mask. That suggests she was flying at very high altitudes -- something that helicopters cannot do.

A helicopter can stay up in the air indefinetly...because they can refuel in flight...(A Perfect Storm, anyone?). If it was getting refuelled mid-flight, Penny is pulling no punches in finding that island!! But she said herself..."With enough money and determination...you can find anyone".

I have a feeling it didn't run outta gas...I think it smacked into the same invisible sheild around the island that 815 smacked into when it ripped into pieces.

So far we have been lead to believe Flight 815 crashed because of Desmond letting the timer reach 0. I even think it was confirmed by TPTB. It couldn't have been just a coincidence. So perhaps, this shield was actually off pre-crash and that's why they could still contact the outside world. Now, after the Swan blew up, this shield is on all the time and that is why they can't communicate with the world. And this could also be the reason why the helicopter crashed against this invisible 'wall'.
Something happened to this helicopter that made it crash and a clue as to what it might be is in the sound it made just before crashing.

I don't quite understand the pilot's pressure suit, helmet and oxygen mask. That suggests she was flying at very high altitudes -- something that helicopters cannot do.

My friend mentioned this to me as well, and I find it very odd. I can't wait to hear the pilot's story! Hopefully she won't get eaten by the monster before she has the chance to talk... pilots don't fare so well on the island (see Flight 815 and the yellow beachcraft).

I've said it before and I'll say it again (in fact, right now.) In Enter 77, Marvin Candle makes reference to "mainland communication." This implies that the island is part of a larger archipelago or located off the shore of a major land mass. Since there's hardly a patch of rock on the face of this planet that some country hasn't laid claim to or fought another country over, it must be well and truly hidden.

a typical helicopter can go about 250 miles, and thats it.

Only army helos can refuel in air.

The US Coast Guard helos don't have mid air refueling probes and neither do any commercial helos.


if the jumper was in a helicopter it had to come from a ship or refueling base within a 250 mile circle of the island

Yes, the pressure suit and oxygen mask are confusing. This would assume she was at a high altitude, but a helicopter cannot fly at high altitudes because there is not enough air at a high altitude for a copter to push down and keep it up.

a typical helicopter can go about 250 miles, and thats it.

Only army helos can refuel in air.

The US Coast Guard helos don't have mid air refueling probes and neither do any commercial helos.


if the jumper was in a helicopter it had to come from a ship or refueling base within a 250 mile circle of the island

And if the pilot had any hope of taking Desmond back, wouldn't she have to make a round trip, meaning the helo took off from somewhere within 125 miles or so?

I've said it before and I'll say it again (in fact, right now.) In Enter 77, Marvin Candle makes reference to "mainland communication." This implies that the island is part of a larger archipelago or located off the shore of a major land mass. Since there's hardly a patch of rock on the face of this planet that some country hasn't laid claim to or fought another country over, it must be well and truly hidden.


Good point. But the island could still be located far enough from a large land mass that a helicopter would not be able to reach it. For example, someone in Hawaii may refer to the continental US as the mainland but the distance between Hawaii and the continental US is too far to cross in a helicopter.

By the way, I do believe you are right and that a large land mass may be close by. I just wanted to show that just because Candle referred to a "mainland" that doesn't necessarily mean it is close.

___________...............................________ ___
....................\_____ISLAND____/

I'll continue beating this until the horse is unrecognizable.

Imagine the island sits in a dimple (with a slope more gradual than depicted).

Penny sends a boat with chopper or plane to the source of the EMP.

They get to the "edge" of the EM field (the edge of the dimple) and realize the boat will have trouble entering (or perhaps exiting). Likewise, they realize an aircraft might have trouble as well. So they have someone parachute in (and ditch the aircraft if necessary).

I don't quite understand the pilot's pressure suit, helmet and oxygen mask. That suggests she was flying at very high altitudes -- something that helicopters cannot do.
It may have been a survival suit: something that all Coast Guard aviators wear in case they have to ditch in cold water.

a typical helicopter can go about 250 miles, and thats it. Only army helos can refuel in air. The US Coast Guard helos don't have mid air refueling probes and neither do any commercial helos.

And who's to say Penny couldn't afford to rent some Army helos to help her Portuguese team's search and rescue mission?

"When you have enough money and determination...and friends in high places....you can find anyone".

I think the helicopter was sent by Penny and the parachute girl is working with the guys in Antarctica. They knew where the island was from when the sky turned purple.

You said it exactly how I would have said it

Does anyone think there is any significance to the fact that the "parachute girl" was a girl. No offense to the ladies out there, but if you were going to hire someone to do something like this you would look for some special forces bad-*** and these type are pretty much guys. I am wondering if there is some sort of connection between the parachute "girl" and the basic "girl" problem with the island - ie. the island basically kills all preggers.

Teks...who says a chick can't be a bad ***?

That said...Penny may know where to SEND her rescue team....but she may not know that the island is "hostile" at all. For all she knows...her female pilot was looking for an island with one lone Scottish dude sitting on the beach with a signal fire burning. Penny may not know a thing about the Others....or the Losties...for that matter.

Until we get another Penny "real time/non-flashback" appearance...all we can do is speculate as to how much Penny, or this rescuer knows about the island. She didn't appear to be armed...so, it's likely she was on a simple "search and rescue" mission...not a "hostile extraction" mission.

Does anyone think there is any significance to the fact that the "parachute girl" was a girl. No offense to the ladies out there, but if you were going to hire someone to do something like this you would look for some special forces bad-*** and these type are pretty much guys. I am wondering if there is some sort of connection between the parachute "girl" and the basic "girl" problem with the island - ie. the island basically kills all preggers.
she might still be spec-ops, professional parachuter or even an expert pilot.

she might still be spec-ops, professional parachuter or even an expert pilot.

Or she may be hot, which matters a lot more to ratings than it does to the plot.

Or she may be hot, which matters a lot more to ratings than it does to the plot.
maybe... Does anyone know her name?

maybe... Does anyone know her name?

OMG....Unfortunately its been leaked all over this board...just do a seach...it's in every other thread it seems

OMG....Unfortunately its been leaked all over this board...just do a seach...it's in every other thread it seems
I meant the actor's name...

Not sure, but maybe she was Para-Gliding and not in a helicopter; high altitude jump(above the "shield") then use the motor to navigate, but it would appear she ran out of gas...

Just a theory.

Or she may be hot, which matters a lot more to ratings than it does to the plot.

I think it's a given that she'll be extremely hot.

I sounded like a helicopter....and everyone is right about it having to take off from closer then expected.

We may be on to something..........maybe

An Apache helicopter (for example) can have a range of over 1,000 miles. If the island is somewhere about halfway between Fiji and Tahiti, which the preponderance of evidence suggests, it would put it within that range from either Fiji or Tahiti. (And within easy helicopter range from the Cook Islands which lie between them.)

I think it's a given that she'll be extremely hot.

she IS pretty, at least
http://www.starpulse.com/Actresses/Thomason,_Marsha/gallery/SGG-015894/

It may have been a survival suit: something that all Coast Guard aviators wear in case they have to ditch in cold water.

Yes I didn't see it as a pressure suite, I've watched enough Jet Fighter programs on Discovery Channel to recognize one :biggrin: