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2017 HeliOps Calendar Giveaway - That Time Again.

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2017 HeliOps Calendar Giveaway - That Time Again.

Old 6th Dec 2016, 18:30
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Not involved in any capacity with aviation (not even as frequent flyer) two of the most memorable flights (and arguably the most aviation centered) are on helicopters. The first one was back in 1987 between the airports of Newark and JFK on the Pan Am. Up until now I did not realize the significance of the flight and I am a bit disappointment I don't know where the pictures are from this most special flight.

The second most memorable flight that created a strong interest in helicopters was a short about two minute flights on a helicopter positioning for the night literally I was along for the ride. I missed a car ride home and I had to take the train but it was definitely worth it.

Unfortunately, I am in a very very low paid job to earn and hold a PPL but I would want to try a trial flight in a helicopter. Three mobile back I used to have the Valkyries as a ring tone for my friends connected to the aviation (inspired from the scene where the Hueys land to pick the troop on the Apocalypse Now.
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Old 6th Dec 2016, 18:41
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I didn't have much choice. Growing up during the troubles in Northern Ireland there were always helicopters flying around. My earliest christmas memory was dropping a battery powered train and breaking the front coupling…I had been flying it around the room pretending it was a helicopter… eventually joined the RAF, ended up on helicopters - and got posted home to Northern Ireland!
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Old 6th Dec 2016, 20:26
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At it again Ned, fair play to you!

For me it started many moons ago in Donegal...watching the Irish Air Corps Dauphin and countless other aircraft flying round my house, from there the seed was sown!

Years later the IAC wouldn't have me so after jumping through a few hoops I ended up flying in Hawaii instead, not so bad I suppose!
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Old 6th Dec 2016, 20:38
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Not sure if I qualify, but just let me tell you my story.

I grew up in a little village close to EHKD, Naval Airbase De Kooy, in Den Helder, The Netherlands.

I must have been around six years old when I became fascinated by the many Westland Lynx helicopter our Navy had back then, that flew past.
Also civil operated machines were there, S76 and occasionally a S61N.

As my passion developed I started to read about helicopters, a lot!

Eventually this lead to flying gliders when I was 14 years old and later on radio controlled helicopters.

The latter made a big chance and after finishing a Bachelor degree in Aviation Engineering, I now find joy in commercial flying Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS officially, or just drones ) and I have even qualified as an Instructor recently.

Although most of the drones nowadays are Multirotor aircraft instead of Single Main Rotor, they are still categorized as Rotorcraft, as they are, and I teach about Translational Lift and Vortex Ring State in Aircraft Performance, while using some examples related to full scale Single Main Rotor machines.

Once or twice a year, I treat myself with a ride in a full scale machine as a good friend of mine is an Instructor for Robbies and Cabri G2.

So that's my story, let me know if this is good enough for you.

Regards from the Netherlands,

Tim
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Old 6th Dec 2016, 20:48
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Helo Design for me!

Worked at a small airport in rural New Mexico for spending money during high school. National Guard landed an AH-1S cobra on H.S. football field for career day. I was impressed, wrote to Bell Helicopter to find out what their requirements were for helicopter design engineer. Attended NMSU with BHT as target employer. Received job offer after graduation with BSME. Worked 31 years with Bell in Rotor Stress (structural analysis) and Flight Test Engineer. Great job, lots of interesting experiences! Lead rotors structural engineer for the LHX effort (which Bell lost to Boeing / Sikorsky team) and lead rotors structural engineer for composite bearingless rotors on H-1 Upgrades Yankee / Zulu aircraft.
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Old 6th Dec 2016, 20:52
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I've always had an interest in rotor craft and thought about joining the RAF at one point, I remember watching Prestwick SAR machine doing demos with lifeboat at the local annual gala days and the SAR machine landed at our school and we all had a look around, as a school boy it was a turning point!! I was fortunate enough to get a Bristow Helicopters engineering apprenticeship and have enjoyed working in line and base maintenance environments throughout the uk..Love the test flying I do now!
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Old 6th Dec 2016, 21:17
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When I was in Navy flight school, with visions of flying the A-6, my flying grades indicated that I'd fly something other than a jet off of an aircraft carrier. The Navy sent me to Milton, FL, to become a rotary wing aviator. After my second flight in a TH-57 (Jet Ranger) I was hooked. Flying helicopters is both fun and challenging. I then flew the Huey (TH-1L and UH-1E) on the way to earning my wings.
I got to fly SH-2F's and SH-60B's from frigates, destroyers, and cruisers, as well as a little carrier time with helicopters. I also got to fly a few times in a CH-53E with a Marine major who worked for me. What an amazing machine!
Verdict? I am one lucky guy. Would love to have a calendar.
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 09:39
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OK Ned, my turn

Six years old I wanted to be a pilot. 11-12 years later at the RAF Selection Board, Biggin Hill, I was asked if I made aircrew what I would like to fly. The answer came naturally, helicopters.

When they picked themselves up off the floor (no-one had ever given that answer!) I explained that fighters had 30 minutes of being driven around the sky by radar and a couple of minutes of fun, transport command would be no better than airlines, and bomber command almost as bad. Helicopter pilots were given a task, given a helicopter and left to themselves, all of which proved to be pretty much the way that it worked for the next 50 years
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 10:30
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The arrival of the HeliOps Calendar is one of the highlights of the Season - and gets seen and admired by lots of people through the following year.
Like most, I was mesmerised by the sheer versatility of helicopters from an early age.
Fast jets, heavies, vintage.... all fantastic, but nothing quite so clever as a helicopter in its element.
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 11:15
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Ah! KiwiNedNZ! I was thinking about this just the other day as I changed my calendar to the last page.

Here goes.

Daft on aviation since an early age but in my teens it became clear my eyes weren't good enough. Walked away.

Some years later I joined a mountain rescue team. That involved flying in Westland Sea King, Westland Wessex and Sikorsky S-61N. Usually, this occurred when it was dark or snowing or both.

In 2009, the bid process for the later-withdrawn 25 year contract for UK SAR Helicopters was in progress. Nearly everyone who talked or wrote about it was clearly talking fanciful rubbish. I wanted the facts and I wanted all of our guys in the team to have the facts.

Through the collapse of that bid process, and then through the bid and implementations for the GAP and MAIN UK SAR Helicopter Service contracts, I have kept digging for the facts and trying to pass those on to SAR volunteers, police, and the wider public. Along the way I have been sought out by national bodies, police, journalists and others to help them understand the changes. I had the chance to travel across the world and share free lunches, a lot of coffee and a lot of Powerpoint with some of the world's greatest SAR airmen. (Not forgetting the opportunity to be a complete pain in the 4r5e on pprune. Thanks guys for putting up with me.)

Still at it. Ran a MR helicopter training exercise on Saturday and talked helo stuff with police on Sunday and again yesterday.


If all else fails, read the instructions.
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 14:02
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I was aged 13 at school and planning the work experience. The school basically said find your own work experience or choose one of these crappy jobs off our list. So, after much ringing around I got 2 weeks at a helicopter school and never looked back! They asked me to continue to help out at weekends and it went from there.
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 14:45
  #32 (permalink)  
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Ive always wanted to fly since I was a kid it had been a dream. I remember watching helicopters fly by and thinking how cool they are and that i would be a pilot flying them some day. That dream went away as i got older but it come back to me when some work mates told me to take a tif flight and very since ive been working towards getting my licence. Im 21 now, and still working towards licence. It is hard, but i know i can get there.
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 15:31
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Like many before, I wanted to fly from a young age. Wanted to join the airforce and fly jets initially but was not able to... 10 years later, after a friend had followed her dream to fly helicopters, my car drove me to the airport where I signed up straight away for a ppl, and never looked back. It's been a great time since then, seeing the world and helping those in need.
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 16:57
  #34 (permalink)  
 
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Although i never thought about being a pilot since that was completely out of my expectations, once I joined the army I saw I might heve a chance.
Still at military school they came recruiting volunteers to become either air traffic controllers or helicopters pilot. I took tests to both and finally they told me: If you stay for controller you have already a seat for the course, but if you decide to on for pilot you will loose that chance and might not make it for pilot. Well, I didn't give it much of a thought... I decided to go for heli pilot and here I am 40 years after that and loving it !!!
Be waiting for my calendar
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 18:43
  #35 (permalink)  
 
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Always loved helicopters. All that potential violence harnessed and sitting motionless in space as herculean forces are perfectly balanced.


In 1995 I got a new boss, and along with him we also got a new Chairman of the Board, as a turn-around artist was brought in to save our company . My new boss was a rich guy who had retired, then got bored and came back to work. Our new chairman was a guy who had made a bundle in the helicopter business and then transformed himself into a turnaround guy, with our company being his 29th "save".


The new chairman was Stan Hiller. Yep, that Stan Hiller.


The new boss, a retired self-made rich guy who got bored and re-entered the workforce, had a 206, a Schwietzer (which he pulled around on a homemade trailer behind his motorhome as he was getting bored) a Beaver, and a Fairchild Merlin (short Metro).


New boss gave me some illegal (I didn't know at the time) and unlogged hours in the helis and the planks. Planks were ok, but basically hrs of boredom, then some fun as you land. Helis were a blast.


Boss only lasted a year, when you are a rich guy you don't take crap from the Board of Directors. He quit, and took his toys with him.


Inspired by Stan's flying platform, in 1996 I started work on a quadcopter. 4 chainsaw motors, 3 axis gyros, gps and thrust vectoring and killing vanes for control. By '99 I had it flying well, and intended to scale it up with VW bug motors and use it as a transport/drone for "heli" skiing. It would carry me to the top, then follow me down as I skied through the untracked powder to carry me back up.


Wife threatened divorce and meant it, so abandoned project. Ex-boss said "If you make that out of electric motors that would be a really cool toy" I said, naw, nobody would buy that. That's why he was a rich guy, and I am not.


The chainsaw quad copter still hangs in my garage as testimony to my stupidity.


2009, next boss dies of ALS. I get battlefield promo to CEO. Kids are grown, debts paid off, got some money to fly. Wife not with program....every movie she has seen helis catch fire and crash.


2014, rupture Achilles, takes two surgeries to fix it. Driving to Boise with wife, foot in cast propped on dash of the suburban, flatbed passes us with an AStar on back, followed by a fuel truck. Truck says "Wasatch Powder Cowboys" on the door. I mutter "GD it, those guys are gonna have more fun in the next day then I'm gonna have in the next year"


Wife says "I'm sick of you whining and moping around the house. Go take helicopter lessons, I don't care if you get killed."


Cast comes off, HELI LESSONS!!!!! Instructor never noticed for the first 5 months I was pushing the left pedal with my heel.


So now, I'm 250 hrs on the R44. Great business tool, also use it for bird hunting and yes, some skiing.


Contrary to VF and the rest of the PPRUNE world predictions, no close calls yet in the Robbie. But the wife has never heard of PPRUNE, nor will she. And I get the Robbie bashing. Just don't have a viable alternative in anywhere close price range. So I don't fly turbulence.
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 21:14
  #36 (permalink)  
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Some great posts. If you want calendar delivered before Xmas then make your post asap and PM me as last post before Xmas of calendars is the middle of next week. Cheers.
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Old 7th Dec 2016, 23:25
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Apparently I have always wanted to fly....when I was a very young boy I used to sit on the corner of the washing machine and pretend that I was flying. I originally started out not involved in aviation, but after a few years of work I was ready for a career change, had the time and money to do it....so jumped in. I haven't looked back.
I was given a Corgi 500 police helicopter for a birthday at a very young age, I also had a Britain's Toy Farms ICI 300C spray helicopter which both were played with tirelessly. The great thing is that I still have the Corgi police 500 which proudly sits on a shelf in my office.
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Old 8th Dec 2016, 02:32
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I was digging ditches in the Canadian Rockies loving life in the mountains but thinking there must be a better way to make a living AND have fun in the hills.

And then over my head flew Jim Davies, the local 206 pilot with Okanagan Helicopters working for the Parks Service. A stand up guy with immense flying skills, well thought of by all in the community. Now that's something I would like to do, I decided.

A bit of schooling on a Bell 47T for four months and a whole lot of schooling over 7 years to tune up my attitude and people skills and a dive into AME school for 12 months and there I was - working as a commercial pilot on 206's and then 350's and 355's.

I am still trying to live up to the class and skill of Jim and his confederates who introduced me to the industry 28 years ago (not only do helicopters but time flies as well).

Still loving taking the easy way to the top of the mountains.
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Old 8th Dec 2016, 11:14
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An Obsession

Ever since watching whirly birds as a child on a Saturday morning I have been obsessed by helicopters (I'm still taking the medication, but the wife says it's not working). Went onto building balsa models of them, then airfix, followed by trying to build a working model with electric motors. Nearly taking my head and fingers off I opted for the radio controlled version when paper round money allowed, and I'm still flying them to date.


First flight in one was over Lions peak just north of Vancouver, while on holiday, got the front seat in a 206. WOW! I was hooked. I've got to do this for a living/paid hobby.


Years of studying and being skint to now being in a flying position I love, wouldn't change any of it.


Some one once told me 'you'll never earn or make a fortune flying helicopters, but you'll have a ball', and he was right.


Stay safe out there.


Merry Christmas
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Old 8th Dec 2016, 12:50
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I've been around aviation most of my life thanks to my brother who is plank wing flyer. So I've been lucky to have been exposed to it a lot.

He got his licenses at a local school in an integrated college program and during this time he held multiple jobs at the airport hauling bags and working as a fueler.

Once he got his CFI ticket I was fresh out of high school and taking a year off before I had planned to go to college for business. At the time I was working a part time job at a gas station and since he was a full time CFI now he offered to put in a good word for me at his ground ops and fueler jobs. I got offered both jobs and the more I worked around the industry and especially the local heli school I decided to go for an intro flight one day and ever since then I've been hooked!

Since then I've become a manager at the FBO and love every minute of it. So far I've gotten half way through my Canadian CPL but sadly this past May ran out of money so I'm back to full time work to save up the rest of the cash I need to finish, hopefully a year and a half until I can start again!

Fly safe out there everyone!

Merry Christmas
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