Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

General stuff that gets thrown about when Helicopter Pilots shoot the Breeze.
Heli-Ops
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Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Heli-Ops » Sat Nov 25 2017, 20:56

Well its nearly December and just got the 2018 HeliOps calendars off the printers - probably our best one yet

So for the first 100 members who post on here a response to the following question you will receive a complimentary copy of our 2018 Calendar.

"Describe your MOST memorable moment in a helicopter and why it was so memorable".

Responses cant just be a one or two word response - please put a little thought into your replies. Once you have made your post then please send an email to info@heliopsmag.com with name and postal address to send them to. You can use a bogus name for delivery if you wish to keep your identifies here secret, just make sure your postman is aware

Thanks everyone and hope you enjoy them.

Ned
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Kintups
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Kintups » Sat Nov 25 2017, 23:38

Bush flying, low level through a narrow vally on a training mission. Finally after all the safety cocious "nanny flying", the enjoyment of letting loose. Flying the way I had always dreamed of.
scaarj
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby scaarj » Sun Nov 26 2017, 02:53

Probably taking a new student pilot as a passenger in the back of an r44 to do some low flying practice on a glider strip with my instructor, then having him throw up half way through the exercise. Oc:= A funny moment.
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Hueyman
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Hueyman » Sun Nov 26 2017, 04:07

Most memorable moment was going solo in a turbine for the first time. Was an awesome feeling to know the owner trusted your skills and allowed you to operate such an expensive machine. 8)
charlie don't surf! (c:_ol
Wunma
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Wunma » Sun Nov 26 2017, 09:05

My most memorable moment 'was', when as a student pilot my CFI just step out one day and said 'off you go', :shock: It's solo time!
Well it was until I had a 'holy *hit, today wasn't my day to die moment!' as a green commercial pilot during a feral animal eradication job. That moment has always stayed with me and I would of rathered not learnt from it first hand.
With experience I later learned that things weren't as serious as it seemed at the time, but it sure put the wind up me back then! :wink:
TSW
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby TSW » Sun Nov 26 2017, 10:06

Most memorable moments have to be the ones where you have to pinch yourself and say "I actually get paid to do this $hit" it might not equal all the sacrifices that we have to make but sure goes close.
Helical
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Helical » Sun Nov 26 2017, 13:03

Probably the most memorable so far was on my first TIF when the instructor demonstrated and auto, the sound of everything going quiet is a little freaky first time.
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Icefather » Sun Nov 26 2017, 18:59

Most memorable moment so far is during my commercial training I completed a 300nm and was able to land at my mums house for a cup of tea . Got to plan, organise and carry it out , even got to take a passenger! Definitely a highlight to fly over my old stomping ground !! :D
Lude
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Lude » Mon Nov 27 2017, 09:16

Hard to beat sending my first student solo, I was more nervous than he was! I gave the final instructions, got out, thumbs up and away he went, hovering about the practice area like he had been doing it all his life.

I could finally begin to understand how my own instructor felt sending me solo a few years before.

Cheers Ned!
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby ozloadie » Mon Nov 27 2017, 11:37

So many in the military and civil arenas.

One that is very prominent while crewing on a test fly in a MIL 8 at Goroka in PNG (PACHEL) where the Russian pilot demonstrated a skilset which included pirouettes down the runway length and never leaving the centreline.
(he'd flown Hinds in Afghanistan in the 80's). Incredible precision.
Keep it flying, don't quit!
berwynnz
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby berwynnz » Mon Nov 27 2017, 17:06

During my training in NZ, flying the R22 up to my parents farm and landing on the front lawn, Something that I had always wanted to do, and to achieve this goal was awesome.
Then taking the family up on a few flights around the farm.
Now 5000 hrs later I realise how little I knew about flying helicopters back then ....haha!
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby SkyViking » Thu Nov 30 2017, 00:44

Being pretty much brand new in the industry my most memorable moment must still be my cpl test. Even though I thought I’d done horribly on the day and was beating myself up thinking there was no way I had passed. But then to my surprise the testing officer turned the paper over showing me I had passed the test!
Never felt so good to pass anything before! Flying has been my dream since I was a kid and finally I’d done it after many years of dreaming and working 70 hour weeks I could finally introduce myself as a commercial helicopter pilot! :D :D
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Yankee
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Yankee » Thu Nov 30 2017, 01:18

Middle of Atlantic. No Bingo to land, 0 & 0 vis smokelight approach....
Or maybe that night time RAST recovery beyond limits in the north sea.
Butthole still clenches just thinking about those.
Don't think of yourself as and ugly person. Think of yourself as a beautiful monkey.
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Yakking
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Yakking » Thu Nov 30 2017, 16:47

Conducting a Medivac off an oil rig in the Timor Sea in the middle of the night. We were flying back into Darwin pushing through the tail end of a cyclone. The radar only painted red for the next 10nm. It ended up doing that for the next 150nm. Turns out the radar couldn’t push any further through the weather. TOT’s were dropping 100deg due to the water being ingested by the engines and we were climbing 1000ft whilst flat pitch in an 8tonne aircraft due to the updrafts. It was not a fun flight. Memorable, but not fun.

It took a long time to pry the cushion out of my butt after that one.
I wish I had a catchy saying like everyone else...
Revhead
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Revhead » Mon Dec 4 2017, 00:31

Most memorable moment is tough because there has been many.

Maybe the 1st touchdown auto (with a student) that I was responsible for. It was the first time that I didn't have someone sitting next to me who was able to fix it if I F*@ked it. Memorable due to the fact that I didn't F*@k it...That was a buzz, though I'm sure it would've been more memorable had it gone pear-shaped.

Thanks yet again Ned for offering us these great calendars.
Balakay
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Balakay » Mon Dec 4 2017, 08:42

Only new in the industry so it would definitely be during my CPL training. On my first solo when the instructor gets out gives you the thumbs up and thats it you're on your own now, what an awesome feeling realising a dream is coming into reality.
Flyting
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Flyting » Wed Dec 6 2017, 19:39

Firstly crashing in the mountains while catching rhino in South Africa.
Secondly taking my big brother for his first flight and auto'ing to the ground with him screaming at me to turn the bloody engine back on.
Thirdly... nearly every second day flying where I am now, in the mountains covered in white stuff.
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Queestce
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby Queestce » Thu Dec 7 2017, 06:12

Most memorable moment is always a hard one.

In terms of something I'll never forget, getting a little over-zealous on a solo 6 hour CPL nav years ago and almost flying myself into a wire in the Marlborough Sounds seems to stick pretty firmly in my mind... Started chasing that bloody inter-islander to have a look at it and didn't realise the valley it was in had wires at 500ft - which coincidentally was my altitude when I saw them on the chart about half a NM ahead :shock:

Most memorable moment of this calendar year would be doing PFL competitions to touchdown in the AS350 with other crew. I'm yet to find a more exciting "sport" than putting someone in the worst possible part of the circuit area and watching them wrestle an autoing helicopter around to get to the prescribed point on the ground. Great fun, and good skill building.

Thanks yet again for the calendar offer, always has a proud place up on the wall :D
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TreeTrimmer125
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby TreeTrimmer125 » Sun Dec 17 2017, 20:22

Ha, as a freshly minted commercial heli pilot, I don't have all that many fancy fun stories yet but to me, I would say, this early in my career, it would have to be my CPL flight test when my ATO asked me to set up for a steep approach into a confined area so small AND on a slope, I would have never imagined even trying to get in there on my own. As I got closer and over the tree tops, things looked different and I now was confident that the size of the area is suitable so I continued on... at about 50 ft, we had no less than 30+ kangaroos bouncing in all directions - - sorry fellas -- didn't mean to wake you guys... And finally we were on the ground, about a 6-7 deg slope. I was amazed and proud at the same time.
[*]if you have never failed, you haven't tried hard enough
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jimiemick
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Re: Freebie 2018 HeliOps Calendars

Postby jimiemick » Mon Dec 18 2017, 01:47

Most memorable was a few years ago when i had my first solo around the city, and when i came back in the wind picked up..... Scared the s#!t out of me, yet i was smiling the whole time.

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