Best flying during you career?
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: leicester
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Best flying during you career?
For those of you who have countless hours of flying experience, what would you consider the Best time of your flying, what where "the good old days",
For example... first trial lesson, PPL training, CPl Current position, chartering or has there never been a great time!
MADY
For example... first trial lesson, PPL training, CPl Current position, chartering or has there never been a great time!
MADY
Military SAR in the 80s: lots of training hours, the PIC determined the SAR-limits, no (sometimes silly 
) JAR-OPS rules, a CO who stands behind your decisions, no commercial pressure, no need for consulting a lawyer before each flight 
...
) JAR-OPS rules, a CO who stands behind your decisions, no commercial pressure, no need for consulting a lawyer before each flight ...
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: In the Haven of Peace
Age: 79
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Cameroun and Tchad flying on the Tchad/Cameroun pipeline operation. Beautiful scenery in the mountains, often challenging flying, lovely people, time off in Douala, good friends. If only it could have continued for ever 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Scotland
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Air Ambulance in Lancashire! Lovely scenery with the Lakes and Pennines and of course Blackpool by night!!! 
Working with really great paramedics and feeling as though you had actually achieved something at the end of the day's flying!
bondu
Working with really great paramedics and feeling as though you had actually achieved something at the end of the day's flying!
bondu
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Sydney
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VH-GAS
Long before I got my chopper PPL, in fact long before I even dreamed of getting my licence I had the good fortune to fly the NSW AGL gas pipelines with Laurie McKiver in his drop dead gorgeous blue JetRanger.
VH-GAS had 5 radios, airband VHF, HF, company frequency, CB & one I can't remember. Laurie was a wireless magician. One day he asked for a clearance on VHF, let AGL know that some prawn with a backhoe was about to dig through the Sydney trunk feed, tried calling the tractor operator on CB then finally hovered in front of the digger & mustered the guy away from the pipe.
The other thing Laurie was really good at was the low slow orbit. He hated out-of-ground effect hovers and had mastered the art of inspecting valve stands at 200' in a 30 knot turn just nicely out of the dead mans curve.
Long before I knew how to fly I was learning airmanship from Laurie. We lost him one sad day in a car accident so he never knew that I finally learnt to fly.
VH-GAS had 5 radios, airband VHF, HF, company frequency, CB & one I can't remember. Laurie was a wireless magician. One day he asked for a clearance on VHF, let AGL know that some prawn with a backhoe was about to dig through the Sydney trunk feed, tried calling the tractor operator on CB then finally hovered in front of the digger & mustered the guy away from the pipe.
The other thing Laurie was really good at was the low slow orbit. He hated out-of-ground effect hovers and had mastered the art of inspecting valve stands at 200' in a 30 knot turn just nicely out of the dead mans curve.
Long before I knew how to fly I was learning airmanship from Laurie. We lost him one sad day in a car accident so he never knew that I finally learnt to fly.
Join Date: Mar 2005
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1. 16 years old and a trial lesson with a really great looking woman (of at least 22 years of age) who did not patronise and really opened my eyes to aviation
2. Flying grading with Korean war Navy pilots as instructors
3. Student crewroom banter and a wild social life.
4. Frontline crewroom banter and a wild social life.
5. Operating in a ripple with other professionals.
6. Operating off a flight deck 11 feet above the waterline in SS6
7. Flying with those observers who were with me for no. 6
8. Flying with Plod chasing cars with a higher top speed.
9. Flying with paramedics who made me feel humble
10. Going to work tomorrow hoping for another "good old day" and maybe getting it!.
2. Flying grading with Korean war Navy pilots as instructors
3. Student crewroom banter and a wild social life.
4. Frontline crewroom banter and a wild social life.
5. Operating in a ripple with other professionals.
6. Operating off a flight deck 11 feet above the waterline in SS6
7. Flying with those observers who were with me for no. 6
8. Flying with Plod chasing cars with a higher top speed.
9. Flying with paramedics who made me feel humble
10. Going to work tomorrow hoping for another "good old day" and maybe getting it!.
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: somedays in a helicopter, other days in a fixed-wing....
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Whitsundays
Did a flight around the Whitsundays, covered most of the Islands and headed out to the outer reef. . . awesome scenery, prob my place for a dream job. Great location, Great people, 74 islands. . crystal clear water, white sand. .
Give me a job there anyday. .
Give me a job there anyday. .
As factory pilot, I had the privilege of traveling around the world to provide functional test pilot training to the worlds Sea Stallion, Super Stallion and Sea Dragon flight crews. Flew with the best and can only hope I made a difference.
