An unforgettable flight, thirty five years ago. During my initial helicopter OCU days, we were flying air training corps cadets on a "round robin" to and from Salisbury Plain, carrying out short hops into a number of field landing sites. The helicopter students got experience of carrying an aircraft full of "troops" for the first time and the cadets got air experience and practiced being soldiers, deplaning as soon as the wheels touched and running just outside the rotor disc before diving to ground, for "all round defence".
After the second takeoff, one air cadet (a big fat ginger version) brought up his very large lunch into two sick bags. The crewman indicated for him to keep hold of them, take them with him and ditch 'em the next time we landed. He did so but in the heat of the moment he threw them down and dived on top of them. He was covered from head to foot in it! Not only that, he ran back to the aircraft carrying the soggy remains of the sick bags. We had no option to carry on; whereupon the stench of puke caused a chain reaction in the cabin .... and almost in the cockpit!
