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Stealing the Cargo Bob

As your game progresses and you get used to playing as that crazy ******* Trevor (to be honest it is really hard to decide which of the three main characters is the best - they all have qualities that make you love em!) you will need to enter the military air field that is “off the books” (meaning not represented in detail on the map) and steal a Cargo Bob.

For the record a Cargo Bob is a military helicopter in the game that is obviously based off of one of the mainstay workhorses of the US Marine fleet -- the CH-47 Chinook. In fact it actually has desert camo paint and Marine markings! As we say it appears to be a Chinook but a walk-around inspection shows it to be smaller than it should be, and its front rotor and engine configuration reminds us of a different copter but we cannot put our finger on which.

Doesn't matter though -- this is a cargo lifter and just what you need for your mission! Well, assuming you can (A) get to it, (B) steal it without being killed, and (C) fly it away without being shot down!

Chances are you tried and failed to do that. Yeah, but we can help you -- there are some tricks to making this way less a hassle than it has to be!

Helpful Hints

Special Flight Characteristics: The first thing you need to understand about the Cargo Bob is that it does NOT fly like the other business-class units you have previously flown in earlier missions. It also does not fly like the copter from the flight training.

This beast is slow, heavy, and very difficult to control with respect to altitude adjustments and speed -- it requires a very steady hand, and very small and gentle control changes. If you remember those two tips than you already have half the battle won!

The only controls you will really need to use are the left-joystick, the Right and Left Triggers, and the Right and Left Bumpers. Keep your finger OFF of the Right Joystick, which is the camera control.

You are probably wondering why you should not touch the camera control, right?

The reason is it will just confuse your flight orientation configuration. That is a technical term for make you think your attitude is different than it is. Note - we said ATTITUDE, not ALTITUDE. Half the battle in flying this beast is maintaining a steady attitude -- which means keeping it level and tipped forward while at the same time maintaining a steady pressure on the throttle (Right Trigger), which allows you to go forward quickly without losing altitude.

You need to keep ALL of this in mind before you go for this steal and grab the copter. Now that you know that important advice, let's cover the steps to actually stealing it...

The Approach

BEFORE you head out to do this mission get a fresh car, be fully healed, and have the max level body armor on. Fresh mind you. It does not matter what weapons you have as you will not be using them.

On your map you want to place the marker over the Cargo Bob symbol and place a custom destination marker to gain the purple line that will eventually take you right to the copter. Note that this line does NOT correspond to a direct route to the bird via roads. And there is a reason for that.

The military base and its roads are not part of the standard map in the game, which means that the custom marker will only take you to the highway near the base. Specifically into a tunnel on the highway near the base. If you look in the direction of the city on the highway you will see a road heading up into the hills.

Once you reach the tunnel head to that road and then follow it right to the base gates.

BEFORE you try to drive through the gates, use the Instant Save and SAVE YOUR GAME.

(1) At the Gate to the Base
This is not one of the situations in which you are going to fight your way to the target. You are better off (seriously better off) just driving through the gate, along the road to the air strip, turning onto the strip in the direction of the marker, and driving as fast as you can to the parking spot where the Cargo Bob is sitting.

Ignore the bullets being shot at you. Ignore the yells. Ignore it all. Your goal is to get to the door of the Cargo Bob and NOTHING else!

(2) Once you reach the Cargo Bob get out of your car and immediately get into the copter.

Hold down the Right Trigger as soon as you are inside, and as soon as it gets twenty feet off the ground tip the nose forward and to the left -- keeping the Right Trigger held down all the while!

Your challenge at this point is to avoid and evade the military copters -- the guys on the ground are still shooting at you but unless you lingered your copter -- and you -- will not have taken major damage.

As soon as you pass over the gates to the base continue to the coastline and drop down using the Left Trigger until you are around fifty feet above the beach and water, then tip the Left Joystick forward and hold down the Right Trigger.

As long as the Left Joystick is held forward and the Right Trigger held down you will go forward and your altitude will remain mostly stable.

(3) Evading the Military Copters

At fifty feet or so above the beach you are now off radar. Continue to follow the beach until you reach the valley that cuts inland which has a river and bridges. When you enter that valley you will have lost the Military Copters. Good on ya!

Now follow that valley taking care to increase your altitude above the bridges and any other obstructions, fly to the other end of the valley and you will approach the large lake which your destination airfield is near.

You will recall that there is a heliport pad at the airport. THAT is NOT your destination -- your destination is a spot of sandy parking area between that pad and the hanger, and it will be marked by a tiny yellow glowing dot.

So fly to the marker then turn around and gently ease the copter on to the deck on top of the yellow spot and voila! Mischief Managed! Mission Done!

Now Save your Game.