[mrvette]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

Electrical engineering degree here. The way it works is amazingly simple. The helicopter is just a big chunk of metal suspended in the air. When you touch the metal cable to a high voltage line, initially there is a small amount of current that flows from the high voltage line to the helicopter, until the entire helicopter is at the same voltage potential. The charge itself just distributes itself on the outside of the air frame, and the occupants likely don't even feel a thing. Since there is no path to ground, air being a very good insulator, the power line and the helicopter and everyone touching the helicopter are now at the same potential, and someone could literally grab onto that 200 kV line (whatever it is) with their bare hand and be fine. But if they got near anything else that had a path to ground or a different phase, insta-zap death.

What is a shock to ME is that the humidity in the air would not make for a tingling sensation to anyone in the copter......and of course if it was RAINING???