skills test
On the morning of my skills test I turned up to be told we would be flying G-whatever, a white R22, and to go and do a pre-flight check. Chief pilot said it needed fuel and to phone fuel man to fill it up. Strolled out to nearest white R22 and did full check. Just as I finished I noticed the fuel man arrive in his truck to fill up another white R22, G-something else, on next but one helipad. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted my examiner walzing over to G-something else just as I was closing the checklist and thinking I'd done a good check on G-whatever, the wrong bloody heli. Examiner looked over at me, shook his head and vanished back into the office. I followed him expecting him to cancel skills test on the grounds of my stupidity, but he just tutted and said: "Come and get me when you've checked the right helicopter, it's the white one with a fuel hose sticking out of it and the letters G-something else plastered all over the side of it."
Amazingly, he passed me.
That's the silliest thing I did as a pilot. The silliest thing I did as a person was deciding to become a pilot. What I could have done with all those thousands of pounds I have blown in the sad hope I would ever make a living out of being a pro heli pilot, God only knows.
Best wishes
Sean