Because special forces training is hard. Because ground-based gunfire just isn't sufficiently soaked in testosterone. Because helicopters. Because this is Texas, goddammit.
There have always been plenty of reasons for your average (non-G.I.) Joe to shoot assault weapons from a moving aircraft. What North Texas males have lacked is a place to properly unleash their inner Rambo.
Until now. An outfit called Sniper Helicopter Adventures recently opened up a helicopter gun range outside of Denton, which bills itself as "the ultimate opportunity to test and challenge your marksmanship skills as you fly through various obstacles while shooting from a Helicopter!"
As you depart in the helicopter with your safety officer, you will be flown through and around various target opportunities. Targets will fall away, rotate and even explode when hit -- be prepared for any and everything! Your score will depend on your ability to adapt to air assault challenges.
For just $795 per person, Sniper Helicopter Adventures offers a full day of fun, with three separate missions (Alpha, Bravo and Charlie), one hour of helicopter training, and two hours of firearms training. Lunch and awards are provided.
So what's not to love, aside from the fact that you have to bring 500 rounds or so of your own .223 ammo? Just ask a freedom-hating local government bureaucrat.
"Just the fact that you're flying around in a helicopter shooting a rifle in a limited amount of space doesn't seem like it's very safe," Denton County Commissioner Hugh Coleman told WFAA.
He's on a campaign, according to the station, to get nearby property owners to complain to the county fire marshal or file a lawsuit.
Coleman has apparently not taken a close look at the website, which describes the various safety measures the outfit takes, like requiring safety officers aboard every flight and banning alcohol. To prove they are serious, they even add an exclamation point: "Safety is everything!"
