I will Never do that again
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Aberdeen
Age: 54
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Bringing the owner to a hotel inside the London zone, land, disembark and have a pleasant coffee with him in the posh hotel. Jump back in, start up, try to get in contact with atc, I can hear them, but they can only hear me faintly. After much faffing and sweating, a passing helicopter suggests I might have the wrong headset on, and so it was. Thank you, passing helicopter...
Similar, doing a check ride on another pilot after a rotors running crew change - moaning that ATC weren't replying to my calls round the circuit and then discovering my helmet was plugged into the other pilot's mictel lead.......
Avoid imitations
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Wandering the FIR and cyberspace often at highly unsociable times
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Stuck transmit switches cause a lot of disruption...and can sometimes cause quite a lot of amusement to others (as long as it's not your own transmit switch, of course).
1966: The Valiant V bombers had just been grounded and scrapped leaving a number of aircrew without a job. Confrontation in Borneo was in full swing so suddenly the RAF had a source of pilots they could send out there. I, in company of several other Valiant co-pilots, were sent to Tern Hill to learn to fly from Zero to 120 knots instead of 120 to Mach 0.9.
Basic flying was done on the Bristol Sycamore. This was an immediate post war helicopter with wooden blades, a nine cylinder radial engine and a control system that defies description. One essential part of it was a tank of water that could be pumped to the end of the tail boom and vise versa to keep the C of G within the capabilities of the cyclic. There was only one collective for both instructor and pupil so during EOLs the supervision could be quite grippy. You had to think a lot to fly it and if you thought about ground resonance it went straight into it.
Night flying. I did my two dual trips one after the other and was then sent off solo. I was now finding it very difficult having trouble making out the local lights and especially the landing Tee. At one stage I was going to fire off the flares, land it in the middle of the airfield and walk away from this helicopter business. I persevered and eventually I had done my three circuits and hover taxied back to dispersal where another trainee was going to take over.
The procedure with the Sycamore was that the RH door would be opened; the incoming pilot would hold the cyclic whilst the outgoing pilot unstrapped, slid over the centre consol into the left hand seat, who would then hold onto the cyclic whilst the incoming strapped himself in.
All done I opened the LH door and stepped outside.
I unbuckled my helmet and rotated it off.
The was a thump on my nose.
It was the visor: A high altitude deep purple visor designed to keep out as much light as possible.
I lifted it up and I could see for ruddy miles!
Basic flying was done on the Bristol Sycamore. This was an immediate post war helicopter with wooden blades, a nine cylinder radial engine and a control system that defies description. One essential part of it was a tank of water that could be pumped to the end of the tail boom and vise versa to keep the C of G within the capabilities of the cyclic. There was only one collective for both instructor and pupil so during EOLs the supervision could be quite grippy. You had to think a lot to fly it and if you thought about ground resonance it went straight into it.
Night flying. I did my two dual trips one after the other and was then sent off solo. I was now finding it very difficult having trouble making out the local lights and especially the landing Tee. At one stage I was going to fire off the flares, land it in the middle of the airfield and walk away from this helicopter business. I persevered and eventually I had done my three circuits and hover taxied back to dispersal where another trainee was going to take over.
The procedure with the Sycamore was that the RH door would be opened; the incoming pilot would hold the cyclic whilst the outgoing pilot unstrapped, slid over the centre consol into the left hand seat, who would then hold onto the cyclic whilst the incoming strapped himself in.
All done I opened the LH door and stepped outside.
I unbuckled my helmet and rotated it off.
The was a thump on my nose.
It was the visor: A high altitude deep purple visor designed to keep out as much light as possible.
I lifted it up and I could see for ruddy miles!
Island hopping on the West of Scotland after dropping off mates at local golf course. Feeling proud of my organisation in my survival suit, lifejacket etc. Epirb in suit pocket too.
Upon landing at my destination, I shut down released seatbelt and went to exit helicopter only to notice I had inadvertently attached myself to the seatbelt with the lanyard from the epirb.
If I had gone in the water I reckon I would have gone down with it before I untangled myself.
Be careful out there. #
R
Upon landing at my destination, I shut down released seatbelt and went to exit helicopter only to notice I had inadvertently attached myself to the seatbelt with the lanyard from the epirb.
If I had gone in the water I reckon I would have gone down with it before I untangled myself.
Be careful out there. #
R
