and other animals, relaxing and reading. I try to find time for myself to just shut everything out and de-stress. I am a worrier and everything gets to me, so it’s nice to find some down-and-calm time, even if it’s only a couple hours.
RPMN: Have you ever had an “Oh, crap” moment in helicopters?
Yes. My first year flying hog hunting, I got myself in a scary situation. A couple days prior to this incident a friend of mine had messaged me about crashing his Bell 206. He had gotten too slow in a tailwind and warned me to be careful. After speaking with him, I looked up ways to get out of LTE and it was fresh in my mind, which I believe is what saved me. I was flying low (maybe 70 feet) chasing pigs. I was into the wind, but didn’t see the small tornado coming across the field. Because I was slow (below 30 knots) and next to trees with small trees below me, when it hit I felt the tail start to come around and I was out of left pedal. I couldn’t pull power because it sped the spin so I rode the slow spin almost three
rotations, holding steady
and waiting for the right moment. I came around, dropped power to try and stop the spin, and nosed forward. I skimmed those low trees and got enough airspeed to get out of it. I learned a lot that day; even in low winds and seemingly perfect conditions, weather can surprise you, and you need to know your machine.
RPMN: What’s your one piece of advice to a new helicopter pilot or mechanic?
To a pilot, I say: You will never know everything, you will never be the best. Stay humble. There can always be a new and better way to do something. Stay open- minded and be willing to listen and learn. To a mechanic: Never take shortcuts and don’t rush jobs. Be thorough all the time! If it doesn’t look or feel right, trust your instincts or hit the manuals again. As a mechanic on aircraft, lives are in your hands; don’t ever forget that.
THE PAST & THE FUTURE OF AERIAL FIREFIGHTING.
RPMN: What is now the greatest challenge for the helicopter industry?
I have noticed that there isn’t a lot of “in- between” experience. There are either very high-time experienced pilots or very low-time inexperienced pilots. The high- time guys are retiring or staying put in their careers, and the low-time guys are struggling to get time and experience that is affordable or lucrative. I feel like that leaves a gap of experienced and qualified pilots to fill positions. There is a real struggle to get turbine time and to get experience as a low-time pilot that is affordable. I know I went through
that struggle, so now, when I can, I offer to take low-time pilots with little-to-no turbine time on cross countries with me at no charge to them, and I share the knowledge I have.
BAMBIBUCKET.COM
rotorpro.com
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