St Lucia helicopters
 

Looking for any information on them as they are recruiting at the moment , good and bad, cheers

I have flown with St Lucia many times, IMO as professional as it gets, have seen their workshop it was immaculate.

One of their ex pilots is here on PPRuNe, he moved to another position in Antigua a few years ago.

PM me if you want details of my experiences with them.

One of my best friends flew for them for many years, before his untimely death in 2017

Alexander Robert Grouchy ? Carnell's Funeral Home, Providing caring, compassionate and courteous services since 1804

He always spoke very highly of their operation and professionalism.

I took a flight with then in 2008. Charming pilot flew a clean looking B2 from the international airport to Castries at about 200ft above the forest canopy over the top of the island. I cancelled the return trip.

I knew Alex and Barry from St Lucia.

Really sorry to hear about Alex - he was a good fella and it was sad to see the obituary which bought back memories of times now past. Very sad indeed and a reminder that we are all getting older. On the other hand I'm glad to hear that St Lucia Helicopters is still going despite the hit on tourism - good for your Barry.

Any helicopter company that has made it in the Caribbean, flying safely for 30 yrs must be doing something right and I can speak from a point of experience. No pilot is perfect on every flight and no pilot makes the best decisions every single time though out their career.. One transfer at an altitude (I wouldn't fly at today) doesn't represent the company.. Wide mouth frog - I hope you shared your wisdom and perhaps used it as an opportunity to introduce yourself and share a teaching moment for a pilot who may have learned why his flight profile wasn't the best choice. Every one of us owes our fellow pilots the benefit of any knowledge we can share about our profession - it is then up to them to benefit from it.. Tossing belated views out on a forum to demonstrate how mighty you felt, doesn't help anyone. Pay forward instead.

I wanted to become a helicopter pilot after having a brief 15 minute flight in St Lucia, blagging the front pax seat in a B206 pleasure flight back in 1993. We did the 'low level' blast across the sulphurous banana plantations and around the Pitons. Brings back memories even now. I didn't know a thing about helicopters back then but I had a dream that one day I'd be doing that job.
Many years later I'm flying, yes, but I wish I could be in St Lucia doing it.

I've just realised that the pilot who passed away, mentioned above, I believe to be the one who sparked my interest in helicopters all those years ago. Was he there in 1993?

Hughes 500 asked for feedback. I gave him feedback, as I did to the company when I cancelled. Hughes now knows a good question to ask when he's talking to them.

Not for me for one of my pilots who is looking at them

He was one of the most generous guys you could meet, he'd give you the shirt off his back. Generous with his, time, his flying wisdom and always made me and my wife feel welcome - helped us explore "his" island on many occasions, both from the air and in his trusty Jeep! RIP mate. Genuinely not sure if he was there in 1993, sorry, but he developed my passion for helicopters too!

Well, the orbit says he's been there for the last 26 years, so it appears he wasn't there in 1993

Alex passed away in 2017, minus 26years=1991 so most definately he was working there in 93. A great gentleman that for sure would be inspiring anyone.

sorry - missed the 2017 reference

Strange how life and people in the helicopter industry intertwine. Alex was the person who changed the course of my career and here we are nearly 28 years later discussing him.

Alex was there in 93 - one of the first, if not THE first pilot Barry hired when he started in 1988 or early 89. Always one to share knowledge and offer to help. Alex paid his dues in those early years in St Lucia trying to make it a go when helicopters for anything other than Trini oil were a new thing to the Caribbean.

Back in 2004/5, we took a holiday in the Rodney Bay area; we saw the helicopters several days transferring people straight to the Sandals Resort on the Pigeon Island isthmus (we were in the Rex Papillon).
After a minibus transfer on arrival which took about one and a half hours from Hewannorra we elected for the helicopter transfer on return and it was great! Superb views from just above the hill/mountaintops and it only took 20 min from Castries/George F Charles airport in a Twin Squirrel.

Same experience
 

I’m only a PPL as you know, but I had a similar experience in 2019 where we were skimming just above the top of the canopy in a fully loaded B2, which had a number of missing / defective (non mandatory) instruments from my vantage point in the back.

I too elected to take the winding and arduous car journey back to the airport on the return leg.

I didn’t leave any feedback for why I cancelled the return. Who am I to question a professional, but I felt really uncomfortable for the entire trip.

Just some honest feedback, and I’m sure the actions of that one pilot are not necessarily reflective of the company in its totality.