Chapter 860 Takeoff (2/2)

When the helicopter first appeared over Lightning Ridge, many people were stunned to find that it had taken off from town, meaning it had been there all along. The owner of the machinery rental company next door to the mine was the most surprised. The helicopter was loud, and the wind from the rotor was strong.

The boss ran out to see what was going on, then watched a big iron bird fly away from right next door. He recognized the helicopter, which had been used several times by his neighbor, a real estate tycoon.

Soon the town figured out why Li Du had taken an interest in the mine; there was a helicopter in it. The price of the helicopter was not comparable to that of a mine, and there were regrets and questions about how he found it. According to Australian law, land seized by the state was off limits, and the public was not allowed to trespass. They suspected that Li Du must have climbed into the mine and seen the helicopter. Hence, the mine owners and the miners had another reason to dislike him. They thought that Li Du had no morals and had secretly broken into the closed mine. That kind of thing was considered to be despicable.

Li Du would not explain the matter and did not want to bother patching up his relations with the people in the town. Everyone despised his disdain, and he did not care. He flew the helicopter for a day, and when he was sure it was all right, he flew to Seagull Island.

Godzilla and Lu Guan stayed back, and they continued to dig for the stones. Li Du told Godzilla about the direction of the vein and asked him to do the work according to his plan.

After the successful rebuild, the Mi-8 was even bigger and bigger. Together with the tail fin, it was over 25 meters long and five meters high. Before boarding the helicopter, Li Du repeatedly asked Brother Wolf, ”Is this thing all right to fly?”

”Absolutely. Ivan is a helicopter expert, and I have confidence in him,” said Brother Wolf.

After having seen Big Ivan in action for a while, Li Du had some confidence in him. The guy was rigorous. While he was a bit careless now and then, he was also reliable.

Big Ivan and Brother Wolf went into the cockpit. Li Du took Sophie, the four little ones, and Ivana into the cabin. Ah Ow laid down in the window, looking down and wagging her tail, looking very pleased with herself. She was not afraid of heights at all.

The helicopter briefly adjusted its position in the air before speeding southeast.

The Mi-8 could fly to an altitude of 4,500 meters, and Big Ivan piloted the chopper as high as he could. In case of emergency, there were parachutes for everyone on board. With a parachute, there was no risk of life. It would not be not dangerous to jump at that height.

The helicopter could easily fly from Lightning Ridge to the island. However, for safety reasons, the trip was divided into four sections, and they landed three times to replenish oil and supplies. Even with the time it took for the helicopter to take off and land, they left in the morning and arrived on the island in the afternoon.

There was no helipad, highway, or hand-picked flat land on the island. Big Ivan landed on the sand, and though the wind from the rotor blades kicked up a lot of sand, the helicopter came down steadily for a perfect landing.