Thomas Coupling:
I know that we helicopter pilots like to consider ourselves to be superhuman, but unfortunately we're not. Flying a helicopter calls for skills on a par with riding a bicycle. In terms of motor functions, any average Joe or Jane can fly a helicopter.
Safety has a little to do with skill and a lot to do with judgement. There's very little to stop people with poor judgement progressing through the ranks of helicopter pilots. I wouldn't have trusted some of the commercial pilots or instructors I've known with anything more dangerous than a plastic spoon. Didn't stop them making a living.
I don't want to burst your bubble or let the cat out of the bag with the public, but we're no better than the next guy.
As to the expense, it's all relative. Here in the UK we have never in history bought more yachts, Porsches and Ferraris, more exotic holidays, more second homes, and we've never had more leisure time.
There are hundreds of thousands of very rich people out there, and we're not attracting enough of them into this industry.
Last edited by Pat Malone; 31st May 2005 at 14:05.