Q & A : Whirly Bird Cowboy

Bob Tur is the helicopter pilot most likely to interrupt a steamy scene on your afternoon soap. The KCBS newsman and his camera operator, wife Marika, practically invented the we-interrupt-this-program high-speed police pursuit, having provided live aerial coverage of more than 130 (he won an Emmy for footage of the attack on Reginald Denny). Tur spoke to The Times from his helipad at Santa Monica Airport.

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What’s the worst thing you’ve seen from the air?

That would have to be the beating of Reginald Denny. We were working for Channel 13, and after the verdict they told us: ‘There won’t be any riots.’ I said: ‘You’re out of touch, we’re going up anyway.’ We were monitoring the situation, the looting at Tom’s Liquors at Florence and Normandie, from a thousand feet. We put our picture up, called the police repeatedly on the tactical radio and watched them desert the city.

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Were you scared?

Yeah, we were being machine-gunned. We had $134,000 worth of damage to our helicopter.

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How did you fare in the more crowded skies above O.J.’s low-speed chase?

We were the first on it. When [Robert] Kardashian read the suicide letter, I thought O.J. would kill himself at [Nicole’s] grave site. So we went to Orange County. [On the way] we saw a police car fly down the freeway and pull up behind a white Bronco. I thought: How good can it get?

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Is the competition stiff?

It’s OK until stations turn their microwave receiving dish in the direction of my helicopter and steal my picture. The beating of Denny was stolen by everybody.

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How’s the chopper holding up?

We have the most powerful helicopter in the U.S., a Eurocopter 350B-2 that I bought in Texas. We go through one every five years.

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Ever had to stop for gas?

Most pursuits don’t last that long, though you can go for five hours without a refill.

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Bathroom pit stops?

You gotta hold it.

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What are your basic do’s?

Hold the tight shots--people love those--and stay away from the police.

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And the No. 1 don’t?

Don’t run into anything.