Last week...I flew a helicopter.I'm not gonna lie. It was awesome.
We started out in Winnipeg and were planning to fly to Portage la Prairie. Luckily we were off the ground and on our way before we had our first problem, a TOT failure (yeah, I don't know either, it has something to do with a temperature indication in the turbine), and second problem, a generator failure. So my first chance at actually flying the thing myself was when the pilot was flipping breakers, and on the radio to the air traffic controller telling him we might drop off their radar because we could have to make an emergency landing. Sweet. Nothing like learning under pressure. Like when you're trying to learn to drive a standard by starting out going up a hill, with 5 drunk guys in the back of the truck. Except your life is in danger, rather than just your dignity and respect.
Note the gauge in the middle there reading zero. It's supposed to be reading 600 or something like that. Oops.Well, we made it to Portage and swapped it up for another, working, helo. Now the fun begins as he demonstrates for me how to hover, and tells me how to do it. Believe it or not, easier said than done. I think at one point during my hover, which was supposed to be stationary at about 5 ft, I was actually moving at about 20 knots and 30 ft. Oops. I was starting to get the hang of it, though. Then, he flew us into a "confined space landing," which involved putting us down in a patch of grass barely bigger than the helicopter, completely surrounded by trees that were at least 40 ft high. Supposedly I will be able to do that someday. I guess I had better work on the hovering first.
Then I got dropped off at the Shell station on the highway where I was picked up by my buddy and I headed off for a weekend of driving and camping. Yeah, it sure did feel like I was a rock star to be dropped off by helicopter.
Why EVERYONE isn't trying to be a pilot, I don't know.
10 comments:
Hey now, I'm gonna be an energy economist...a FOREMOST energy economist. That's cool right? Yeah, that's right..economists do models.
Why would anyone want to fly around when they could incorrectly forecast the weather for other people to fly in?!? I'll just stick to my job as a public servant and let you fly me around. And since you're a pilot in the army:
"Hey Snider...(sniff)... you STINK"
Ya, I don't know why anyone would want to do THAT rather than sit in an office in Edmonton and e-teach people about job safety. You don't know what you're missssssing....
You're not missing anything. I hate you.
well I got barfed on 3 times last week AND had stomach juices spray all over me. Now thats rock star cool!
That actually made me sick to my stomach. Thanks Michelle.
Hahaha, awesome Michelle. I envy you. And be envy you, I mean have no desire to be you in that particular instance.
x-ray, actually...and I also saw a guy who got in a machete fight. Who does that??? Sounds like something you guys would do.
I have no internet anymore.
I think the blog might slow down a bit.
Thank you for your supportive and absolutely gross comments.
I have no internet anymore.
I think the blog might slow down a bit.
Thank you for your supportive and absolutely gross comments.
Why don't you have internet? Did the mosquitos get to it?
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