Well adjusted helicopter pilots
 

I would like to share an observation I have recently made.
I am an airline Capt who has spent almost my entire career on fixed wing aircraft.
Recently, I completed a chopper Licence mostly for recreation but have been completely bitten by the rotor bug! Unfortunately I am the wrong side of fifty so too late for a career change.
Because of my new found interest, I tend to go straight to the Rotorheads forum to read the posts.
What I am struck by is the seemingly complete absence of petty posts and responses, one often reads on the fixed wing forums.
I don't mean to sound patronising but it is very refreshing to find a bunch of more broad minded aviators than the ones I am generally used to dealing with.
From a human factors perspective, I am obviously curious as to why this should be so and wonder if the mentality is different due to the less 'International' nature of the flying duties. Perhaps this produces a less arrogant attitude and is replaced by one with a more 'grounded' and better adjusted outlook on life.
Any ideas?

Pleased to read your comments - not patronising in the slightest.

Although, with exceptions, the nature of the flying duties is generally less 'international', we're probably the most international forum on PPRuNe.

Heliport

Not wishing to sound like an inverted snob or anything, but perhaps historically we have gotten used to being treated somewhat differently to our fixed wing brothers ?

We generally get paid less, are treated worse and in the "oil patch" we have been ground down salary and condition wise to the very bone by the oil companies. As soon as BALPA got working agreements (and decent salaries for pilots) with the two big North Sea operators they priced themselves almost out of the market, a contributory factor in the resurrection of Bond.

So maybe we are just used to being treated a certain way and over time we have adjusted.

Just a thought :)

Very Complimentary...blush...............but "Well Adjusted Helicopter Pilots"........ I DON THEEENK SO SENOR...
Go to www.justhelicopters.com and to the forum and see what gets dumped there. You may have to retract some words.
Most and I say MOST of the folks that I have flown with in the industry cannot count on both hands and feet the companies they have worked for . Those with grey on the hair also are mostly in a situation where they have to work till they die as they have no retirement set aside.
When I was in the Military I had two of my young heroes, who were getting out to fly in the bush. I grabbed them both and said dont let me catch you.. After ten + years, I saw one of them recently as he hopped out of a Citation Ten. He almost kissed my feet and said thank you for waking me up. Trust me, come visit the working world and you will thank your lucky stars you went Fixed Wing.

Sousa....you lout! You beat me to the punch....as soon as I read the thread title...I hit the buttons with the exact intent to post just what you said about Just Helicopters.

I have had telephone conversations with the owner of JH about how trashy it is....and he defends it as being "free speech" and thus superior to this site here.

During his brag....I burst his bubble a bit when I reminded him that I treasured this site and go here first when I am looking for news and technical answers....and went to JH only because it was USA based.....

I do know he is trying to rein in some of the worst offenders and his site has improved somewhat but is still no where as good as this one.

Instead of HAI.....we need an annual Pprune Bash.....to put faces with names!

annual pprune get together of rotorheads. Sign me up and point me to the food and drink!!

Having just looked at justhelicopters.com for the first time ever I don't think I will bother again.

Helicopters, lots and lots and lots of moving parts all trying to part company with each other in a machine that keeps in the air by way of lots of thrashing metal. Hence as a heli pilot I try not to add any tension or stress to the situation but putside the machine I am as loopy as the rest.
In my experience heli's are like diggers and JCB's they are there to do a job as best they can, fixed wings are about moving large numbers of people from A to B, hence plank drivers are all about checklists and routes and plates and more anal stuff and heli pilots just want to get the job done then go down the pub.
I think the fact the in your average heli you sit with the pilot means he or she needs to display a certain calm and confidence so as not to worry the pax, in your cabin at the front a plank nobody can hear you scream.

Sasless
A Party?? Heaven forbid Pilots who will drink themselves into oblivion..........
If we could pull it off, Im am certainly in the perfect location. La$ Vega$
All those U.K. prudes can hop on a direct from Gatwick via Virgin and I can get some group discounts at the casinos......
Would love to sit down with the powers to be at PPrune and talk about all the :mad: and the :mad: .
Maybe even some of those :mad: weenies who think they are gods gift to aviation.....
Other than that it would be great to shake a few hands of those who have put up with my drivel..........

Lost Wages....nay....Nashville.....lots of foot stomping music and good BBQ...and what we Americans call beer....or Billy Bob's in Fort Worth....and get Nick and Sikorsky to sponsor it in Bell's hometown!:ok:

SE7EN

The really truly reason that this forum has such high standards is that the moderators kick people like me off.


Here, I'll show you how it works;

(snip) (snip)



http://www.unicopter.com/devil.gif Honestly, Pedalstop and Heliport, this post is just a joke. http://www.unicopter.com/devil.gif

(snip)s by me. Dave J.

I'm perfectly well adjusted.

They used mainly a large ball pain ( :ooh: ) hammer and a metric
adjustable spanner.

The wife uses a rolling pin :ouch:

Actually, its spelt PEIN.
Bit of a freudian slip S.T!! :ok:

Well-adjusted?

Maybe. Perhaps because we don't work for massive airline companies, instead it is often a 2 or 3-pilot operation in the bush.

In Oz in 1989 there was a huge union shakeout of the fixedwing airlines, some pilots resigned and became untouchable, others stayed on and were branded scabs, pilots were brought in from overseas, the military was used, and so on. If you look at the D&G forums on airlines, you will see that 15 years later there are still uncrossable lines here. Bitter and twisted beyond belief, they will bite at any bait tossed out there.

But choppers and pilots just get the job done, and have some fun on this forum.

Flypro,

No Freudian slip on my part......speaking as someone trained to spell and later how use a ballpein hammer before I became a pilot, I have to say:

Gotcha! Ever heard of IRONY?

Although a ballpein hammer is technically made of steely, rather than irony......... :p

P.S. Ever heard of a metric adjustable spanner? They aren't much different to an Imperial version....

Well Adjusted?
 

We are just helicopter pilots not brain surgeons or astronaughts. People who strut around with the old white silk scarf and an arogant attitude of "look at me, I'm a really cool pilot type", last about five minutes in the real world. Fixed wing dudes who aspire to be some sort of aviation demi - god need to get their hand off it.
Its just like driving a truck guys, but the trunk just happens to be worth several million bucks.
Blue Skies
Floats....Armed.

Well adjusted and well balanced?

Absolutely, I have a chip on both shoulders;)

Cheers

Whirlygig

PS - Did someone mention a PARTY??

Shy Torque,
Well, thats putting me in my place - but I got my bite!



PS I were an Articifer once upon a time too you know:ok:

Actually, according to my dictionary, it's spelled 'peen'. 'Pein' doesn't appear at all. Of course, I don't have the unabridged OED, so maybe pein is in there somewhere.

Gomer,
Please keep it clean, the mods will get you if you continue to write 'pein is' - even though thats not how my OED spells it!:ok: