Offshore and utility as many know are comparable to, well nothing. The only comparable relation is that the guy wiggling the jiggly bits has a license in his pocket. Graphs must / should be used whenever / wherever but in some / a lot of areas these may not be feasible. We have that license to insure we do the best / safest job we can.
Many times I have used ever tool at my disposable in the offshore to insure I had sufficient power for ever regime of flight ( and there are many ) only to find out in flight that .... this sh!t ain't working. I have shot many approaches to the same rig with roughly same wind but on short final you realize the wind given was not accurate and you do not have the TQ to continue .... you abort. (See license in pocket)
I have used every tool in my tool bag to insure that I have the TQ to go from Sea Level to 5000' with a load of drill rod. You say "well I did this yesterday with same conditions 37 times" to find out that updrafts / downdrafts / (or lying drillers) have caused me to abort on short final. (Check license in your pocket)
Moral of my story, powerchecks yes, but we still have to use the license in our pockets as much the graphs in the books. Or, you may find yourself (possibly) looking for other employment.
Some of the finest and safest utility pilots I have worked with could struggle to find a performance graph in a RFM except for once a year. Some of the worst offshore pilots I have flown with could recite the RFM from the stem to stern but struggled with the jiggly bits.
Last edited by Scardy; 29th Aug 2019 at 09:03.