While I'm not particularly keen on flying choppers, let alone being carried in one, helicopters still offer the thrill and challenge for those eager to get into this line of flying.
Here to tell us more about chopper flying is none other than Captain Jon
Blythe-Wood..
Many aspiring commercial pilots I meet are keen on flying light, fixed wing aircraft before graduating to the heavy metal later on. In your case, why did you decide to go for helicopter training?
I have always had a fascination with helicopters. They are just so much more versatile, and exciting to fly, but the biggest influence in my decision to go helicopters I think, was the fact that my father also ran his own helicopter company, so I grew up around them. That said, I actually got my fixed-wing license before my helicopter license.
I frequently hear that flying choppers is no easy fete. Just how challenging is this?
When you start your PPL, you really struggle. The coordination between hands, feet and brain is crazy. Your feet have to control the pedals (which controls the tail rotor at the back of the helicopter), then your hands control the cyclic (the stick between the pilot's legs) and the collective (the "handbrake" in between the front seats). An input into either control requires an input into the other two controls, and all the input movements are very small, almost the same size as when one balances a broom or long stick on the end of your finger.
Once you get the hang of it, the physical flying part of it is easy.
For one interested in choppers, where and how is training carried out? In addition to this, approximately how much should one prepare to save up if they decide to go this route?
Training is conducted through flight schools which are certified by the local aviation authority to train pilots in the art of helicopter flying. You start off with a Student Pilot License and slowly progress through the ranks of Private Pilot License through to Commercial Pilot License and at last Airline Transport License (ATPL is the highest license a pilot can obtain).
On top of the license, you will have a variety of ratings to add. These range from Instrument Ratings, Night rating, Multi-engine rating and a few others, again depending on the nationality of license you obtain.
Depending on where you train, the cost varies, but in general you are looking to pay around US$60000-US$70000 to obtain a Commercial Pilots License. The other cheaper option is to go through the military route, which is the best type of training one can do.
What are some of the fields that a prospective chopper pilot can decide to venture into especially since helicopters are quite versatile.
There are so many. You can fly VVIP's (which is a big part here in Kenya), wildlife work (like KWS do), Search and Rescue (which is not seen alot in Kenya, but the police and Air Force have the capability of doing).
In fact, the police did a rescue just the other day (early last year)*, during all the heavy rains Kenya was having.
Other fields include flying tourists around (again that's big in Kenya), utility work (this includes slinging, powerline inspections, flying surveys etc)
Medical services (known as helicopter emergency medical services in the industry) where you recover injured people from accidents and transport them to the hospital; security and surveillance. The list is endless.
Are there any perks of being a chopper pilot and what are some of the memorable experiences that you could share with our readers
Of course! The main perk is that you get to fly all sorts of helicopters and explore many places other people never get to see!
One of the memorable stories, though not one I want to remember, happened while I was flying in Botswana doing a game count (which is where you fly 300 meter grids counting any wildlife you see) I was flying an R44 at the time and had myself and 3 pax on board, none of which I think had ever been in a helicopter.
Anyways, we had been airborne for an hour or so and I turned around to confirm if my passengers were all awake and okay.
For those that have never done a game count, there is a lot of orbiting around herds of animals while staring at the ground counting the herd, which can make one a bit nauseous. So, having turned to my passengers and given them a BIG thumbs up and smile to check on them, the two in the back returned the smile and thumbs up.
Awesome I thought!! These guys are happy and no need to worry about anyone feeling sick. As I turned away from them to face forward, this muffling sound comes over the microphone and my heart sank.
I turned back around to see the passenger sitting behind me had just let his egg and bacon breakfast out, all the way down the side of the helicopter, into the air intake, over the headset and a bit inside.
Thank goodness we fly doors off!
Lucky for us, there was a waterhole about 400 meters to our 2 o'clock position.
I immediately put the heli down at the water hole, pulled out the cloth and cleaning kit from out under the seat, gave it to the poor passenger and told him to clean the machine before we went any further!!
It took the guy about 20 minutes to clean the heli before we could get airborne again. Poor guy must have hated me for making him wash the heli in his state. I ended up replacing him with someone else as we had another 6hours of flying to finish that day!!!
How does a typical work day look like for you?
Coffee....always start the day off with a cup of coffee or 3!! I always then start off with a walk around the office to greet everyone and anyone, see if there are any issues that may have come up in the course of the night, maybe a heli operating away from base developed an issue or the pilots encountered a problem.
Then, in the office, I'll catch up on emails and update myself on all operational staff's license expiry dates and renewal dates. If there is a flight to be done, it normally starts off with it coming through flight ops.
Once we know the route and details, we shall assign a helicopter and pilot.
If I am flying, I'll check the routing, make sure all weather is good, flight plan is filed, weight and balances are done, helicopter paperwork and serviceability is okay and pre-flight. Depending on the type of flight, it can be a boring day or fun day. Flying VVIP's is not the most exciting of work but it does keep you on your toes, as locations can change, passenger figures change, some times the landing sites are not secure.
That said, there is usually a lot of sitting for hours waiting. The fun flights are wildlife work, utility work and tourist flying (if the tourists are fun:)
Once done for the day, I'll fill out all the paperwork, techlogs, voyage reports, fill out the whiteboard for the next pilots (the white board just has the helicopter's basic info on it like hours remaining till the next service, any defects etc) just as a quick scan, so pilots and ops can plan ahead with a look at the board, then head home to end the day off with a beer!
Your favorite helicopter to fly and why?
I have a special place in my heart for the R44. It is a fantastic little machine. Simple and easy to operate. That said, the Bell 206 Long Ranger is my favorite turbine helicopter. I think it is what all helicopters should look like, and she flies so well!!
How do you recover from an engine failure especially since the aircraft has no wings and cannot glide in the same way a fixed wing aircraft can.
Ah man, this one can get complicated, so let me try to keep it simple. Have you ever seen how a windmill turns in the wind? The wind blows into the windmill from the front and due to the aerodynamics, the windmill turns. The main rotors on a helicopter act on a similar basis. When have an engine failure, you must immediately lower the collective to reduce the drag on the blades. This causes the helicopter to start descending.
As it descends, the airflow of the "wind" comes from the bottom of the main rotor blades, and thus keeps them turning. This is a very simple explanation, but gives an idea of what happens. The great thing though, with enough height, you can put the helicopter down very safely into an area the size of half a football pitch.
Do choppers also come equipped with instruments that allow them to fly in adverse weather conditions? And are there specific times that helicopters are permitted to operate?
To answer your first question, yes, depending on the type of helicopter and the specifications of that helicopter. The law in most countries requires that you must have two of everything on board to fly in bad weather in case one item fails. This includes two engines.
The answer to your second question, here in Kenya, you cannot fly helicopters at night (night being classified as 15 minutes after sunset and 15 minutes before sunrise), unless the helicopter is classified to do so from an equipment point of view and the pilot is rated and current to do so, in accordance to the Kenyan Aviation Regulations. This includes, from the helicopters side, having two engines and being fully 'Instrument Flight rules capable.'
From the pilots side, you must have an Instrument rating current and night rating current. In other countries though, it is possible to fly at night without having an instrument rating and a second engine.
Lastly, are there any morsels of advice that you would like to give to individuals keen on pursuing helicopter training and flying in general?
You are not invincible nor too experienced to stop learning. You can learn from everyone that flies regardless of their experience and hours. The day you cannot learn anything more, is the day to stop flying!
[Captain Jon also suggests checking out 'The Rotor Wing Show' (available at http://rotarywingsshow.com) a podcast offered on I-Tunes where helicopter enthusiasts can tune in to get more info about this line of flying]
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