'Choppy McChopface' among favourite suggested helicopter names, N.S. documents show
Suggestions in the naming competition ranged from iconic Nova Scotians to more bizarre proposals, while some people simply took the opportunity to complain about the task at hand.
Freedom of information request reveals complete list of proposed names
Brett Ruskin · CBC News
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Name suggestions for Nova Scotia's four new helicopters ranged from imitative to imaginative, according to the full list of recommendations obtained exclusively by CBC News.
Among the favourites, the most common was a combination of "Choppy McChopface" and variants of the same theme.
That suggested naming format mimicked the winner of a British vessel naming contest in 2016, when U.K. officials stepped in to reverse the outcome, asserting "Boaty McBoatface" was too informal.
Nova Scotia government list curators seemed to lean toward conventional names as well.
After the list of nearly 10,000 suggestions in the naming competition was collected, the provincial government asked the public to vote for one of four groups of names, based on local beaches, birds, landmarks or trees.
In July, the fleet of helicopters was unveiled with the names Spirit of the Osprey, Spirit of the Falcon, Spirit of the Hawk and Spirit of the Eagle.
WATCH | Here are some of helicopter names that didn't make the cut:
Donair Force One? We got the full list of names suggested for new N.S. helicopters
5 hours ago|
Duration 1:38
Choppy McChopFace, Owlexander Graham Bell and Houston Herc were among the list of 10,000 name suggestions for a new fleet of helicopters in Nova Scotia. The CBC's Brett Ruskin shares some of the names that didn't make the cut.After some online outcry about the final result, CBC News filed freedom of information requests seeking documents related to the naming process. The province released hundreds of pages of emails and internal documents.
The government's list shows "Osprey" as the top suggestion. But the list also reveals the recurring push for "Choppy McChopface" and similar suggestions such as "Chopper McChoppyface," "Choppy Mc Flys A Lot" and others with slightly different spellings.
While those names owe their origin to the British contest a decade ago, Nova Scotians also showed creativity with other ideas.
Notable locals suggested
There were repeated suggestions to name the helicopters after iconic Nova Scotians such as Anne Murray, Douglas McCurdy, Maud Lewis and Viola Desmond.
More than one person proposed naming the helicopters after Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, including a pitch to name one the "Houston Herc," an alliterative reference to the Hercules military transport aircraft.
Some ideas combined notable names with avian wordplay, such as "Jacob Shaffelbird" and "Owlexander Graham Bell."
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Contestants also submitted the names of Nova Scotian athletes Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Ellie Black and Blayre Turnbull, as well as characters from the TV series Trailer Park Boys: Ricky, Julian, Bubbles and Mr. Lahey.
"The trailer park boys transcends the global audience," one person wrote. "This show is a phenomenal that has fans all over the world. Their status is legendary. They are one of the few things that I can say I'm proud of about this province."
Another entry proposed "Air Nova," offering the rationale: "Because it's a helicopter in Nova Scotia. So Air Nova makes sense."
'An asinine practice'
Some suggestions showed a range of humour and eccentricity, while others indicated a disdain for the process itself.
One contestant suggested "Heloblue 55284," explaining that it combined the word "helicopter," the blue of the Nova Scotia tartan, and the total land mass of the province in square kilometres.
Another proposal, "4 blade delivering water," reflected the helicopters' firefighting capabilities, while "BlackRocks Down" seems to combine references to the black rocks at Peggys Cove and the movie about two American Black Hawk helicopters shot down by Somalian forces in 1993.
Some entries read more like customer service complaints. One person wrote: "Stop naming things off of people it's an asinine practice."
Another lengthy submission included: "How bout you survey nova scotiams on thi gs that really matter. Like the stupid pickerel and bass cull, or your plans do destroy our outdoors with mining and fracking. This is 100% ridiculous."
One commenter summarized the process succinctly.
"If you ask the internet to name your thing, you will get exactly the stupid name you deserve."
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brett Ruskin is a reporter and videojournalist covering everything from local breaking news to national issues. He's based in Halifax.
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