Morning All,

I know the industry is going through a bit of a downturn at the moment so thought I would do something to help bring a bit of cheer to some of you.

First 100 people who post on here why they enjoy the helo industry and their most memorable moment will win themselves a freebie copy of our 2016 calendar.

All you need to do is add your post to this thread then send me a PM with where to send it.

Have a good Christmas everyone.

Ned

P.S. Senior Pilot - Hope this is ok.

Well, flying helicopters is much better than working for a living!

One of my most memorable flights ended with a little Chinese baby being born in the cabin, seconds before his mother was able to be transferred to the waiting ambulance. He wasn't expected to have survived, but did. We all shed a tear of happiness.

I wanted to fly helicopters as far back as my high school days. Managed to pass the Army flight school and have never looked back. 42 years of operating those wonderful machines.

I guess my most memorable flight was a dusk/dark extraction of LRRPs on ropes (McGuire Rig) under fire. After reaching a secure area, we landed and got the Rangers on board. During the flight back to base someone produced a bottle of Jack Daniels. The one time I broke the "bottle-to-throttle" rule.

Because jet noise is boring.

Watching the sun rise over the desert as you head back for breakfast after a long night of flying.

Climbing out on top of a solid cloud base into glorious sunshine when it's wet and cold below is as beautiful today as it was 35 years ago. A sight everybody should be allowed to witness.

Fine by me, Ned. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas in the Land of the Long White Cloud

Nice idea!
Why I like to be within helicopters?
Lots of reasons - normally the boss is left behind - its up to me how to complete the task.
Furthermore, its just fun to move (nearly freely) around the three dimensions with spectecular views.
And while others pay a lot to have the chance to get airborne I get paid for just that. O.K. at night, with the ceeling coming down, high tension wires in front of you and the 30 to 40 knots wind in the back, blowing you towards the wires which you haven´t mad out yet is less funny and not payed good enough for these moments.....

but really - boys never really grow up - they just get taller and play with more expensive toys....
And cause I can´t buy my own helicopter, I have someone else to give me one

Nothing beats the variety that helicopter flying can bring you.

After 27 years of flying (and still going strong) - both mil and civ - in lots of interesting places, I would say my most memorable moments are those times that I managed to get my family involved: taking my wife flying in Canada in a B412, taking my parents flying (one at a time!) in an R22, and taking a heli to the Outer Hebrides for a school visit - the school just happened to be next door to my grandparents. All great days.

Because right now I'm saving living flying rescue... and every day brings a new experience that is memorable

Using a 500 to move thousands of bags of heather and gorse brash to the top of the Peak District to try and neutralise the effects of 250 years of industrial pollution. Nice to put something back into the environment !

... because I can't stand jet noise anymore, but I will never get tired of helicopter noise.

First ever flight in a helicopter, lifts into the hover, hangs there, fairly stable, not quite level and I can remember thinking, this is all very different from fixed wing!
I was also quite surprised at the level of vibration even though it was a twin turbine.

When I read the first post I did not know what to answer (since unfortunately I am not a pilot) but the more I think the more reasons I get:

Because flying in a helicopter is much much more elite than airline flying and it is good to say around that I have flown in a hello

Because the first flight in a helicopter was from I think Laguardia (sp?) to JFK at the end of my first trips in the States. Fascinating experience and much more so because it was in a Pan Am chopper so within two weeks I had flown on both the largest and smaller Pan Am aircraft.

Because the second (and last so far) flight was so meaningless and unnecessary but joyful, fun and memorable that is really worth mentioning and saying it was great being on it. It was a positioning flight from a small Air Force field to a field outside a hotel. The Air Force was ok with allowing the chopper to use the field during daylight hours but not ok with letting the machine to overnight so it has to be flown out. I was offered a front seat on the flight (a few minutes duration) and it was terrific. It was really worth doing it even I missed a lift home by car and had to take the train - as a matter of fact the combination of chopper - train beat the boring car ride hands down.

Because when the Air Force has its open days and I visit the local SAR base (the main base of the country) they provide (as merchandising) the smartest t-shirts . The have one which in the front says the number or the Squadron and at the back the mention: "Only God has saved more". The colors are great too. And they also had one with a smiling UH-1 Huey and horse collar life jacket (I hope it makes sense other wise I have to put a picture).

Because when I has serving as a radar/TACAN tech in the Air Force the idea of oversleeping and not switching on the TACAN for the arrival of the Land Army's Apaches making me waking up several time during the night. As a matter of fact the Apaches arrival provided me with the most sleepless night during my service in the Air Force.

Because the apartment where I live is close to a heli-lane and I love the noise of the helicopters.

Because all though I have a long admiration for fix-wing aircraft the screen saver I have for my lap-top is one from the Helicopter arm of the National Navy and not an Air Force one.

Happy and full of employment 2016 for all of us.

Rwy in Sight

Remember that when you have made your post send me a private message with your postal address to send the calendar to.

Cheers

Because ATC treats you differently, they want you to stay low very low away from those pesky airplane, and just a bit higher when their radar cannot see you . Especially when its a beautiful day and the scenery is unique.

Being helicopter pilots just makes us better, cooler and generally more awesome than the rest of society so we can look down on them physically and metaphorically

Why do I like the industry:
Because I have used it as SLF over the last 40 years to get to work in the offshore oil & gas industry, which enabled me to earn a nice living

Most memorable moment:
Several

Flying at a couple of hundred feet down the Norfolk cost in the back of a Wessex with the door open and waving to the trippers on the beach. (late 1970's I might add)
Flying to a remote village in the Sumatran jungle and seeing everyone for miles around come to see the aircraft (and the odd Western occupants!) (both were a novelty in the early 1980's )
Getting taken off a NUI (Normally Unmanned Installation) in the North Sea at about 2300 hrs after preparing to spend the night due to the stormy weather. A marginal improvement allowed the aircraft to collect us and avoid a fairly uncomfortable night. (Early 1990's)

I´m not "in the industry" because I´m just a PPL and only spend my money in helicopter flying, but from this perspective:

Nothing beats the spectacular views you can have from inside a heli-cockpit to the world below (or the trees around you while hovering in a remote forest glade), and it gets even better, if you share this experience with your family or friends.

A heli is definitely not the right tool to just "get there", but if the trip is the goal, than you're best seated in a front row of a helicopter ;-)

Always happy landings

Thracian

I'm usually very eloquent but given my totally irrational love of helicopters I can't seem to express it any better than this: 'Because flying helicopters makes you feel like the king of the world!'

This year some highlights have been flying into Dunsfold to do a lap of the TopGear track, flying my family into Goodwood Festival of Speed and receiving the full VIP treatment on arrival, a couple of lovely weekends away with wifey up in the mountains and sharing several peoples first experience of helicopter flight and the face-aching grin that it generates.

I enjoy working in the helicopter industry as it is a small world and with very interesting people. The fact that helicopters can be very dangerous make everyone involved very aware of safety and that is something you don't see anywhere else to that level. My most memorable moment is experiencing an AW139 doing fully automated SAR maneuvers during a CofA check, very interesting to see what the aircraft can do itself.