That...chopper up there might give us away

[Philly_SWAT]

Something I never thought about before, or saw mentioned before.... In the interest of over-dissecting, I thought of this the other day. Peter was a pretty sharp guy. He was on the ball. Not slow to respond to problems, and always having a plan (examples: he could perform an abortion, shot Wooley, came up with plan to distract zombies downstairs, board up the stairwell, dont trust the bikers on the radio, etc.) He mentions early on that he was worried that the presence of the helicopter on the roof might alert others to their presence. He even mentions "looters" seeing it as a concern. Presumably, they dont take the chopper out on joyrides. The only two times we ever see them use it after reaching the mall is when they were blocking the doors, and when Stephen was teaching Fran how to fly. There was probably more than one lesson, but we only see one. Since there were there several months, and we know Peter went to the roof top (to play self raquetball), dont you think he would have taken some effort to hide it from view? Even just covering it with some plain tarps would be better than nothing, but I am sure that somewhere in the mall, perhaps the gun store, there would have been camo tarps somewhere. This could have kept the bikers from seeing it, and they may not have entered the mall, and therefore saving Flyboys life.

[3pidemiC]

I'm sure they could have found enough white fabric to throw it over it.

[Slain]

The bikers came on the scene as Stephan was giving Fran a flying lesson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE0tVo-D_4Q While I suppose it's possible they could've to build encloser around the helicopter that made it looked like a HVAC unit from a distance, the presence of all the zombies around the mall would've been a clear indication that living people were inside the place.

[capncnut]

The bikers came on the scene as Stephan was giving Fran a flying lesson. While I suppose it's possible they could've to build encloser around the helicopter that made it looked like a HVAC unit from a distance, the presence of all the zombies around the mall would've been a clear indication that living people were inside the place. Not to mention the trucks blocking all the entrances off. Good points made there, Slain.

[EvilNed]

Yeah, it was more than the chopper. Besides, if the chopper had been standing still, and with no trucks at the entrances, I doubt the bikers would have thought much about it. But they'd probably raid the place all the same.

[Philly_SWAT]

The bikers came on the scene as Stephan was giving Fran a flying lesson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE0tVo-D_4Q While I suppose it's possible they could've to build encloser around the helicopter that made it looked like a HVAC unit from a distance, the presence of all the zombies around the mall would've been a clear indication that living people were inside the place. Yeah, it was more than the chopper. Besides, if the chopper had been standing still, and with no trucks at the entrances, I doubt the bikers would have thought much about it. But they'd probably raid the place all the same. Good points. However, it was pure coincidence that Fran was getting a lesson when the bikers saw the chopper. I still say it would have fit with the Peter character that he would have wanted to hide the chopper in some way, especially since he specifically mentioned he was worried about it.

[capncnut]

Good points. However, it was pure coincidence that Fran was getting a lesson when the bikers saw the chopper. I still say it would have fit with the Peter character that he would have wanted to hide the chopper in some way, especially since he specifically mentioned he was worried about it. Well I do believe Peter's primary concerns was hassle from the police or the military. Hence Roger's response: "What are they gonna do? Land another pilot to fly it out. They're not gonna mess with a little bird like that, they got enough on their hands." As for the bikers, I agree with Ned - they would've robbed the place anyway - even without spotting the chopper or evidence of patch-up activity around the mall. Flyboy would still've been greedy enough to get himself killed regardless.

[bassman]

The bikers would've entered the mall regardless. As for not covering up the chopper.....maybe he didn't to so that if someone GOOD were to come around, they could help them?

[sandrock74]

I think covering the copter would've been a waste of time. Even if they had figured something out, they would've had to waste time undoing the tarps (or whatever) to fly it out of there. Since the zombies learned how to stand in line and climb ladders, time to waste wasn't an option. Besides, forget about the looters. What if the mall had caught fire? They would have to high-tail it out of there in a hurry. Who would want to screw around with taking apart a facade first? Or what if the military showed up and began opening fire BEFORE even getting into the mall? They would need to evac in a hurry! I always just figured that Peter figured that Roger was right. Once they got everything situated inside and around the mall, he figured "who cares" about the copter. The trucks blocking the doors and the sheer number of zombies surrounding the mall was a pretty good indication that the mall was occupied. The helicopter was useless to anyone who couldn't fly it. The bikers never gave two ****s about it. Besides, Peter had seen to it that the (presumably) only entrace up to the roof was well hidden. Just my thoughts on it.

[bassman]

Here's an idea that wouldn't have slowed them down and still covered up the helicopter. Build a room around it. They had the utilities to build the wall in the hallway, so I don't see why they couldn't build a garage type deal with no roof. There's your cover for the helicopter and it would be simple to get to in a hurry.

[sandrock74]

Here's an idea that wouldn't have slowed them down and still covered up the helicopter. Build a room around it. They had the utilities to build the wall in the hallway, so I don't see why they couldn't build a garage type deal with no roof. There's your cover for the helicopter and it would be simple to get to in a hurry. I don't know if that would be a good idea for the propellers. If they even knick anything, they can be ruined. Technically, they should have strapped the blades down, like John did in Day. Besides that, they could be clearly seen erecting (I said erect...lol) stuff on the roof. The zombies could get further aggitated by the noise and anyone passing by would immediately know what was going on.

[bassman]

Well it wouldn't have to be snug up against the chopper. Just four walls around it. True, someone could see them making it, but if they had all that time to block the doors with the trucks, play tennis, etc....then they could probably put up four walls without someone seeing.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Practically speaking, keeping the chopper uncovered was the best option in view of a quick start up and escape. The outline of the chopper would still be evident and indicative of a human presence in addition to the trucks blocking the entrances. Walls erected around the chopper would be at risk of weather knocking one or more of the walls down, potentially damaging the chopper. Also the issue of weight would have to be kept in mind. The Ranger would have a weight of around 2,000 lbs with partial fuel and supplies loaded. Add the weight of stiff walls and supports and there could be the remote chance of roof collapse.

[SRP76]

I don't think Peter cared, once the mall was "secure". It really wouldn't have made a difference. I would have been more concerned about using some of those 5 months or so to go get more fuel for the thing. They were running low when they got there, and that was before the entrance-blocking escapade and all of Fran's lessons.

[3pidemiC]

That would have been cool to see. I think that if GAR included more characters in the script at the mall, then we may have actually seen a scenario of them attempting to get more fuel or something.