John Eacott wrote:
We always reckoned that the 212 should have a bulldog on the nose: the Mack truck of the air.
Actually... Back in the 1970's, Mack Truck did run one of the first IFR-certified 212's in and around the New York City area in the U.S. And indeed, they *did* have their trademark bulldog mounted on the nose. I'm sure Nick Lappos remembers it. It was really classy...back then. Wish I could find a pic to post.
In my entire career, which began in 1976, I never flew or even flew in a 205/212. Couple of quick 412 rides here and there, but no two-blade Huey time. Then, in like 1995 or so PHI was doing a hurricane evac. We pilots had driven our cars up to high(er) ground (it was Louisiana, after all and *nothing* was all that high) and they were using a 212 to shuttle us back down to the base at the mouth of the Mississippi River so we could grab up our planes and scram outta town before the storm hit.
Oh, it was a truck, alright, that 212. As we clattered and rattled and humped away from the New Orleans base, I remember thinking, "Did we lose a tip-weight? Or a whole blade? What a piece of junk! Why do pilots love this thing so much?" And this 212 was on contract to Shell Oil! Then I also thought about those poor Mack Truck executives making that torturous 45 minute teeth-rattling flight (longer if IFR!) from Allentown, Pennsylvania into NYC in that "state-of-the-art" IFR helicopter. Sheesh!
Meh- I'll never understand the attraction of the 212. Great machine, obviously...a real workhorse, no doubt about it...but I don't think I'd like to fly one for any length of time. Then again, I said that about the Bo-105 and ended up loving that tank. Might even be my favorite aircraft of all time.