The Lucky Hat
Saw an interestin' item in a recent NatGeo mag. It was stats on ways to leave this life presented as circles of probability. The biggies were heart attacks & cancer, expiring in an aircraft prang was tiny by comparison. The scary one was the biggest circle of all, chances of a fatality at the end of your life....100%. I still reckon choppers are safer than automobiles. I'll go for a jolly in a helo just for the pleasure of it but I'll save up errands to do them all in one car trip rather than risk multiple excursions on the roads.
Was at a mates weekender last Saturday when the power went off. A few minutes later a friend, who was flying over in an R44 to join us for breakfast, landed out front. When he got out old LiveWire (his new nickname) looked a bit rattled and when the blades stopped turning it was obvious why, he'd taken out the high voltage feeders strung over the gorge at the rear of the property & USd the MRBs in the process. He threw his new cap on the ground cursing it. The rest of us decided it was his lucky hat.
Most fliers I've talked with admit to occasional feelings of disquiet. Sometimes I reckon its harder for us recreational pilots because we're not actually obliged to be up there for work, so its difficult to justify turning up again after a near miss. I've encouraged LiveWire to get back in the saddle soon. Another pilot acquaintance reckons helicopters are killing machines and that, for some pilots, its only a matter of time. Once you've convinced yourself you're not one of those pilots its easy to climb aboard again!