2024 HeliOps Calendar - Giveaway Thread

[Ned Dawson]

Morning Everyone,

We are starting to put together the list of those we will be sending freebie copies of our 2024 HeliOps calendar to. The 2024 edition will have a mix of both civil and military helos in it and its going to be the best one we have done yet. All you have to do is the following:

Be a Member of the HeliOps Forum - if you arent then take a quick min to join.

Post on THIS thread your most fav memory of your time in the helicopter industry so far or if you are involved in wildland fire fighting what your most memorable moment has been.

Send us an email to info(@)heliopsmag.com and let us know name and postal address that you want a calendar sent to. Its that easy.

Thats all you have to do. Thanks again to everyone for your support of the new forum. Its growing nicely.

Regards

Ned

 

[AS350B3]

As a helicopter pilot in the US Army Reserve had an opportunity to land one UH-1H Iroquois and one OH-58A helicopter at our children's elementary in support of dad's career day activity for their school. Then presented a class on the mission and purpose of each helicopter. RVN

 

[PMontgomery]

My favorite memory so far in the Helicopter industry is taking my 9 year old son on a cross country flight in an EC135 thru 3 states crossing the Appalachian Mountains.

 

[Hawkinsdustin1]

I’m just starting out on my helicopter journey starting with my license, but I have been motivated from watching helicopters process the Christmas trees here in Oregon. JL Aviation is out here every year slinging the trees and they have really got me motivated to stay with my dreams of getting my license and starting my helicopter journey!

 

[Gundriver]

My most memorable flight is difficult to pin down, I have had many events. But my most recent was of a multi helicopter scene response during a hurricane. 4 helicopters were called to the scene. I was the second one to land. I was the only one that had the child that needed to be transported to Tx Children's Hospital. Enroute to the hospital I had to dodge storm cells from the Hurricane, 2000' towers that were obscured by clouds arriving airline traffic (that were also working around the storm cells) and the father of the child riding in back trying to calm his son down as the medics were working on him. At the end of the day the child survived and I was the only helicopter that was able to make it around the storms, the others had to divert to a different hospital. This was also my first scene flight as an EMS Helicopter pilot.

 

[Alastair]

First solo flight - 5 Feb 2008 - so many feeling, concerns, emotions before and afterwards - and the ice cold bucket of water that I got drenched with after the flight

 

[Helicycle9]

I was in college at University of San Diego in 1968 when a friend of mine got killed in Vietnam. I had just taken a flight over Mission Bay in a Bell 47 and in my mind it was a magic carpet ride. I quit college, walked into the Army recruiters office and joined, I told I wanted to be a Helicopter pilot, he told me I could not sign up for that but could take test to see if I qualified once I was in the Army. I said fine, put me down for infantry because I know I will qualify. Long story short, I joined got tested, the day I was transferring out to Vietnam as a grunt I got orders to report to Fort Wolters, TX. I joined flight class 69-13. The first flight I did in a UH1-C once I got to Fort Rucker I will never forget.

 

[WildfireMike]

While working on a wildfire in Northern Alberta I was going from the ICP to the helispot when I noticed something black lying in the grass in front of me, when I got closer it was a black bear eating berries, the grass was so long I didn't see him until right on him, the helicopters landing and taking off didn't bother him at all, needless to say I avodied him, I didnt want to interrupt his lunch.

 

[TPEvans]

I’ll never forget my first solo - the nerves, the excitement, my instructor dancing in the training area as I came in to land and the congratulations from the tower. That cemented it for me, the helicopter industry was the family I wanted to be a part of.

 

[Ogg]

I got bit hard by the rotor bug when I was just 20, working w an S58-T on a heavy lift during my summer job working for a big GC. I spent so much time w their crew, that they literally took me under their wing(rotary) and I almost got fired from my day job in the process. It paid off because I got a ride in that S58 as a crewman before they left. I get the same feeling every time I pull on a collective to this day.

 

[raystar]

There have been many memorable moments over the years, but one that sticks out over the others is when I went with the Chief Pilot to Lafayette, Louisiana, to pick up a helicopter and ferry it across the USA to Vancouver, Canada. We took the scenic route, surveyed the site of Little Big Horn, had a lot of fun.

On a wild fire in Alberta, about a dozen helis on site. The refueller had to rush home for a family emergency. The forestry officials tried to get a warehouse helper to refuel all the aircraft. I said, absolutely not. He's not familiar around operating aircraft.
I volunteered to refuel all aircraft until a replacement showed up. Took 3 days.
Forestry was really grateful. They pulled my aircraft out of the pool, and we flew the fireboss around after that. For 8 hours a day, every day until the fire season ended.