Obviously things have changed (bit of lamp swinging, MBJ <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> ) but the NS certainly appeared to have been a bit more of a challenge early on, when there was no radar, rigs were still being constructed, S61 was state of the art, and ships were wood and men were steel....... .. .The 70's saw a lot of operations in the NS when stuff was still being developed, rig shuttles were the order of the day (we lived on rigs 2 weeks on/2 weeks off) with 10 to 20 landings per hour taking the bears to work. Months without a single day time hour logged, the flying was challenging and interesting, when a calm day was less than 20kts, and good weather was >700 ft cloud base <img border="0" title="" alt="[Roll Eyes]" src="rolleyes.gif" /> I would venture a guess that the NS reputation was built around those days, and is now one of sheer professionalism, although slightly more mundane.. .. .Character building, and good to look back on, but the current bus runs from the beach would bore me to tears. I keep IFR currency (just) doing what I do, and have a much more varied and rewarding life here in Aust. Wild horses wouldn't drag me back to the NS.. .. .Challenging work as an option? EMS, emergency services, fire fighting, sling work.. .. .Best fun? Film work (sometimes), fire fighting, snow ops <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" />