Do helicopter pilots come from helicopter parents?

[Dave_Jackson]

Helicopter pilots must take risks on occasion.

Does this mean that rebellious offspring of 'helicopter parents' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent) become helicopter pilots? :uhoh:


Just a thought, while waiting for Santa to slide down the chimney.

Dave

[Whirlybird]

I'll take it seriously, Dave....because my parents pretty much fitted that description!!! :{

[DeltaNg]

My Dad was a Maggot Farmer. So that theory doesn't work for me.
I also know of ex-coal miners, shoe shop workers and trawlermen.

Think it's more true in the Fixed Wing world though...wot ho.

[Whirlybird]

DeltaNg - did you read the description of helicopter parents? They're perhaps better described as hovering parents. We're not talking about kids following in parents' footsteps; far from it!

[SASless]

Rebellious Child.....Me?

I would not describe my parents as being "Helicopter Parents" as I sabotaged their scrutiny of my school grade reports and mid-term Progress Reports by means of a tracing table I made using the glass top to my study desk at home. I had a future as a forger until I got "busted" when my scheme ran off the cliff.

My grades....remembering I discovered beer, airplanes, and girls all about the same time....almost put paid to any hope of attending university. My continued embrace of beer and girls during my very short tenure at university pointed me towards other endeavours.

Combine the looming sure thing I would be allowed the honour of serving my fellow Americans by General Hershey's organization and that love of beer, girls, and flying.....made the decision to take up helicopter flying all the easier in 1967.

I, in a very weak moment of teenaged clarity, figured flying helicopters beat riding in the back of them carrying a rifle and wearing a rucksack.

Thus, I reckon my aversion to back packing is what made me a Helicopter Pilot more than anything else....besides perhaps a weakness for drink and the ladies.

[handysnaks]

Parents had no interest in aviation whatsoever (Dad was married at least twice before though, and that and a son were a secret until after he died:=, so maybe that qualifies for the risk taking aspect!!).
Son has who has no interest in anything mechanical, is a history teacher so I guess I'm a one-off!!:p

[ShyTorque]

In my case, no. We spent most of our childhood exploring the local woods and getting up to all sorts of adventures. Some of which I wouldn't want my kids to have got up to. But I'm sure they probably have.

[birrddog]

If this thread gets moved to JetBlast I'd be happy to add some stories of "Helicopter Parents"....

At a previous place I worked a parent stood in for a child during an interview 'because their baby was sick and she wanted to make sure their strengths were presented appropriately during the interview'

:ugh:

[Dave_Jackson]

Every year at Christmas dinner the kids fight over the wishbone. Being good helicopter parents, we felt that something had to be done to stop this fighting. Therefore, this year we decided to have reindeer for dinner, instead of turkey. Fresh reindeer arrived the night before Christmas and tonight we sat down to dinner.

Well I'll be damned, the kids got into a fight over who would get the red nose.


:O

[ShyTorque]

Many years ago, a bunch of us along with our wives were invited to a pre-Christmas meal in Germany. The meat arrived, it was reindeer. I jokingly put a glaced cherry from my wife's drink at the end of the plate. I immediately became Mr. Unpopular and not one of the wives ate any meat! :p

[heliski22]

Got a good laugh from that, ShyT, compliments of the season to you!!!!

22

[birrddog]

ShyT, last year I was doing some 'game management' on my land, and shot a doe...

Mrs Birrddog was none too pleased when I told her I had shot Bambi's mother :E

[pitchlink]

Went to boarding school, so I guess I don't quite fit with the above definition. But school paid for by father flying helicopters, so I don't know where I stand!! Am I, or aren't I?:confused:

[Senior Pilot]

From Dave's link:

Helicopter parents:

Helicopter parent is a colloquial, early 21st-century term for a parent who pays extremely close attention to his or her child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. These parents rush to prevent any harm or failure from befalling them and will not let them learn from their own mistakes, sometimes even contrary to the children's wishes. They are so named because, like helicopters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter), they hover closely overhead, rarely out of reach, whether their children need them or not. In Scandinavia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia), this phenomenon is known as curling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling) parenthood and describes parents who attempt to sweep all obstacles out of the paths of their children.
An extension of the term, "Black Hawk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk) parents," has been coined for those who cross the line from a mere excess of zeal to unethical behavior, such as writing their children's college admission essays (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essay). (The reference is to the military helicopter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UH-60_Black_Hawk) of the same name.) Some college professors and administrators are now referring to "Lawnmower parents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawnmower)" to describe mothers and fathers who attempt to smooth out and mow down all obstacles, to the extent that they may even attempt to interfere at their children's workplaces, regarding salaries and promotions, after they have graduated from college and are supposedly living on their own.


Thank goodness I didn't have any of those :p

[topendtorque]

LOL
shades of Doctor spock, who later repudiated his teachings.

i know my father didn't specialise in hovering, born of a couple of thousand hours in P40's and 51's. but i did get to see his very smooth touch when I got him to hover and fly the G5 that I was operating once. For him it was after only a few minutes and thirty years of lack of currency. That was something quite special.

My mother, on the other hand, well my sister and I got her hovering plenty when we set off to explore the boundaries, and further, of our farm in our very early youth. Our speciality being to take the pea rifle and go hunting after a good bit of rain that usually ran a good fresh in the creeks. I don't think it was the hovering that caused the red bottoms though.

I've noticed that the offsprings of the full on hover types are not as flamboyant in their style, indeed there seem to be few of them in our field. Where-as those of the extremely spoilt, never been encouraged to limit themselves at any boundary are the most dangerous and very hard to engender respect for machine or situation into. A pain in the **** in other words.

But xmas dinner in our house is fairly peaceful, except for the red noses.
tet

[HELOFAN]

I wouldnt say they were though the old man was a helicopter pilot & thats where i got the bug from.


Thanks Dad.

If I wasnt a wonderer before, I am now.

Merry Xmas all.

HF

[Heli-Ice]

This doesn't fit my parents description.

When I was younger the door of the house was kept open meaning I should go out and find something to keep myself busy. Went to the docks and worked with the old fishermen learning their trade, saw helicopters flying over town every now and then and decided to go into that line of work later and here I am. Guess fish gutting didn't impress me much...

Maybe I am the U/S helicopter parent... I would like to hover around and look after the kids but to lazy to do so :)