R is for Rotodyne

There was a seemingly never dying joke that the only reason that helicopters could fly was that they were so ugly that the earth rejected them…and while Blade thought the joke was somewhat hurtful, he could also see where the fix-wings were coming from. To them, his long, thin, rotating wings must be just as unattractive and unnatural looking as those broad, and stiff wings that planes possessed seemed to Blade.

The science behind this type of attraction kind of fascinated Blade because like seemed to be attracted to like. Nick had gently ribbed Blade stating that it was probably because people liked to see themselves in their mates, that person that you chose epitomized things that you either saw or wanted in yourself…it was a comment that had made Blade snort. While his love, and often lust, ran deep for his partner, he was fairly sure that it had nothing to do with seeing himself mirrored in the rambunctious actor.

Over time Blade relegated his discussions to what he and others found attractive to late night discussions with friends when both he and his friends were properly drunk. While in the public eye, the helicopter tended to be seen with a certain 'type.' The studio tended to make sure that he arrived at parties with a revolving door of pretty young models and fellow C-list celebrities by his side. The girls were always polite, but they knew upfront that one of Blade's jobs at these events was to make sure that Nick Loop'n Lopez was out of trouble and the tabloids, so there was a fairly good chance that their 'date' would be cut short so that Blade could escort the other helicopter home if he started to get a bit too tipsy and flirty.

When the paparazzi were no longer in the rear-view mirror and Blade was comfortable with his present company, he was far more willing to be open about his preferences. There were of course, limits to how much was willing to divulge, and Blade tended to be as vague as he could manage…but he was pretty certain that a few members of the crew had drew connections between his preference in tail booms and another certain helicopter on set. It was preference knowledge that helped prevent those members of crew from trying to set the bachelor up with their sisters, cousins, and friends.

Which brought them to the currently aircraft parked on their lot. The Rotodyne was well aircraft…but he was also a terrifying chimera of helicopter and airplane pieces. He had a magnificent set of rotors on him, but he also had a pair of bulky fixed wings sprouting from his side. His nose had the beauty of a helicopter, but his dual tail could only be loved on a plane. Just looking at him made Blade's teeth stand on edge. But this aircraft was assigned to be a guest star in one of their upcoming episodes, so Blade kept his opinions to himself.

The Rotodyne wasn't a particularly good actor, but they didn't need to be. The script they were reading from was cheesy and Nick was hamming it up so much that everyone around him had to tone down their acting just to balance things out. After a long morning of shooting seen after seen, Nick decided to put his tire down.

"I am hungry, so I thought that Taylor here, that he is probably…"

"I am more of a they…" The Rotodyne introjected, while refusing to meet the two helicopter's eyes.

"They then." Nick replied with a slight shrug of his rotors. "So, I was thinking that Taylor here, that they are probably starved so I think we should probably go grab something to eat." Nick turned to much larger aircraft and gave them one of his lopsided grins. "What are you hungry for?

The fact that Nick was perfectly comfortable steamrolling right over the elephant in the room without batting an eye, instantly put everyone at ease. And by the time that group had successfully grabbed street tacos from the stand across the street from the film lot, Taylor was no longer acting like the vehicles around him were going to treat him like he was about to spontaneously combust. They actually had a delightful personality once they had a chance to relax and Blade couldn't help but hope that the kid would eventually find someone who could love the Rotodyne for who they were without being overly judgmental about what they were.

Fairey Rotodyne: The Fairey Rotodyne was unique aircraft built in 1957 that combined elements of helicopters and fixed-winged aircraft to create what is called a compound gyroplane. Designed to be a commercial and military aircraft that was capable of both vertical takeoff/landings, as well as extended level flight, only one of these aircraft was ever built. While the Rotodyne was the largest helicopter of its day, its design proved to be noisy and politically unpopular. As a result, the project it was attached to and this singular aircraft was dismantled in 1962 and its surviving pieces can be found at the Helicopter Museum at the Weston-super-Mare Airport in Summerset, England.