Road To Ruin

[Rotorhead]

... I didn't scare him too badly considering I was a ham-fisted BV107 guy at the time. Is Ev still flying? I've heard he retired a few times, but came back a couple times, too.

Ev and Bill Foote have both retired. I did the full 76 hr mountain an ops course there in early '96. Maybe we crossed paths.

RH

 

[bubbleboy]

What about you engineers? What got you interested in working on helicopters as opposed to fixed wing? Was it the fact that as a helicopter engineer you need more in your toolbox than just a hammer? 😀 Apologies to any fixed wing guys browsing on here! 🙂

bb

 

[amodao]

407 Driver flew my father around a lot and I used to get him to ask 407 questions about wrenching on heli's. 407 told him that NLC had a good heli tech program and that if I was interested in wrenching on helicopters I should go there. I also had beers with 407's wrench of that time (he lived across the street) and he also said that I should go to NLC. I went to NLC and got my diploma in drinking, camping and bug swatting. So I have to say 407 got me hooked on aviation and I have yet to seek treatment.

 

[rainman]

Chevy 2

Good ol Al Engst is the base manager extraordinaire in the lovely spot of Ft Nelson for VIH. Still lives in Duncan though.

 

[Ryan]

Had my first ride in a MD 500 when I was 12 and loved it. It was just the coolest thing ever. I always knew I wanted to be a pilot, but had never even considered helicopters untill that point. After that flight it was helicopters all the way.

This was all reinforced 2 years later when I watched my step father drown in Hawaii. The Coast Guard had been called hours before but never showed up due to the pilot going to the wrong island. But out over the water was a black MD 500 that belonged to a private owner, who heard what was going on over the scanner, and decided to come help the search efforts. From that point on I knew when I had the experience I would do whatever it took to fly an EMS helicopter. I just want to help out those in serious need of it, as I have seen first hand what happens when it all goes very wrong.
(Don't ask how I got wanting to be an EMS pilot from a obvious SAR story... it just happened that way.)

So this September I'll start training at Coast Helicopter College in Victoria with B.R. and other VIH fellas. Can't wait!! It's been 5 years in the making and still doesn't seen real.

 

[Randy_G]

Well, I've been strange from birth.:blink: Used to bug the folks to take me to the airport to watch the planes take-off and land. Got an intro flight in one of them seized rotor things when I was 14 and wanted to start right then. Had to wait until I was 15. Soloed at 16, ppl-a at 17. Started to get bored just flying point a to point b, and stopped flying for a bit. Got back into flying at the Moose Jaw gliding zone. Had some fun getting launched by the winch (what a ride !! 55 kts, 70 degrees nose up, full aft stick ). Got sick of my day job, so I saved up every penny and signed up for heli school. First flight amazed me, and I was hooked.

Like CTD, I've decided to take a break from it this year. Had my last flight, and we are getting the apartment ready to go up for sale. Anyone looking for a condo in YYC ??? We're heading south, and going to put my Aussie residency to use. There are some business opportunities I've wanted to pursue, and I felt now was as good as any to try and bring them to fruition. An extra bonus is; no more Canadian winters !!! Ahh December by the beach. I'll be thinking of you guys. 😉 Ask nicely, and there might even be a spare room for those who want to come and visit. Oh and bringing duty-free single malt Scotch is also a requirement.

Cheers

 

[putz]

I will jump in on this one. I always like to see where everyone got their start. I noticed that Northern Mountain takes alot of heat on this site, and yes they did some questionable things but ask anybody that got their start at NMH and you would be hard pressed to hear one bad remark about the training . One thing they didn't do was go cheap on the training. This is where I got my start. I got over 75hrs of operational training in Smithers B.C.( Mountain course,bucketing the list goes on) from Joe Miere(EX OKY.Trainer) and one of his students Earl Miller. This training was second to none. They made you ready to GO TO WORK IN THIS INDUSTRY. Did it work? You don't have to look very hard to find guys that went thru this program, they are flying the crane, slinging drills and sking in the rocks. The training never stopped there. Gilbert Kettleson who was the chief pilot always made sure any endorsment I received was always ground school, full checkout flying with no corners cut. You would feel comfortable to go fly the new machine from what you were taught. That's it! Okay go ahead and reply about how much of crooks they were and rate cutters, I Know it is coming. I just thought it was time to make a positive out of a negitive.

 

[Winnie]

Well, when I was 5, my dad brought me to work for the first time, he was a flight engineer on SeaKings in Norway. I got hooked, and wanted to fly helicopters from that day. At the squadron, as I got older, they'd let me do minor maintenace stuff (adding water to the coffee maker, polish window, minor servicing +++) and as I grew older, my summers and time of school was spent wearing a camouflage work uniform, getting my hands dirty, anoying the HE77 out of the engineers and pilots. I have been on SAR missions and EMS flights, troop transport (how those soldiers must have wondered what was up with that kid in a flight suit! 🙄 ), and almost anything. Unfortunately, things have changed, and the same practice is not alowed anymore...

But that is what got me interested, and If I'd the moneys, I would get my AMT as well, but so it is.

I know for sure that I would not be happy, if I didn't at least try to fly.

 

[highbladedown]

Dryden 18 in "74" - what a fire!!

hbd

 

[VERTICAL X]

Hey Putz

I think the answer to the question was supposed to be dated back a few more years. Something like "when i was still in my mothers womb", you kow what i mean. But glad to hear NMH was such a great company :mellow: Don't get me wrong, i'm not dirting you, just trying to keep you on the straight and narrow

VX

 

[GoldMember]

putz,

NMH gave me my start in the heli-world as well. I did an Ops/Mountain course with Dennis Venturi and Earl Miller. The training was very, very good indeed.

 

[407 Driver]

....just tell us you never took an accounting course from Walter Palubiski :blink:
or a staff management course from Freddy Nelson...

and that Bob Coleman diet......it ain't working either <_<

 

[jetbox]

Whatever happened to Fred Nelson anyways? I sort of lost track of the guy after he ruined it for all of us at CHC.

 

[jetbox]

Sorry, I guess that was off topic!!!!! 😀

 

[407 Driver]

YA, stay on topic, that's your first warning !! 😀 😀