finn Thirud RPMN: What is your current position?
I run a website listing helicopter industry employment from around the world. I’m also an ATP-rated freelance pilot seeking contract work after flying for 20 years with oil & gas, medevac, aerial work, and other types of missions that took me to America, Africa, Greenland, Scandinavia, and lastly the Middle East.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight.
It was in a small single-engine airplane with a cadet from the Royal Norwegian Air Force. He took two soldiers and me up on a really bumpy day over a fjord in Norway. I was terrified because I used to have a fear of heights, but kept quiet since I didn’t want to get a reputation on the airbase where I served that had almost 1,000 soldiers. However, my passion for flying just grew despite my fears.
RPMN: How did you get your start in helicopters?
A good friend from the military persuaded me that helicopters were much more fun than airplanes. I flew over the pond to California where I did an introductory flight towards the San Francisco Bay. The typical bay fog prevented us from flying out to Alcatraz and the Golden Gate, but it was still a spectacular flight and the second time I ever sat in a helicopter — this time a Schweizer 300CB. The first time was as a passenger in a military Bell 412. I also want to say that without the invaluable help from my parents, my career would have looked much different.
14 Sep/Oct 2019
RPMN: When and how did you choose to fly helicopters? Or did they choose you?
I think they chose me. When I was 3 or 4 years old, my parents had a friend who flew Hueys in the Norwegian military. He sometimes broke formation and came to circle over our house. I think that made me start dreaming. When I served myself, my commanding officer and I were both dreaming of becoming pilots. After we both were looking at different civilian flight schools, he suggested I try helicopters. We ended up betting on who got to fly solo first. He beat me by a couple of months. He ended up in the North Sea, while I went the aerial work way.
RPMN: Where did you get your start flying commercially?
My first job was as a CFI/CFII in the Midwest flying for a one-man operation. The great thing was that I got to do lots of short tour flights in a 1974 Enstrom F-28A that taught me power management, which is still beneficial for me today. I also flew a few ENG flights in a Robinson R22 with a local TV station. What a brave camera guy I had!
RPMN: If you were not in the helicopter industry, what else would you see yourself doing?
I
think I would be a sailor like my grandfather. He was always my hero, although he spent most of his sailing years during WWII being hunted by German submarines.
RPMN: What do you enjoy doing on your days off?
My family means everything to me, and I am trying to show my kids how to succeed in whatever they want to do — unless they want to go into extreme sports like base jumping. I also have plans on competing in triathlons and other long-endurance sports. Another dream I have is to be a programmer and help scientists with their research by making their work easier. Nobel prize, here we go! But seriously, I believe in automation and the advancement of technology. Just look at what the helicopter as a technological invention has done for the world. There would be no website like
Helijobs.net if it wasn’t for the Internet.
RPMN: What is your greatest career accomplishment to date?
Helijobs.net is the greatest I have
accomplished. In the beginning it was just a blog with jobs that I created to help peers locate jobs that were unavailable to them. Now the website sees thousands of pilots every month, but also engineers, mechanics, aircrews. I
receive great
support from Stefan Oberpeilsteiner and Chris Burton with these job posts, but also from contributors on social media. Over the years the post quality has improved; I’ve guided companies with better copywriting. I try coaching job seekers who write me asking for advice, and I am also programming web applications with the intent of helping the helicopter industry.
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