Helicopter 710

Thought back to the days of Fred Feldman and helicopter 710, while stuck in traffic on the Northern State Parkway on Long Island. There were 4 helicopters covering the traffic, which I could see. Overkill, maybe?

In my youth, on the little radio in the kitchen, there was only one helicopter pilot and that was Fred Feldman.  Here is his obituary from 20 October 1996:

"Fred Feldman, New York radio's first helicopter reporter who spent 16 airborne years monitoring traffic for rush-hour commuters and who invented the term ''rubbernecking delays'' to explain why they would be late for work, died on Friday at his home in Roseland, N.J. He was 63."

 It is amazing to compare our little kitchen radio which gave us school closings on winter days, and Fred Feldman's reports on the roads from his perch in Helicopter 710 on Monday through Friday.

There were not many helicopters reporting on traffic in those days, let alone in wind and snow. Fred did it for a long time and we appreciated his insight even if we we not on the roads he was reporting upon. He provided a soothing patter, as did many of the radio broacasters or the era.

Our mothers were at home and looking out their kitchen windows for trouble on the street. The calming voice of Fred Feldman was often in the background, as well as the generations of John Gamblings:

Rambling with Gambling: