"Elite" helicopter pilots

[rogerk]

Why do the press keep refering to Prince William as "training to be an elite SARH helicopter pilot" and Prince Harry as "training to be an elite Army Air Corps helicopter pilot"

Why can't they just be "drivers rotary airframe" like the rest of us are (were) !!
:=:=

[boswell bear]

Because to Joe Public all us aviators are the elite :ok:

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

But to those of us in the know.......................:p

[Runaway Gun]

Would anyone admit to training to become a "Run-Of-The Mill Average Pilot"?

[MostlyHarmless]

I think I only made "Deadly" before I gave up.

[rogerk]

"Would anyone admit to training to become a "Run-Of-The Mill Average Pilot"

There are "good pilots" - "average pilots" - "hairy pilots" - "never ever again in the second seat pilots" - "outstanding pilots"

But no pilot can be "run-of-the-mill" :D:D:D:D

[Laarbruch72]

It's because you read it in the papers. Certain buzzwords like "Elite", "Special forces", "trained to kill" and "SAS" sell papers and give Sun readers a slight chubby. Words and phrases like "Standard", "Professional", "just doing his job" for example don't.

[Pontius]

"Elite helicopter pilots"

Another great oxymoron :}

[St Johns Wort]

"Pontius"

Another great moron :}

[wobble2plank]

I never made it past 'Mostly Harmless' :uhoh:

Oolite (http://oolite.org)

[Airborne Aircrew]

You lot make me larf... Everyone knows that behind every elite helicopter pilot is his crewman... :}

[scarecrow450]

But all aircrew are the 'master race' are'nt they ? :mad::mad::mad:

[wobble2plank]

What always made me nervous is what, exactly, was the crewie doing back there! Answers on a postcard please! :}

[racedo]

what, exactly, was the crewie doing back there!

Making their peace with God perhaps :)

[K.Whyjelly]

You lot make me larf... Everyone knows that behind every elite helicopter pilot is his crewman... :}

Sounds a bit suspect to me AA. Got any photo evidence of you up behind your driver?? The Viz pay a fiver for such snapshots in their "Up the Arse Corner" section....................:}

[diginagain]

According to a CR of the period (recently obtained from Glasgow), I made it to 'gash'.

[Biggus]

All aircrew are "elite" .........











it is just that some are more "elite" than others!!!

[Senior Pilot]

Because there's only one WGHP :p

'tis moi ;)

[Wensleydale]

The advantage of front seat - remembering what Bob Monkhouse once said....

My Father died peacefully in his sleep, (pause) unlike his passengers who all died screaming in terror.

[L J R]

This is the same press that regarded Saddams forces as 'Elite' Republican Guards, when they were no better than an 'ordinary' UK sapper.


Elite is over used, as is 'Outstanding'

[Thud_and_Blunder]

What always made me nervous is what, exactly, was the crewie doing back there! Answers on a postcard please!

...Had to hand control to the other Plt Off (C***g G*****n) in our Wessex once to climb down the back (not easy...) and see why our crewman 'Chox' B****n wasn't replying to intercom checks as we flew the Odi-KB-Lima-Bot-Dom route in seriously cr@p weather to our site somewhere near the Hockey Stick. He'd made himself a little nest in among the bergens and was fast asleep - tw@t. What made it worse was that (with him having been chopped off the same OCTU course as me...) I was paying him more out of the flight imprest than I was getting :yuk:

[racedo]

Elite is over used, as is 'Outstanding'

Only people I find Outstanding in their own field are farmers.:)

[parabellum]

This is the same press that regarded Saddam's forces as 'Elite' Republican Guards, when they were no better than an 'ordinary' UK sapper.


As an ex UK Sapper I'm not too happy with that L J R . Please remember it is the Sappers that go in AHEAD of all other forces except Pathfinders, (excluding Special Forces, who are usually independent anyway), who went in first in Normandy? Egypt? etc. etc. The list is endless, Para Engineers are always the first in followed by ground based mine clearance teams and all before the infantry Para Battalion. Probably being a bit 'picky' here but we must get these things right, you know, ORBAT and all that!!!;)

[rogerk]

"Elite helicopter pilots"

Another great oxymoron

:=:D:=:D

[wobble2plank]

Thats the line underneath the 'FJ Sky Gods' until the chopper boys come and pick them up!

:}:}:}:}

[Airborne Aircrew]

What always made me nervous is what, exactly, was the crewie doing back there!

That would be divulged on a need to know basis only... But rest assured, whatever was going on it was only at the behest of the two winged "leader"... :}

[OverTq]

Yes, crewmen have their uses BUT, 'no stick, no vote'.

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

Ah that classic riposte, which is the precisely why we saw the introduction of formal CRM training.

In most cases it worked very well but the odd one will always slip through the net :=

[oldbeefer]

Don't worry - tongue firmly in cheek!

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

As is mine :ok:

[Fareastdriver]

When I flew as a contract pilot for Bristow my official job title was 'Casual Pilot'.

After all those years I had been rumbled.

[Airborne Aircrew]

When I flew as a contract pilot for Bristow my official job title was 'Casual Pilot'.

I flew with a few of those... In quite a few cases it was no secret...:E

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

Some of us did wonder what caused you to leave........now it's legal have you ever thought of re joining :E

[ShyTorque]

You lot make me larf... Everyone knows that behind every elite helicopter pilot is his crewman...

Yes, mine were usually a long way behind me.... that's why they were crewmen. :E

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

ST,

Having flown with you before I can fully understand why they would wish to be a long long way behind you................... :uhoh:

[charliegolf]

Cruel Shy, very cruel. Fair, but cruel.

There were, however, always one or two of the master race who fitted the old apocryphal dit to a t. You know the one, the "On starting the engine, this pilot sets in train ............."

CG

[ShyTorque]

So do you think they were lying when they said that after all this time I'd actually improved to the point they were finally prepared to allow me out by myself..? :sad:

;)

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

From a crewman's perspective that is what we would have prefeered............you out on your own and us safe on the ground :p

[ShyTorque]

And these days that's exactly the way it is, a bargain. I remove my own chock, load my own pax and close my own doors. And I'll never have to live in a barn or wear an AR5 again. Luxury. :E

Mind you, I have to come here now for the banter :p

[charliegolf]

We took a puma to Bruggen once, filled with aircrew for the annual shin-kick that was the aircrew footie comp.

After the game (we won), all the crewmen were 'interested' to hear it start up. Next thing it's flying, sans crewman, just as SFFP suggests. The 2 pilots got scared though it seems, 'cos they only went about 400 feet- 100 up, 100 down and 200 down range!:ok:

CG

[ShyTorque]

Probably getting a bit lost after flying all that way by themselves..... :p

[cresta10]

I think with moments like these, the rotor guys are elite :ok:

http://lighthousepatriotjournal.files.wordpress.com/2006/09/chopper_lz-extraction_afghanistan.jpg

[Airborne Aircrew]

I think with moments like these, the rotor guys are eliteIt's the crewman/men that got that Chinook there not the pilot... He's just the crewman to disk interface in these situations... http://www.hqrafregiment.net/images/smilies/fishing.gif

[Monty77]

No Airborne.

It was teamwork. Pilot could not have got there without crewman, crewman can't talk the aircraft there without the pilot. Certainly on a cab that size. I used the scenario of putting an underslung load on a plinth at night on goggles during my BA interview to show how I had demonstrated 'teamwork'. Went down well. Just like confined areas, where an awful lot of trust/judgement/cooperation going both ways is involved and required.

Not sure about the so-called 'loyalty check', where certain crewmen took it upon themselves to give it, "UP! UP! UP!" on a routine day approach to a fort to satisfy themselves that they weren't just talking to their microphone.

Unnecessary over-torque.

[minigundiplomat]

I was No 1 crewman on a Chinook 10 ship from Keevil - Carlisle a few years back. We had an ATMP, roll cage internal, with a very awkward motorbike on the ramp ,which was level due to the fuel level on the motorbike.

(Ideally, I would have drained the tank a little, but we got the confounded thing at the very last moment!).

500 feet over the outskirts of Stafford, the bike started to move a little under the strops, so I decided to reposition them one at a time. Unfortunately, whilst repositioning the motorbike, a fuel line came loose and started to spray fuel over my visor. Then the other strop slipped a bit more. I managed to get the attention of the No 2 crewman who came down to give me a hand and eventually we got the bike back into position and secure.

However, during the height of this commotion, as the two of us wrestled with this motorbike over Stafford, with fuel spraying over me, the LHS Nav asked:

'I'm a little bit peckish, have we got any chocolate down the back?'

The RHS, who was poling and doing the radios took a glance at his mirror and replied:

'Er, I think the guys are a little busy at the moment'.

Monty77 is 100% correct. It is all about teamwork, and we succeed or fail by the faith and trust we place in each other.

[Tourist]

Nothing against chinook boys, but that picture doesn't look that tricky. It looks like the pilot has good visual references, and his back wheels have a level surface.

Now the chinook display, that impresses me....




YouTube - Sea Kings on Ex Saif Serea (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OJpnwaBu3o8)

(17 seconds in. A bit trickier, but still not that tricky)

[rogerk]

Many moons ago I was face down on the outside pod cage of a Sioux with a very expensive piece of comms kit as an underslung load.

The idea was with me face down I could be very accurate in guiding the pilot to getting our load to the top of a tower and over the high barrier fence.

We got near to the tower and the load was still very stable with hardly any “swing” at all and we were almost over the outer safety railings.

Then an over eager Signals Sergeant leaned out from the railings and grabbed the aerial.

He was desperately clinging on to his new toy connecting him to 3000 pounds of Sioux in a very dodgy hover a few feet above his head to a 300 foot metal tower !!

“Drop load - go left !!”

The whole lot ended up in the car park below - flying with prudence we said !!

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

I suspect your average SH Crewman would have reacted with Up Gently and with the appropriate lateral voice marshaling and accurate flying from the pilot they would easily clear the obstacle.

Then with a bit of hand waving to clear the offending pongo away followed by some more voice marshaling and accurate flying..................jobs done and very expensive comms kit is still intact..........flying with professionals I reckon is the way ahead :ok:

[rogerk]

"Crabair" always fly sideways so you would have drifted so far off the target you could have flogged the load to the East Germans for a few crates of beer !!
:D:D:D

[Airborne Aircrew]

Golly... I didn't think I'd have to explain a http://www.hqrafregiment.net/images/smilies/fishing.gif

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

Better to make a profit as opposed to simply smashing it to pieces.........but as that is an Army way of life...............:p

[Tiger_mate]

Not a Chinny mate myself, but have to admit to witnessing this with the upmost respect to all of the crew involved:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2493094706_ddfe79816e.jpg
...and they did not take all day over it either.

AL1. I perhaps should add that they were assembling the Fire Tower not taking it apart.

[Monty77]

Airborne.

I am totally dished. I failed to spot your hat, rod, and general banter.

I am sir, your obedient servant.

Monty77:ok:

[FLCH]

Here's a helicopter pilot 'elite anything thats given to him.

http://www.tenangrymen.com/Images/iam_lukeskywalker.jpg

[teeteringhead]

And in this context it is perhaps timely to remember the Fighter Pilot's Prayer ......

...... Oh Lord, grant me:

The wings of an Eagle ....


The eyes of a hawk ....
















...... and the balls of an SH pilot! :E

[chinook240]

Hey Tigermate,

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2493094706_ddfe79816e.jpg

That was me doing the top stages of the Buer Tower, about 15 nm NW of Gut in 89. Crewman was Dougie V and I can only repeat that these things are pure teamwork. The JHSU lads who worked with us were also part of that team! I had little or no references and it took the best part of 15 mins and some of Dougie's smoothest voice marshalling to get it in.

Just out of interest, where were you?

[Tiger_mate]

Just out of interest, where were you?

I think that a few of these were done within a short period of time. My recollection is that the Crewman on this particular aircraft was Tom P****, but it was nearly 20 years ago. I was on a plastic pursuit ship sent along to hold your hand. The clue is in the name.

[minigundiplomat]

Plastic and Pursuit being the key words there.

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

MGD,

Pity, as you were on a hatrick mate :p

[chinook240]

Tiger mate,

Its definately the Buer Tower! Tom may well have been the other crewman on my ac. Another crew led by Garth B did the bottom 2 stages, leaving us to complete the top.

I remember the Puma, I'm sure it was moving our strops around.