|
HeliOps 2020 Calendar Giveaway - Updated
Decided to redo this post with a question that wouldn't cause anyone to give away their identity. So here goes again :ok:
Time to give away a bunch of our 2020 HeliOps Calendars - the best one yet. New layout which allowed us to include bunch more images in it. All you have to do is post your response to the below question onto this thread and then send me a PM with name and postal address (user name and postal address also works). Question - One thing I have noticed in Rotorheads is the diversity of what members here do. So take a minute to post here one of the most memorable things you have done while flying helicopters - good, bad or strange and explain why it left such a memory with you. Thanks everyone and hope you enjoy the new calendar. If you want to see the shots on this years one here is the link to check them out. View the 2020 HeliOps Calendar Images |
Hi,
My most memorable thing ever was ferry flight from Los Angles to the Dominican republic... It was a brand new Robinson with AC!!.... one leg was so long that we had to carry extra fuel in the back to reach the next airport. so, we landed on a tine uninhabited island, refueled and had a swim in the Caribbean waters.. i will never forget that.. Thanks Ned.. |
So there is my try on the updated question:
My most memorable are often flying low level in the mountains, every year we've been repeating a grand tour of the alps. but every year it looks different in an unexpected way. This year, on the scheduled day, he night before was a memorable storm, flight slot was surely going to be canceled. By some stroke of luck, beautiful weather in the morning, so we go with 3 hours of fuel up the mountain of the french southern Alps with no precise goal other than a grand tour. That days because of the storm the night before, every single tree was still carrying what looked like 10-minute fresh snow, still holding to every branch and leaf. The light radiating up from the ground was ultimate white. Nature has so many different ways to present itself from above! |
The most memorable one so far was my first flight as PIC in barely legal weather conditions. It was quite literally a state of maintaining "clear of clouds" and a 1/2 mile visibility. Class G in those parts was 700AGL and down, and the clouds were at 700AGL, give or take, also. Dodging around hills and dales, and cell towers. Finally hit a wall of bad rain, bad vis and clouds down to the deck. Did a 180 (not in the clouds, they were still ahead) and it was noted that we had just overflown a local eatery that was known friendly to helicopters. Flew in out of the mist, landed, and walked past the quite amazed folks who were buying at the outdoor take-away window. Went in, had a cup of coffee, and 45 minutes later decided to try again. Made good headway again dodging around some hills, and finally broke out into some much nicer weather, which was good because at that point the Sun was starting to dip towards the horizon, and that would have been a Bad Thing. My first grand adventure with weather that only helicopters are legal to fly VFR in (in the US). I had plenty of experience with difficult weather flying VFR fixed wing, but of course it's next level (lower) stuff in a helicopter :)
|
My most memorable was flying a 300 many, many years ago with a well respected instructor here in Canada. I remember being completely humbled trying to hover for the 1st time. The other was getting married on the side of a mountain, accessed with a 206L.
|
Flight testing 214ST with BH.
I had been assigned the flight testing responsibilities for the third (of three) 214ST prototype aircraft. On one flight in the South Arlington, Texas area, while gathering data on Bell's first indigenous SCAS / Altitude - Attitude - Retention - System, the pilot and I had discovered a slight error in the system. We were gathering data on the symptom with our eyes inside the cockpit, when I looked up to see a Cedar Hill Radio Tower guy-wire orange ball directly in front of us. I had time to say 'Holy Crap' and the pilot abruptly banked left and cleared the wire by ??? (an inch is as good as a mile). 30 some odd years ago and I remember it vividly. Otter
|
The absolutely most memorable ones are the bad ones, flying into too bad weather or having some technical stuff, nothing fun to recall, so instead will choose one of very many wonderful trips.
i was flying a customer to their summer cottage in summer weather with local cumulonimbus clouds. We had no hurry, and plenty fuel so we could just fly around the clouds. Outside the clouds the weather was really nice, and flying near clouds that soar miles high in the sky, well, the view just is very beautiful. |
I am just the ballast in the back but here goes. No wait a minute, I don't think I'm allowed to tell about the most memorable.
Second most memorable? Had to hold off from a landing site because of engineering activity. So here we are in a remote (from Gatwick) part of the UK on a beautiful day with wonderful views of sea and mountain all around. Shall we circle for ages and look at the beautiful views? No. How about sneaking up this glen, where nobody knows where we are, and practising autorotations? 'Grounds coming up awfully fast mate.' <Yes, it does that.> 'Holy f.....' |
Picking up troops from forward operating bases in Afghanistan, to catch their flight home after months in the desert. You never forget the tiredness in the eyes, or the smiles of relief.
|
I was one of the first people to fly a civilian helicopter in Armenia, a Bell 429. We flew up in the mountains and saw nomadic shepherds, flew over ancient temples, had to land next to surface to air missiles so we didn't hit a passenger plane 20 miles away on approach, saw Mt. Ararat in the distance, flew over massive factories that are now falling apart after the Iron Curtain fell. The list goes on.
A truly unique experience. |
Flying the opening sequence of Jurassic Park right up to the waterfall on Kauai'i in a Huges 500 while getting my CPL(H). Unfortunately they removed the helipad after filming, thus we couldn't land directly in front of the waterfall but a short distance upriver.
|
I'm a fixed wing guy, hear the rotorheads stories from my partner who is a HEMS doc.
Always in awe of the ability of the Babcock OS crew's ability to stick a EC135 in some very interesting places for retrieval. Many of her adventures involve landing in muddy fields and messing up the back of the heli! Would love a calendar as an extra Christmas present for her. |
At around 100 hours, I was asked to fly an R22 from the UK to Majorca. I had recently done the same trip so I felt confident I could do it, also at cost during hours building - it was a bargain! the day arrived and I checked the forecast , the weather was ok but due to get worse, I was told the aircraft was still in maintenance but was due shortly. The time passed on and eventually the aircraft was ready. So I set off for my first planned stop of Le-Touquet. All was good until I reached Dover, where the weather started to close in, I remember flying over the old radar masts and seeing the port before I coasted out. In front of me was one of those scenes I later became familiar with as an offshore pilot - grey sky and grey sea all merging in to one scene. I flew on and suddenly cloud all around me, the Robbie I was in was the basic 5 instrument version, so no AI to help me out. I vividly remember thinking the worst, in a moment of clarity, I figured - keep the airspeed and ROC / ROD constant with a constant heading and all is stable, then all that was left to do was a 180 and head back to England, that’s when the leans set in, my body said ‘turning left’ but I was still flying straight and levelish. After what seemed forever I did a lovely 50p turn and headed back, I quickly saw the sea and scarpered to Manston. I sat there for sometime contemplating what had happened. I would like to say the rest of the trip was faultless, but it was the worst 3 days of my flying career I have never forgotten that day or more particularly the feelings I had, when I started IR training I still had the fear of flying in clouds. i suppose we learn as we go along |
well Ned, to the original question I had a name - of an instructor (and flying safety officer with a tendency to crash while instructing - repeating the mistake...)
This guy decided, that after an engine failure on a SeaLynx, which led to a blocked runway on a civilian field, due to the back wheels. being turned out (for deck landing), that in future time the policy would be, for flights over land the wheels would be left in the towing position (used for OEI training at the home base) It was against the FM - cause there are only wheel locks, no brakes and OEI and autorotations were tested by Westland with the wheels turned, giving braking action in case of... Well, in front of the squadron, I said, it’s against the FM and made myself an enemy. He couldn’t catch me on the flying side, unfortunately we had also do the „observers“ job and switching of the TANS and realigning the compass, while I re entered the informations from my plotboard, turning towards a danger area made a failed flight i.e. He had more „tricks“ :-( So at the end I quit the forces with the help of an attorney- which at the end, was the best thing, he could have done to me. Instead of limited hours flying and spending month over month on the sea, I went into the civi world �� For the second Question, a flight with passengers in a Bell 206, when the compressor started to desintegrate, all dials dancing wild, „staying cool“, while telling the passengers, all will be alright, planing the flight path for autorotation, in case the engine would quit finally... |
Being a fixed wing guy with instrument rating, transitioning to Rotary, I was doing my Solo flying for my PPL in an R22 flying up the East Coast to ST Abbs from Newcastle UK.
It was one of those clear winter afternoons smooth cold air and clear skies, when I saw one of those puffs of cloud over Berwick on Tweed which just looked like a ball of cotton wool hanging there. It was only a little higher than I was flying do I decided to fly over the top of it. Big mistake - as soon as I couldn't see the ground under the bubble, but just this white cotton wool I got serious vertigo. Couldn't get away from the cloud quick enough, and have always stayed under the clouds when flying rotary ever since. |
Anyone else or is that it for the 2020 ones :O
They are on the printing presses and being sent out end of next week. |
Small beer compared to many here but my first landing on a (slightly) raised platform. After a few years of not flying I was doing some de-rusting at Nottingham airfield. Nottingham has a few WW2-era pillboxes scattered around, one of which has an 'H' painted on top. My de-rust must have been going reasonably well because the instructor suddenly said "let's do some bunker landings" and directed me into a circuit to land on the top of this pillbox. All my landings over the years had been aiming at (though not necessarily arriving at!) a specific point in a big field (or a confined area), this was to the top of a small structure which one could fall off. It came as a bit of a surprise the difference in attitude on approach :-) Also the changes in lift on arrival over the structure and on departure from it.
It was good grin-inducing stuff and an eye-opener. |
Every scramble in 14 years of UKSAR was a memorable flight, from premature babies to heart attacks, cliff-stickers to mispers, drowners to cliff-fallers, sinking boats to kiddies on lilos - even some of the searches were memorable, especially when you actually find the person you were looking for!
Best job in the world. Outside of that - the moment when your student suddenly gets it - after mistakes and frustrations - when you finally push the right button to make them understand the often complex skill you are trying to impart. |
While not a rotary pilot, one of my abiding memories of flying in helicopters is being picked up on Camlough, lifting off to what seemed just a few feet, tipping over and falling down the hill to Bessbrook (at least that's what it appeared to a mere grunt). That and many other flights in the back "in province" watching what went on up front and trying to understand it all gave me a love of flying. Sadly I could never afford helicopters, so went the fixed wing way. Now sadly that's gone too due to an auto-immune system problem I'll live with forever.
|
I'll stay away from the memorable scary ones...
Cool, crisp morning, with the sun just above the horizon. Short local post-maintenance test flight. Depart west, and turn south during the initial climb. Still beautifully clear, with the sun shining, however, just beyond the river there is a blanket of fog. The town beyond is covered in a white blanket with only the tops of a few buildings and water towers poking through. Sun is still shining bright as we continue our turn eastbound and then north. It was a beautiful start to the day, and shared with a very nice mechanic who was with me as well. Thanks, Ned! |
| All times are GMT. The time now is 20:45. |
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.