SkyNews 9 HD - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

When there is breaking news across the state SkyNews 9 HD can be first on the scene. In a moment's notice SkyNews 9 HD can be in the air, speeding towards any breaking news or breaking weather situation. With the capability to fly over 150-miles an hour, SkyNews 9 HD brings you the clearest, digital pictures from the scene, allowing NEWS 9 to expand its coverage to better inform you the viewer.

SkyNews 9 HD, dubbed the flying television station, was the first high-definition news helicopter owned by a television station in Oklahoma, it is also the most technologically advanced news helicopter in Oklahoma. From its monitors to the record decks and the three hi-def cameras, SkyNews 9 HD is totally high-definition. With a resolution of over two million pixels, the FLIR Ultra Media High-Def cameras also feature a 1,140 mm zoom lens that can take you right into the action from thousands of feet away. The lens takes viewers closer to the news than ever, and provides a smooth view while in flight because the camera is five-axis gyro stabilized.

SkyNews 9 HD has all the bells and whistles for news coverage. It even has a traffic collision avoidance device, called a T-Cad, that lets a pilot know when there is an aircraft in the immediate area.

"The viewers are going to see a much better picture because it has more of a 3-D depth to it and everything is in focus," said Steve Wysong, founder of Wysong Enterprises Inc., the company responsible for the assembly of the electronic newsgathering equipment on SkyNews 9 HD.

SkyNews 9 HD is the fastest news helicopter in the state with a max cruising speed of 133 knots or about 152 mph. Put into service in 2006, SkyNews 9 HD, a powerful 407 Bell Helicopter replaced Ranger 9, a Bell Helicopter 206B Jet Ranger III. Ranger 9 was the first television helicopter in the Oklahoma City television market; it flew the skies for 26 years before being replaced by SkyNews 9 HD.

SkyNews 9 HD is not NEWS 9's first history making helicopter. In 1981, Ranger 9 became the first helicopter to broadcast a tornado. Eighteen years later Ranger 9 was tornado chasing again during the devastating twisters of May 3, 1999 and May 8, 2003. And in 1995, one of the darkest days in Oklahoma history, Ranger 9 was the first to broadcast live pictures just moments after the Murrah Building bombing. Those pictures allowed NEWS 9 to show Oklahoma City, and the world, the magnitude of the destruction.

SkyNews 9 HD took over where Ranger 9 left off, capturing amazing video over the years including the April 2006 tornado near El Reno, the first tornado filmed in high definition in Oklahoma. SkyNews 9 HD has also captured amazing video that was seen across the nation. One heart tugging moment was the rescue of a deer stranded on a frozen Lake Thunderbird in February 2007. After nearly six hours on the ice the authorities asked SkyNews 9 HD for help. While in the air SkyNews 9 HD's pilot had an idea! Using the wind generated from the chopper's blades he was able to push the deer off the frozen water and to the safety of the shore.

Another amazing moment captured by SkyNews 9 HD was the rescue of a couple from a submerged car near Kingfisher during the flooding of summer '07. Hovering near the stranded motorists, SkyNews 9 HD broadcast all the drama as rescue teams from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol tried to scoop the couple from the water. After several attempts the couple was rescued, they did not suffer any major injuries.

So what can you expect from SkyNews 9 HD in the future? Anytime there is breaking news, bad weather, a grass fire or an amazing rescue, the chopper will be in the air to bring it all to you!