FEATURE GOMER Flying in the Gulf of Mexico: Part I BY LYN BURKS I remember when I was a much younger helicopter
pilot clawing my way up through the helicopter world, one airframe and one mission at a time. Training, ENG, Utility, EMS, Corporate, you know, the usual stuff. I recall the first time I saw the term GOMER on the
JustHelicopters.com message
board and thought, “what the heck is a
GOMER?” Frankly, it doesn’t really sound all that cool! So I did what every person who’s a glutton for pun-
ishment would do, I did the unthinkable. The unimaginable. I asked a question on the
JustHelicopters.com message board. Not just any question though. A question so obvi- ous and simple to the old salts who tend to frequent the message boards, that I was to be drawn and quartered for even asking it. According to many on the message board, the answer to my question was information that I should have been born knowing. Naturally, not being one who is afraid of looking like
a Gomer Pyle, I asked it anyway. What is a GOMER? After closing my eyes and clicking the submit button,
I awaited the wrath to come down from the heavens and for the crucifixion to begin. After a couple flaming replies and lame attempts at humor, I received the answers I was looking for. Come to find out, GOMER is an acronym for pilots who fly in a very large sector of our industry. GOM stands for Gulf of Mexico, and GOM’ers are the pilots who fly there in support of the offshore oil industry. Earlier this year, I spent four days with Bristow Group,
formerly known as Air Logistics in the GOM learning a little something about GOM’ers. As a side note to this diatribe, Bristow was formally changing the name from Air Logistics to Bristow Group during the week of my visit.
PHOTOS: LYN BURKS
WATCH THE VIDEO on JustHelicopters.TV – For more images and Jim Palmer’s detailed interview comments about getting hired in the GOM.
19 ROTORCRAFTPRO.COM
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