Counter-rant - YOU WERE LUCKY
"When I was a lad, we used to have to get up at 4 o'clock, 2 hours before we went to bed. Rub sticks together to start t' fire for t' kettle. Then we had to put t' helicopter together with out any tools. After that we had to wash helicopter clean, licking t' grease off with our tongues. To finish off, we had to de-ice t' blades with the warmth from under our armpits, push helicopter out onto t' ramp (no wheels). You were lucky!"
Ha! You two sound like the two old grumpy men from the Muppets! Well at least they were funny in their grumpiness.
Guys, get a life! I strongly suggest you go and read the words of Bob Dylan's 'The Times, They are A-Changing'...because they have!
Don't go blaming the wanabees for the situation today. It's called 'Supply and Demand'. You should be complaining to the CAA for making the UK training so unbelievably over-the-top, so that people go to the US to get a more practical helicopter rating and not one which is designed for jet traffic over the Atlantic. And while you're at the CAA, ask them why the Airspace is so restrictive for GA. Next go to the government and complain about the price of fuel. After that, take a trip down to the stock exchange (if it hasn't been sold to the Germans!) and complain about the price of the US dollar compared to the rest of the world. Lastly, complain to the employers in the helicopter industry, for not paying more for flight instructors, thus attracting more experienced pilots.
BUT don't blame the new pilots for the state of the industry today. Blame those that shaped the industry to what it is...the old timers!
ChairmanoftheBoard, I see you're from Oz...reason why I didn't go there...Less than a 1000 registered helicopters and over 3000 certified pilots!
SUPPLY and DEMAND!
As I said, times have changed. I cannot blame a pilot-to-be, for doing whatever he / she can to get the foot in the door. You guys need to see that and either get over it, do something about it or move on.
As for HAI, well it is not surprising that HAI will get the Lion's share of moans and gripes...that's because it is the Lion. Makes it easy to have a dig at it...doesn’t it.
Actually, most people who have a gripe with HAI do so for the same reasons....
a) They weren't the hotshot that they thought they were, and so took longer to get through the course than they budgeted for.
b) They weren't the hotshot that they thought they were, and so didn't get hired on like they were so sure they would.
c) Were generally the sort of whingers and moaners...the sort of people that wouldn't be good on a team, and so didn't get hired on like they were so sure they would.
d) Need someone to blame that doesn’t include themselves!
Most other people are generally happy with the place.
Hmmm...rotorboy, I see you seem to know so much about the place...what's your story? Let me guess…the grapes were sour anyway?
Chairman of the BOARD, you said "Get off your arse and find out about the visa requirements"
What do you think the guy who asked was doing...yes, he was getting off is arse and trying to 'find out' about the visa requirements! If you're not going to help him than don't bother posting.
When I first came to this list...I thought, “Great, a place I can 'find out' about things.” Isn't that what it’s for? Or is it just for grumpy old men to have cheap digs at the newbies?
When I first came to this list...I didn't know that there was a search function that actually worked well. (You have to agree most web page search functions are rubbish.) So what do you do, you boldly step out from the dark and post. There's nothing wrong with that, eh?
Now then boys, before I sign off, let me just say that I really thought your posts were very high quality rants. No real substance, no good ideas...all the qualities of a good rant 'n' rave. Really gave the impression that you have a chip (or fry) on your shoulder about something. Well done!
Regards,
cl12pv2s
Last edited by cl12pv2s; 7th Mar 2005 at 05:12.