Bloody dangerous machines

[NigD2]

All

In light of the recent high profile heli accidents (professional and private flying), has anyone been receiving pressure from wives/girlfriends/family to stop flying those "bloody dangerous machines".

My thanks especially go to the British national press.

[Thomas coupling]

4 times more likely to die in a car crash apparently:eek:

Tell your other half to give up driving!

[NigD2]

Mr Coupling

That arguement is not admissable due to the inconvenience of not being able to get to the retail park to go shopping. There's not even a helipad there to back me up!!

:rolleyes:

[RW-1]

My current girlfriend used to worry, but then she decided she wanted to try it, and now loves to go flying with me.

She has listened to me getting ready for the commercial back than so much, talking about autos, 180 autos, Cal's and pinnacles, that she took an hour or so with my CFI to experience all of the maneuvers I was doing ("I want to know what is is that you are referring to when you say I did a few ...")

She has heard about mishaps, and knows that if she flies often enough that she may be with me when something happens, nature of the beast if you fly long enough. But she said it best "when I get up there with you, all of that goes into the back of my mind as I look out at that terrific view!" :)

For when I go and she doesn't, she now just says "Just stay safe, and call me when you get back".
( I consider myself lucky)

[Nomads]

I fly (helicopter) and chauffeur in my present position and My wife is far happier when I go flying. She is more worried me being on the road than in the air.

SAFE FLYING:
;)

[S76Heavy]

My better half knows how miserable and intolerable I get when unable to fly..so she's quite happy for me to fly.
But we checked our life insurance policy nevertheless.
other family members seem more worried, though. Perhaps because they know less about flying and only see the spectacular accidents on tv.

[SASless]

Just introduce them to a life insurance agent.....buy as much as you can afford.....find a really crappy operation....and make the young dear a wealthy widow.....I do accept introductions. Would be glad to console a rich young widow.....professional courtesy only you know.

[RotorHorn]

Its always a worry when Mrs. RH realises I'm worth more dead than alive, sees a thunderstorm coming down the road and says - "You haven't been flying for a while dear..."

[muffin]

Funnily enough my other half will happily fly in a helicopter with me, but refuses to fly in a fixed wing. Something to do with rushing down the runway at breakneck speed as opposed to gently coming to a stop and setting down.

[Big G.]

I agree, had the same conversation just yesterday with the better half!
I would much rather be at 500 ft knowing that I am sharing the space with professionals, than be strapped into my car trying to survive the M25 surrounded by sales reps!!

[Thomas coupling]

RW-1 your life sounds like a soap opera:D

Question: How many of you (with relatives) have SERIOUSLY got insurance cover, should you get injured or snuff it during helicopter flying?

It is after all classified as a 'dangerous sport/activity'

Much akin to getting married I suppose:)

[RW-1]

TC .... :D She liked that comment hehehe.

I've only got (at this time) the coverage provided by my AOPA membership, which increases each year I'm still with them. when I get hired sometime, somewhere, I plan on obtaining something in addition to that.

[Arcus1]

Replying to an earlier post, I have $200,000 of life insurance for $32 a month. If you have a child...get some!
How it works over there in blighty I don't know, but I got mine through AOPA.

[arm the floats]

According to NASA its 20 times more dangerous in a helicopter than in a car.

http://safecopter.arc.nasa.gov/

[B.Loser]

The XL (Ex-Loser) didn’t bring up the safety issue much. In the early months after we married, she enjoyed riding along and, much like RW-1’s squeeze, she seemed to understand how things worked and had no real “safety concerns”. After that month-long “infatuation, or honeymoon phase” was over, her “concerns” focused on the poor pay, lack of benies, etc…, so even if safety was to have been an issue, it would have taken a back seat to the “more important” stuff. $$$

TC; I’ve got a fair insurance policy for the final check-in, or in case I get FUBARed and don’t make it all the way to the gate. The TL (Teen Loser) gets $250K if it’s not work related and $500K if it is.

As for the last part…, “Much akin to getting married I suppose”

That’s; NEGATIVE!!! I’d just as soon cut my finger and get pulled behind a boat in an inner-tube as shark bait than face having to get married again. At least with the sharks I’d have a fightin’ chance.

[Woolf]

Since I started my training I have never spend much thought on the dangers of flying helicopters and always used the "Air transport is much safer than driving a car" argument to answer questions from worried relatives.

However I have been working in this buisness now for just over a year and a number of things happend in my immediate vicinity to people I have known personally:

- Rollover accident of a Puma on the West Navion. CoPilot heavily injured
- S76 crash in the southern sector. 11 dead
- recent R22 rollover in EGPD

plus a number of Incidents involving engin fires, cockpit fires, hydraulic failures ......

I am still enjoying the flying and am certainly not afraid of it but even though I dont know any figures or percentages I am sure that it is more dangerous than driving. On the other hand it made me more aware of the importance of emergency drills, emergency equippment, single engine profiles.... (and I know them by heart and not just for my 6 monthly base check) which is a good thing! :)

Woolf

[Helinut]

Once you start looking at numbers as a measure of risk you can most often prove anything you want. Accident, injury and fatality rates can be per mile travelled, per flying hour, per flight per aircraft year, per worker (i.e. pilot) year etc etc.

However, on a comparative basis using most of the common rate risk figures, helicopters tend to be higher than most other things you would usually compare it with.

For me the thing is the risk-benefit balance. Because I love flying helos I am happy to take the risk for the benefit I derive- I do my best to control that risk though which for me is one of the sources of satisfaction. If it did not have risks to be managed, I would not enjoy it so much.

[arm the floats]

Agreed Helinut, it does annoy me though when professional helicopter pilots tell themselves and the world that driving a car to work is more dangerous.

[SASless]

Helicopter flying is safer than driving? Why is it I know a darn sight more helicopter pilots that got killed flying than I do helicopter pilots that got killed in cars or riding motorcycles? I sure know more people that drive than I do helicopter pilots....thus the greater exposure to a larger population should mean a greater rate of snuffing it behind the wheel than behind the stick....but it doesn't work that way does it? Or am I missing something again?

Lets ask the Bristow bunch for example to poll the ranks of the pilot staff....and see if they have had more than five pilots killed driving in the past ten-eleven years? Average loss rate there seems to be about one pilot every two years due to helicopter crashes......wonder how many died in car wrecks?

[S76Heavy]

Perhaps pilots are safer drivers than the average bloke?:D

[Irlandés]

Funnily enough, some of the best pilots I know are atrocious drivers! :rolleyes: Not enough instruments or something makes them complacent... ;)

[FWA NATCA]

There are only two times that one should get worried when flying a helocopter:

1. When it quits leaking oil and or hydralic fluid.
2. When it suddenly gets real quiet, and you are not parked in the hanger or on the pad.

Mike
FWA
Over 600 hours in an H46

[Woolf]

oh and also when:

- you hear a loud bang
- vibration increases
- you see a brilliant flash of light followed by a bit of noise
- the lady says: rotor low - rotor low
- the lady says: fire engine1 - fire engine 1
- you suddenly get a real nasty kick in yaw
- the main gearbox fire warning comes on
- you can't see the instruments because of all that smoke
- the smoke and fire warnings in the boot come on
- your torque has increased by about 15% and the windscreen is frozen solid
- you suddenly discover a low forward speed combined with a bit of vibration and an unusual high rate of descend
- you find yourself in cloud with the attitude indicator showing you really funny things
- you are in low G and you hear a loud bumping noise from the mast
- you go through a cloud with massive vertical extend
- you jammed your mobile phone in your controls and can't reach it
- oh and of course when your controls go really stiff and you can't move them any more

to be continued ....... ;)


Woolf

[Heli-Ice]

Woolf STOP IT!

You're scaring me! :D

I haven't had any real pressure from my girlfriend yet but sometimes she talks about how uncomfortable she feels when I'm out flying with my students.

I have a way to get her mind off of it :cool:

I look at it this way: If you are to live your life you have to be able to accept that there will not always be sunshine every day.

Before I started flying I used to worked as a fisherman and that is a job full of interesting happenings and surprises. Swinging wires, gigantic waves throwing the ship around, men thrown around holding knives e.t.c. The cook thrown and running around the kitchen holding the frying pan in one hand and some other hot or otherwise dangerous equipment in the other.

Best wishes,

Heli-Ice

To me, everything that swings, rotates or just plainly moves is in a way dangerous. You just have to operate these things with precaution and respect.

All I know that one day I will be walking with the gods in Valhalla, I just hope they will have enough "Brennivin and sharkmeat".

[soggyboxers]

I think that if you work in some of the third world countries I've worked in, that driving to work is about as dangerous as the flying.
The only dangerous time when flying really is the bit in between the moment when the aircraft first moves under its own power to the moment after the last landing when the blades finally stop rotating.

[SASless]

Ah guys.... I can think of some really fun things....

Like you do not hear the almighty BANG!

All vibration ceases!

The smoke from your burning Nomex flying togs.....signals a cockpit fire inflight! (Been there...done that!) Nomex gloves are great while they last!

Unusual indications on the attitude indicator with associated funny wind noises and G-loadings.....mast thumping....heck...isn't that a normal night takeoff offshore in an un-SAS'd 212 ?

The sound your girlfriend's husband's teeth make on the pocketknife blade as he opens his knife while holding you by the tender parts!

[kbf1]

Mrs KB has just upped my life insurance and is encouraging me to fly in the most atrocious Wx. Something to do with improiving my IF apparently. Funny, but she never took that much of an interest in the terminology before. She also took me to see a man about a "fitting", whatever that might be. Still, she loves me loads, she tells me so every so often.

[RW-1]

Ya'all just have to remember:

If it has Tires, Rotors, or Tits, sooner or later it will give you a world of trouble. :D