Neues bei Dark Orbit » ay, he made two acrobatic catches

ONE THOUSAND FEET ABOVE CROMWELL, Conn. -- On a picture-perfect Thursday morning, were flying high above TPC River Highlands, site of this weeks Travelers Championship, when my reporters intuition kicks in.Terry Dillard, pilot for the Snoopy 1 Airship -- better known as one of only 22 blimps in the world -- is coolly navigating through the Connecticut sky while discussing how he and the other members of the 15-person crew work year-round, as he spends six-hour shifts hovering over golf courses to produce the camera angles nobody else can get, when I blurt out my next in a long line of questions.So, um, wheres the bathroom in this thing?Were seated in whats referred to as the gondola, the small cockpit structure which sits underneath $80,000 of helium. Dillard is sitting in the pilots station, which is in the front left of the enclosed space, just like the drivers seat of a car.Using foot pedals to determine the speed, which maxes out at about 25 mph, and wheels on each side of his seat which resemble those of a wheelchair in order to steer, he offers a hearty laugh at the question. Surely there are moments when life piloting the blimp can become stressful. This isnt one of them.On a scale of 1-10, he says, today is an 11 as far as it being a perfect day to fly.Dillard, 61, has been piloting blimps for 26 years. Sporting a shaved head and salt-and-pepper Fu Manchu, he has the physical characteristics of a dude you dont want to mess with, but is perpetually affable and not often at a loss for words.There are a few, though, that he refuses to use.In our industry, we dont blow up; we inflate, he explains. We also dont use the D word; we dont deflate.The Snoopy 1 Airship stays inflated while the crew travels from tournament to tournament, Dillard through the air and others on the ground, never more than 30 miles away from each other.It might not be the quickest way to get around, but its absolutely the most scenic.Ive seen every inch of the United States of America, Dillard likes to say, at 25 mph.Hes also seen some of the best -- and worst -- golf shots at professional events from 1,000 feet above the fairways and greens.During the broadcast window, there is a cameraman seated behind Dillard, who controls the exact aerial video shown on your TV, but just like a player and caddie, one cant do his job without the other.The similarities dont end there.The worst type of weather for flying a blimp is heavy wind and thunderstorms, which arent exactly golfers favorites. And the relationship is symbiotic; while the pilot and cameraman use whats happening below them to help tell the story to viewers, the players will look above to assist with their jobs.The players use us, says Dillard. They look at the blimp to see which way the wind is blowing. If its a tailwind, theyll club down; if its a headwind, theyll club up. Theyll say, Look at the blimp and trust your club.Dillard insists that he can identify players from his catbird seat. I look down on the early first round of the Travelers Championship and think I spot Vijay Singh -- or maybe thats Ernie Els. Spotting pros must be a learned trait from up here.Theres more to this gig than just flying around and checking out players. A director in the production truck will ask Dillard to find a specific shot. He must maneuver the blimp into the best position for his cameraman to catch the flight of the ball, while keeping his shadow out of the shot.He admits hes biased, but contends that an event without any camera angles from a blimp loses something in the translation to television.When youre watching a tournament and you dont have a blimp there, its pretty dang boring, he says. There are just some shots you cant see from the ground.We take another quick spin above TPC River Highlands, then Dillard starts the scenic route back, over the Connecticut River and past downtown Hartford. He has to get to work soon, maneuvering Snoopy 1 through the sky on this 11 day on a scale of 1-10.Youll know his work when you see it. When a player hits a towering approach over some tall trees to tap-in birdie range or mishits a drive so offline that it cant be trailed from ground level, that will be Dillard, positioning the blimp into a place where he and the cameraman can best help tell the story.Its a pretty sweet ride up there. If you ever get the chance, enjoy the scenic view in any direction and dont be afraid to put your hand out the window and feel the summer air against it.Oh, and theres one other thing: After Dillard laughed to my question about the bathroom, he finally offered an answer.All Ill say is that you probably dont want to touch the empty Gatorade bottle behind the pilots station. WHOLESALE NBA JERSEYS CHINA . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. JERSEYS NFL WHOLESALE . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. http://www.chinacheapnfljerseyswholesale.com/ . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. CHEAP NFL JERSEYS WHOLESALE . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. CHEAP AUTHENTIC NBA JERSEYS .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later.PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Its no coincidence, receiver T.J. Graham points out, that the Buffalo Bills opened training camp by putting on an aerial display featuring one deep completion after another. The Bills intention during a two-minute session that finished after 10 consecutive long bombs into the end zone was to create an early buzz by showing off their young and speedy stable of receivers. "Coming out as an offence with a bunch of newly acquired weapons, coming out and showing what we can do with it was the point of that," Graham said, recalling the camp-opening practice in suburban Rochester. "Its just showing what we could do. The quarterbacks love it, and the receivers love it, too. The deep ball is touchdown. Its money." Some 10 days later, very little has changed in the practice repertoire, with the offence continuing to find time to put an emphasis on its newfound ability to spread the field. Whether it was rookie quarterback EJ Manuel hooking up with Graham twice on that first day of camp, or Manuel hitting rookie Marquise Goodwin on a 63-yard touchdown pass to end practice Friday. Even third-string quarterback Jeff Tuel got involved by completing a 45-yard throw to Goodwin during a scrimmage Monday. These new-look Bills are showing signs of being built for speed with a revamped group of receivers. Its a new approach for a team that was previously knocked for its dink-and-dunk, popgun attack under former coach Chan Gailey, who was fired after three losing seasons. And it comes with the arrival of first-time coach Doug Marrone who, along with first-time co-ordinator Nathaniel Hackett, are installing an up-tempo, no-huddle and aggressive style of offence. "You always heard the saying, Luck follows speed," Marrone said, noting he first heard the saying from Dick MacPherson, his college coach at Syracuse. "I just believe in that. I think when you have speed, it opens some things up." The Bills rookie draft class reflects Marrones philosophy. Buffalo used a second-round pick to draft Robert Woods out of Southern California, and followed by selecting Goodwin, a Texas speedster and Olympic-caliber long-jumper, in the third round. They jjoin Graham, a second-year player, who was both a receiver and track star at North Carolina State.dddddddddddd And the group is rounded out by returning starter Stevie Johnson, who will miss about two weeks after pulling his hamstring on Friday. Johnsons injury turns the focus to the Bills young receivers heading into the teams preseason opener at Indianapolis on Sunday. Thats fine with Goodwin. "Its an opportunity to show what were capable of," Goodwin said. "(The Bills) know what were capable of, or else they wouldnt have hired us for the job. Its all about just proving it to everybody else out here." Aside from speed, the youngsters have also shown signs of having good hands and being versatile. Woods is capable of playing both the slot and wideout spots alongside Johnson. Quarterback Kevin Kolb has been particularly impressed with Woods. "Stud. Legitimately a stud," Kolb said last week, before he hurt his left knee. "Not just talent, the kid can run better than I think anyone gives him credit for." Goodwin has proven to be a better receiver than the Bills initially expected. On Monday, he made two acrobatic catches on deep passes, both times coming down with the ball. "I think youre always excited about a guy like that," Hackett said of Goodwin. "I think what hes done out here up to this point, I dont think really anybody expected. ... Im really excited to see how hes going to be able to help us out." The speed among his receivers makes it easy on Hackett when it comes to designing deep passes. "Its hard to out-throw them," Hackett said. "We just say when those fast guys are out there, Just drop back and throw it as far as you can." ---- NOTES: Kolb, who is excused to attend a death in his family, is expected to return for practice Friday, Marrone said. It wont be determined until after practice whether Kolb will play at Indianapolis. ... CB Leodis McKelvin was held out of practice due to soreness. ... Former NFL centre Kevin Mawae was one of five selected to be the teams Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship participants and serve as coaching interns during training camp. ' ' '