The situation at Jetcopters would never be the same. While having been promoted to Chief Pilot, I should have been excited about the increased salary and new responsibilities, but I wasn't. I think I shared Jim's pain and we spent our lunch hours together on many days trying to figure out how we could deal with the future. Both of us wanted very much to leave Jetcopters, but only under the best of conditions. Then tragedy struck Jetcopters. During the filming of one of the weekly episodes of the TV series Airwolf. One of our less conservative pilots, got in to a steep banked flight attitude near the ground and crashed the Bell Huey helicopter he was flying. He was injured with several broken bones, but sadly, his passenger, a Hollywood stunt man by the name of Reed Rondel was killed. The reason I can remember this mans name, I shared a dressing room with him on a previous shoot of the same TV series a couple weeks earlier. Because I was the newly assigned Chief Pilot and due to the fact that the pilot involved was dealing with serious injuries, I had the task of answering to the FAA and NTSB regarding all the facts leading up to the accident. Even though I was not on the call list for that particular shoot, I still was involved in the paper work that always follows these type of events. This was just the beginning of things to come regarding the companies future.
One night while at home, I received a phone call from Jim Deeth. He had just resigned from Jetcopters and was going with a company in Burbank, CA by the name of Cine Exec. Basically the same type of operation, but Jim would be heading up the company as he should, and directing the everyday operations. I was happy for Jim, but still I was stuck at Jetcopters. Then as luck would have it, I found out about a position at one of my old employers, Helitac, which was the company downtown in Los Angeles. This got me closer to home and out of the mess at Jetcopters. So not long after Jim's call, I called him to report that I too had resigned from Jetcopters. Isn't it strange how one individual could cause so much trouble and for no good reason.
Several months later. . . . . The pilot involved in the Airwolf accident, had fully recovered from his injuries and was back on flying status.
He was flying a helicopter for a filming job in the Grand Canyon, and again, crashed, which resulted in the cameraman breaking his back.
The helicopter was totaled and fortunately, the pilot surrendered his pilot's license to the FAA and he would never fly again. Again, I mention the word, "conservative", it can make a big difference in the outcome of a days work, flying helicopters. . . . . .
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Jetcopters Part 6
I stayed on with Jetcopters for almost two years. It was a great place to work and the opportunities were abundant. We had a great group of pilots and Peter McKerrnan the owner was always opening new doors for the company. As time went on, this was all about to change.
Just when you think things could get no better, the worst happens. Meanwhile I was filling in some of the blanks in my career goals. The FAA office in Long Beach designated me to be able to give flight test for every combination of helicopter pilots licenses available. This included Airline Transport Pilot, Instrument Instructor and all other ratings.
Helicopter and actors from TV series Riptide click to enlarge
I was enjoying the rewards of movie and television residuals from the several that I participated in. This included, Rip Tide, Airwolf. Also a movie called Starman and a John Carpenter movie called, They Live.
Bell 222 used in TV series Airwolf click to enlarge
I enjoyed working with the Hollywood bunch, but often things were asked of pilots that just went across the grain of what my core principals were. I admit, that I have been in some sticky situations, but I never started out knowingly with that intent. A few times I would have a difference of opinion with a movie director or aerial coordinator, and eventually I was labeled as being too conservative. In my eyes, I would consider this to be a compliment. I just could not take it upon myself to abuse an expensive helicopter or potentially endanger someones life for the sake of creating something sensational for a few seconds on the big screen. You can't imagine how exciting it is to go to the very first screening of a movie. Usually at one of the bigger Hollywood theaters and then seeing the completed film. At the end, when they are showing the credits, you look for your name among the list of pilots that worked on that movie. This was good, but not for me. I got into a career in flying helicopters and I found out soon, that their were more important things to consider over the forty some years from the time I started out back in Kansas City, MO with Jerry Getz. I would prefer to be remembered as a good pilot that was dependable and a record of achievement.
As time went on, I continued to be involved in other interesting flights on almost a daily basis. I was sent out to pickup a passenger early one morning at the Los Angeles county substation heliport in Malibu, CA. I arrived early and shut down to wait for him to arrive. Shortly after, a car pulled up and a man got out and walked towards the helicopter. It was Robert Redford who was directing a movie that was being filmed in Frasier Park which is just south of Bakersfield, CA. I was on this assignment for five days and each day I would meet with him in the morning and then at the end of the day, fly back to Malibu. We had some interesting conversations and I was a big fan of his movies, The Sting and The Natural. Later on I was sent to Malibu to land on the beach near a big house located nearby. Two passengers came out and it was Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards her husband.
He was tired and grouchy and sat in the back, and she turned to him and said, I want to sit in front with the pilot. Wow, here I am sitting next to the lady that sang in the movie, The Sound of Music. Just small talk on our way to San Diego for the day, but still these were the types of flights I did almost every week.
Now here comes that bad part. One evening while I was home, I received a phone call from Peter McKernnan who then asked, if I was interested in being the Chief Pilot for Jetcopters. This position was presently being held by Jim Deeth, who also was the Director of Operations. With a company that was growing as rapidly as Jetcopters, I could see that one person doing both of these company assignments, it could be very overwhelming. I was a good friend of Jim's and at the time I thought this was being offered to me with his blessing. As it turned out, Jim was being demoted from both positions and was offered to stay on as a line pilot. Also he would take a big cut in pay, not to consider how demoralizing it must of been. Had I known this in the beginning, I would have declined the offer, but it was done and I was stuck with trying to deal with this as tactfully as possible. We had several part time pilots and a few that were from the Los Angeles county fire department. One pilot in particular, became very greedy and sat out to see these changes made in the companies staff.
I know that Jim Deeth at times was very strict with how things were done and maybe he didn't always use his best communication skills.
But on the other hand, he was fair and honest and the success of the company was founded on his ideas in the early going.
This story has a good ending, but it took some time and I'll continue with the turn of events in the next post.........
Just when you think things could get no better, the worst happens. Meanwhile I was filling in some of the blanks in my career goals. The FAA office in Long Beach designated me to be able to give flight test for every combination of helicopter pilots licenses available. This included Airline Transport Pilot, Instrument Instructor and all other ratings.
I was enjoying the rewards of movie and television residuals from the several that I participated in. This included, Rip Tide, Airwolf. Also a movie called Starman and a John Carpenter movie called, They Live.
I enjoyed working with the Hollywood bunch, but often things were asked of pilots that just went across the grain of what my core principals were. I admit, that I have been in some sticky situations, but I never started out knowingly with that intent. A few times I would have a difference of opinion with a movie director or aerial coordinator, and eventually I was labeled as being too conservative. In my eyes, I would consider this to be a compliment. I just could not take it upon myself to abuse an expensive helicopter or potentially endanger someones life for the sake of creating something sensational for a few seconds on the big screen. You can't imagine how exciting it is to go to the very first screening of a movie. Usually at one of the bigger Hollywood theaters and then seeing the completed film. At the end, when they are showing the credits, you look for your name among the list of pilots that worked on that movie. This was good, but not for me. I got into a career in flying helicopters and I found out soon, that their were more important things to consider over the forty some years from the time I started out back in Kansas City, MO with Jerry Getz. I would prefer to be remembered as a good pilot that was dependable and a record of achievement.
As time went on, I continued to be involved in other interesting flights on almost a daily basis. I was sent out to pickup a passenger early one morning at the Los Angeles county substation heliport in Malibu, CA. I arrived early and shut down to wait for him to arrive. Shortly after, a car pulled up and a man got out and walked towards the helicopter. It was Robert Redford who was directing a movie that was being filmed in Frasier Park which is just south of Bakersfield, CA. I was on this assignment for five days and each day I would meet with him in the morning and then at the end of the day, fly back to Malibu. We had some interesting conversations and I was a big fan of his movies, The Sting and The Natural. Later on I was sent to Malibu to land on the beach near a big house located nearby. Two passengers came out and it was Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards her husband.
He was tired and grouchy and sat in the back, and she turned to him and said, I want to sit in front with the pilot. Wow, here I am sitting next to the lady that sang in the movie, The Sound of Music. Just small talk on our way to San Diego for the day, but still these were the types of flights I did almost every week.
Now here comes that bad part. One evening while I was home, I received a phone call from Peter McKernnan who then asked, if I was interested in being the Chief Pilot for Jetcopters. This position was presently being held by Jim Deeth, who also was the Director of Operations. With a company that was growing as rapidly as Jetcopters, I could see that one person doing both of these company assignments, it could be very overwhelming. I was a good friend of Jim's and at the time I thought this was being offered to me with his blessing. As it turned out, Jim was being demoted from both positions and was offered to stay on as a line pilot. Also he would take a big cut in pay, not to consider how demoralizing it must of been. Had I known this in the beginning, I would have declined the offer, but it was done and I was stuck with trying to deal with this as tactfully as possible. We had several part time pilots and a few that were from the Los Angeles county fire department. One pilot in particular, became very greedy and sat out to see these changes made in the companies staff.
I know that Jim Deeth at times was very strict with how things were done and maybe he didn't always use his best communication skills.
But on the other hand, he was fair and honest and the success of the company was founded on his ideas in the early going.
This story has a good ending, but it took some time and I'll continue with the turn of events in the next post.........
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Jetcopters Part 5
During the 1984 Olympics, which was held in Los Angeles, CA, Jetcopters had helicopters assigned to every domestic and international news and sports television networks. We had the only downtown heliport, which was located within walking distance of the Coliseum. I personally worked on the heliport approval for several weeks and in the beginning, it did not look to hopeful that the FAA would give us permission to use the site.
In the end, we got the nod to make our takeoff's and landings in the temporary heliport, which was a parking lot.
I was assigned to an ABC television sports network out of New York for the seven day event. The Los Angeles and Orange county airspace was highly restricted and you could hardly fly anywhere in the city without being over one of the Olympic events. The Los Angeles police helicopter unit developed a special coding system, with an encryption guide that we used everyday for making entry into these areas.
This was the year that the Russians boycotted the Olympics for security reasons. Before the Olympic events began, I made a special flight with a presidential team, which consisted of several military generals and admirals to review all of the event venues to evaluate security. We also had on board the helicopter an FBI agent to narrate all the security for each area. In the end, the Russians, still did not come to Los Angeles. I think in the beginning, it was thought, there would be several terrorist actions, but nothing happened. I was scheduled to fly at least 21 hours minimum during the entire time of the Olympics, in the end, I flew about 10 hours.
I was scheduled to fly three passengers from the Van Nuys, CA airport to a location on the high desert called, Willow Springs raceway. This was 30 miles north of Palmdale, CA My passengers were Danny Sullivan, winner of the 1985 Indy 500, in his famous spin to win the race in the final laps, singers, Christopher Cross and John Denver.
Danny Sullivan had arranged for them to try out a couple of exotic Lamborghini Countouch sports cars for the day.
In the end, we got the nod to make our takeoff's and landings in the temporary heliport, which was a parking lot.
1984 Olympics opening ceremony
I was assigned to an ABC television sports network out of New York for the seven day event. The Los Angeles and Orange county airspace was highly restricted and you could hardly fly anywhere in the city without being over one of the Olympic events. The Los Angeles police helicopter unit developed a special coding system, with an encryption guide that we used everyday for making entry into these areas.
This was the year that the Russians boycotted the Olympics for security reasons. Before the Olympic events began, I made a special flight with a presidential team, which consisted of several military generals and admirals to review all of the event venues to evaluate security. We also had on board the helicopter an FBI agent to narrate all the security for each area. In the end, the Russians, still did not come to Los Angeles. I think in the beginning, it was thought, there would be several terrorist actions, but nothing happened. I was scheduled to fly at least 21 hours minimum during the entire time of the Olympics, in the end, I flew about 10 hours.
I was scheduled to fly three passengers from the Van Nuys, CA airport to a location on the high desert called, Willow Springs raceway. This was 30 miles north of Palmdale, CA My passengers were Danny Sullivan, winner of the 1985 Indy 500, in his famous spin to win the race in the final laps, singers, Christopher Cross and John Denver.
Danny Sullivan had arranged for them to try out a couple of exotic Lamborghini Countouch sports cars for the day.
Danny Sullivan, kneeling, John Denver, seated, Christopher Cross, background
click to enlarge
I have always been a big fan of auto racing and also I enjoyed the music of John Denver.
I really had a nice day watching these neat cars race around the road course and enjoyed visiting with John Denver.
This was one of the perks of working for Jetcopters. They seemed to have a lock on flying all the celebrities from both Hollywood and the entertainment world.
More Jetcopters on the next post. . . . . . . .
Friday, October 8, 2010
Jetcopters-NASA Part 4
While I was still working at Jetcopters, I got a call from one of the Los Angeles Federal Aviation Administration office's, requesting that I do some experimental test flights for NASA. No, I wasn't selected to be an astronaut for a flight to the moon. Although I must admit, if asked, I would sure do it. The following week, I reported to the NASA Ames Research Center, which was located at Moffett Field, Mountain View, CA. This was an old U.S. Navy blimp base. During the early part of WWII, they hangered airships that were used for defense observation along the Pacific coast of the United States. One of the interesting things about this facility, is that the blimp hanger still remains. Back in the 1930's they used this building to hangar the Navy airships Macon and Akron.
U.S. Airship Macon Moffett Field click to enlarge
The Blimp hangar is now being used by NASA click to enlarge
The purpose of these experimental flights was to evaluate a new technique for making instrument approaches in helicopters. Just a short history lesson regarding instrument flight in helicopters.
Years ago, when instrument flight was first developed. The rules and procedures pretty much pertained to airplanes only. This was mainly because most helicopters then and still today, are not equipped for instrument flight. Also when these conditions (IMC) instrument meteorological conditions, existed, helicopters could usually operate in special (VFR) visual flight rules and operated in non controlled airspace and also with permission from the controlling agencies, they could enter controlled airspace, again this would be with special flight conditions. As time went on, more and more helicopters are now able to operate in these weather conditions and also make instrument approaches for landing at airports around the country.
That's me on the far right along with two other NASA pilots click to enlarge
Typically, when an aircraft gets into the airport environment and is going to make an instrument approach for landing, The approach begins at a designated point and descends along a very shallow flight path to the airport. Usually at an approach angle of about 4 to 5 degrees. This enables the aircraft to descend at a very low rate. At the point where the approach ends, the pilots should be able to see the runway landing system and make his landing visually. This would be called the decision height. Usually around 200 feet above the ground, lower in some cases. If the pilot does not see the runway or approach lights, he aborts the landing and goes around for another attempt.
 |
| Here I am at the controls of a Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, these were used in the Vietnam war click to enlarge Our test flights were to evaluate instrument approaches utilizing a much steeper flight path, up to 12 to 15 degrees on the approach. This would produce a higher rate of descent. Also to see if the pilot could react quick enough as t0 not sag through the decision height before hitting the ground on an attempted go around. I spent a week at NASA doing these flights. I have no idea of why this concept was being tested or if it every was used. Maybe in a military application, but I doubt it would every be used for civilian use. Another adventure in the career of a helicopter pilot. |
Friday, October 1, 2010
Some explanations to the previous post
Several of my friends are following this blog, and from time to time I may get a call from one of them, asking a question or for an explanation of some of the events that may have occurred during my career as a helicopter pilot. Recently I received a call from one of my best friends, Ron Green who lives in Kansas City, MO regarding the flight described in the previous post. He brought up some good points and ones that I should have considered at the time. Which I did later, but sometimes later is too late?
Over the years, their has been a tradition in the aircraft cockpit amongst pilot's about the pilot in command. He is in charge of the flight and all decisions regarding the flights operation will be made by the PIC. Kind of like the captain of a ship. On this particular flight the FBI had chartered the aircraft and requested to use their own pilot to act as PIC. I was requested to go on this flight to act as an observer to comply with the companies requirements. Because of the nature of the flight and the fact that it involved the presidents security, I choose not to ask too many questions or to interfere with the operation of this flight. Jetcopters was a fast growing company and was pursuing the business of many government agencies. We were doing flights for the DEA, CIA,FBI and the IRS. For that reason I did not want to add anything negative that might reflect on future business.
Ron's questions , and I might add, very good ones, is why didn't the FBI pilot do more prior planning on his part before starting out on a flight with marginal flight conditions. Why did he elect to take two additional passengers that did not have a purpose during this flight?
I really don't know and could only guess. It may be that on prior flights he had not encountered any difficulties and that he assumed that this flight would be pretty much the same.
Out of professional courtesy to the FBI pilot involved I have omitted his name. Like myself, I know he will never forget this flight and the mention of his name, serves no useful purpose.
I would also not give myself credit for saving five lives and a million dollar helicopter. I should have offered some more helpful suggestions prior to the flight and maybe taken control of the helicopter while it was still in it's performance envelope. I do take credit for having made poor decisions on my part.
Most helicopter flight activity is done in a sea level environment or at much lower levels above sea level. The margin for error when flying a helicopter, my old flight instructor Jerry Getz used to say, is ZERO. But when the conditions are not extreme such as the 9500 feet of altitude we were operating at, some errors or conditions of flight can be recovered before disaster strikes. Sometimes a situation is allowed to go to the limit, then a more experienced pilot could take over the flight controls and recover the aircraft to a normal flight condition. This has happened to me many times in my days as a flight instructor. So I learned from this flight experience and the outcome was uneventful. Ron, thank you for asking. Back to Jetcopters in the next post.........................
click to enlarge
Over the years, their has been a tradition in the aircraft cockpit amongst pilot's about the pilot in command. He is in charge of the flight and all decisions regarding the flights operation will be made by the PIC. Kind of like the captain of a ship. On this particular flight the FBI had chartered the aircraft and requested to use their own pilot to act as PIC. I was requested to go on this flight to act as an observer to comply with the companies requirements. Because of the nature of the flight and the fact that it involved the presidents security, I choose not to ask too many questions or to interfere with the operation of this flight. Jetcopters was a fast growing company and was pursuing the business of many government agencies. We were doing flights for the DEA, CIA,FBI and the IRS. For that reason I did not want to add anything negative that might reflect on future business.
Ron's questions , and I might add, very good ones, is why didn't the FBI pilot do more prior planning on his part before starting out on a flight with marginal flight conditions. Why did he elect to take two additional passengers that did not have a purpose during this flight?
I really don't know and could only guess. It may be that on prior flights he had not encountered any difficulties and that he assumed that this flight would be pretty much the same.
Out of professional courtesy to the FBI pilot involved I have omitted his name. Like myself, I know he will never forget this flight and the mention of his name, serves no useful purpose.
I would also not give myself credit for saving five lives and a million dollar helicopter. I should have offered some more helpful suggestions prior to the flight and maybe taken control of the helicopter while it was still in it's performance envelope. I do take credit for having made poor decisions on my part.
Most helicopter flight activity is done in a sea level environment or at much lower levels above sea level. The margin for error when flying a helicopter, my old flight instructor Jerry Getz used to say, is ZERO. But when the conditions are not extreme such as the 9500 feet of altitude we were operating at, some errors or conditions of flight can be recovered before disaster strikes. Sometimes a situation is allowed to go to the limit, then a more experienced pilot could take over the flight controls and recover the aircraft to a normal flight condition. This has happened to me many times in my days as a flight instructor. So I learned from this flight experience and the outcome was uneventful. Ron, thank you for asking. Back to Jetcopters in the next post.........................
Monday, September 27, 2010
Jetcopters Part 3
November 10, 1983. Jetcopters did a lot of charter flights for most of the law enforcement agencies in the State of California and also the U.S. government. Jim Deeth our Chief Pilot called me into his office one morning to go over the flight details for a flight I was to do with the FBI. The FBI had their own helicopters and pilots, but elected to use our helicopter for a special flight on this day. The company allowed the FBI to use our aircraft, but also required that one of our pilots be on board the flight. I did not know the FBI pilot for this flight, but assumed that if the company trusted him, I could too, but with a watchful eye. Normally when I was not the pilot of the aircraft, but an observer, I did not give or offer advice to the pilot. I did not touch or operate any of the controls including the radios. Even though I might have done things differently, I think one should respect the pilot in command. Whenever I was acting as the pilot in command and I had another pilot sitting in the seat next to me, this is what I would expect. If needed, I would ask for help. I did watch for other aircraft during the flight and if the pilot asked for my assistance, I would do as asked. We departed the Van Nuys airport and flew to the Banning,CA airport. This airport was located between two large mountain ranges. San Gorgonio mountains to the north and San Jacintos mountains to the south. The purpose of the flight was to take several hundred pounds of special electronic equipment to a location known as Snow Peak. It seems that President Reagan was going to be in Palm Springs, CA and this equipment was to be used for the presidents security. Snow Peak was near 9000 feet above sea level. This is not a normal environment to operate a helicopter. Typically the higher you go, the performance of the helicopter is greatly reduced. For this reason, I took it upon myself to do some mental calculations to determine that we could land safely at that altitude. Oddly enough, the FBI pilot did not?
So it was necessary to determine the weight of the helicopter, which includes fuel, cargo, pilot and passengers. Also it is necessary to know the approximate temperature at the altitude for the proposed landing site. These preflight calculations will give you the expected performance of the helicopter at altitude. The main concern would be to know you could make an approach and then be able to hover the helicopter in ground effect safely. Supposedly this pilot was very experienced and had been to this location before. I am still being casually watchful, but also did not want to give any unwanted advice to the FBI pilot. After all it was their flight to do, and I was just an observer. We met three FBI technicians at the airport and proceeded to load the equipment on to the helicopter. In the beginning the planned load for this flight, would consist of the FBI pilot, myself, one FBI technician and the electronic cargo. This would be our takeoff configuration. At the last minute, the FBI pilot elected to take the other two FBI people. Again, he is the pilot in command, so I will keep my opinions to myself. We sure didn't need the extra weight at that altitude. We departed the Banning airport and climbed to an altitude of 9500 feet. As we began our approach for landing, I am looking at the side of a mountain, but I do not see a place for us to land. We continued the approach and I'm still looking. I am beginning to feel very uneasy and I can see the pilot is not looking too sure of himself. We continue closer to the mountain terrain and I notice that we are exceeding the engine torque limits, the turbine outlet temperature is at the red line and we are losing rotor RPM. This is all happening at once and I haven't got a clue of what his intentions are. We were drifting into the side of the mountain and had lost directional control of the aircraft, which in turn was causing the aircraft to rotate to the right. Also the aircraft was settling to the ground at the same time. Now I am certain we are going to crash. At that same moment, the FBI pilot turned to me and casually said, "you got it". Which means he was relinquishing control of the aircraft to me. I had no idea of what was below the helicopter or if the ground was suitable for landing. I had no other choice but to land the helicopter the best I could, knowing we would probably roll down the side of the mountain. This helicopter was not going to remain in the air much longer, considering the flight conditions we had. I lowered the collective control, which controls the vertical movement of the helicopter in a hover. I could not make any choices now and I had to go with what we had. Luck was on my side, the helicopter settled to the ground and remained upright on slightly unlevel ground. Needless to say, I am really angry with having been put into this situation. After we off loaded the cargo and the three FBI passengers in the rear of the aircraft, the helicopter would be much lighter and our takeoff would not be a problem. I told the two extra people that got on the aircraft at the last minute. they could get out now. They replied, that they just came along for the ride and would be returning with us to the Banning airport. I would guess that the two of them would have weighed together around 350-400 pounds. The ordeal we had just gone through, would have been much different without them on the aircraft . At this point, I had used up all my patience and told the FBI pilot, that I would fly the aircraft for the remainder of the flight. When I got back to Jetcopters, I walked into Jim Deeth's office and closed the door. I then expressed my displeasure with having been put in that situation. I also told him I would quit Jetcopters, if ever I was asked to babysit any more of the government's pilots. As I am writing this post today and also looking through my pilot's log book. I noticed that I made this comment in the remarks section for this flight. THIS ONE ALMOST ATE MY LUNCH! More on Jetcopters in the next post. . . . . . .
So it was necessary to determine the weight of the helicopter, which includes fuel, cargo, pilot and passengers. Also it is necessary to know the approximate temperature at the altitude for the proposed landing site. These preflight calculations will give you the expected performance of the helicopter at altitude. The main concern would be to know you could make an approach and then be able to hover the helicopter in ground effect safely. Supposedly this pilot was very experienced and had been to this location before. I am still being casually watchful, but also did not want to give any unwanted advice to the FBI pilot. After all it was their flight to do, and I was just an observer. We met three FBI technicians at the airport and proceeded to load the equipment on to the helicopter. In the beginning the planned load for this flight, would consist of the FBI pilot, myself, one FBI technician and the electronic cargo. This would be our takeoff configuration. At the last minute, the FBI pilot elected to take the other two FBI people. Again, he is the pilot in command, so I will keep my opinions to myself. We sure didn't need the extra weight at that altitude. We departed the Banning airport and climbed to an altitude of 9500 feet. As we began our approach for landing, I am looking at the side of a mountain, but I do not see a place for us to land. We continued the approach and I'm still looking. I am beginning to feel very uneasy and I can see the pilot is not looking too sure of himself. We continue closer to the mountain terrain and I notice that we are exceeding the engine torque limits, the turbine outlet temperature is at the red line and we are losing rotor RPM. This is all happening at once and I haven't got a clue of what his intentions are. We were drifting into the side of the mountain and had lost directional control of the aircraft, which in turn was causing the aircraft to rotate to the right. Also the aircraft was settling to the ground at the same time. Now I am certain we are going to crash. At that same moment, the FBI pilot turned to me and casually said, "you got it". Which means he was relinquishing control of the aircraft to me. I had no idea of what was below the helicopter or if the ground was suitable for landing. I had no other choice but to land the helicopter the best I could, knowing we would probably roll down the side of the mountain. This helicopter was not going to remain in the air much longer, considering the flight conditions we had. I lowered the collective control, which controls the vertical movement of the helicopter in a hover. I could not make any choices now and I had to go with what we had. Luck was on my side, the helicopter settled to the ground and remained upright on slightly unlevel ground. Needless to say, I am really angry with having been put into this situation. After we off loaded the cargo and the three FBI passengers in the rear of the aircraft, the helicopter would be much lighter and our takeoff would not be a problem. I told the two extra people that got on the aircraft at the last minute. they could get out now. They replied, that they just came along for the ride and would be returning with us to the Banning airport. I would guess that the two of them would have weighed together around 350-400 pounds. The ordeal we had just gone through, would have been much different without them on the aircraft . At this point, I had used up all my patience and told the FBI pilot, that I would fly the aircraft for the remainder of the flight. When I got back to Jetcopters, I walked into Jim Deeth's office and closed the door. I then expressed my displeasure with having been put in that situation. I also told him I would quit Jetcopters, if ever I was asked to babysit any more of the government's pilots. As I am writing this post today and also looking through my pilot's log book. I noticed that I made this comment in the remarks section for this flight. THIS ONE ALMOST ATE MY LUNCH! More on Jetcopters in the next post. . . . . . .
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Jetcopters Part 2
Working weekends really helped with the commuting problem, but as a rule the flight activity was pretty slow. On occasion I did get called in on my days off and so there was some disadvantage to having days off during the week. Once I got to the airport, I really didn't mind. I don't think I ever got tired of flying and if I was scheduled to do a flight, I had no problem working the extra days and flight hours. We had one big long building that had nothing but Jetranger and Longranger helicopters hangared there. When you rolled the hangar doors open, it looked like a rainbow of helicopters. All brand new aircraft and always equipped with the latest and best equipment. Jetcopters was very involved in both the movie and television business. So many of the pilots were getting a chance to fly for these companies.
Jim Deeth was involved with John Carpenter making a movie called Starman. He was the Aerial Coordinator and one part of the movie was going to involve several helicopters and pilots. Vietnam era Huey's, Jetrangers and Longrangers. One scene was a large formation of helicopters making a low level flight over the desert. This was shot near Winslow, AZ. Also several shots would be taken at the Meteor crater in the same location. Several of Jetcopters helicopters and pilots were being used and Jim had contracted several other operators from around the country to be used in the film. A few days before this was to take place, we flew into the Winslow, AZ airport where the movie crews prepared the helicopters to look like Army aircraft. They masked off the windows of the helicopter and then sprayed on a rubberized peel paint in Army colors. Then added decals for the insignias and markings to make them look like military aircraft. When the shoot was finished, they put the helicopters on a wash rack and sprayed the peel paint off with a high pressure water hose. If for any reason there was any damage to the paint, the movie company would repaint the aircraft. The technology was pretty advanced for this application and repainting the helicopters was not done very often.
Jim Deeth was involved with John Carpenter making a movie called Starman. He was the Aerial Coordinator and one part of the movie was going to involve several helicopters and pilots. Vietnam era Huey's, Jetrangers and Longrangers. One scene was a large formation of helicopters making a low level flight over the desert. This was shot near Winslow, AZ. Also several shots would be taken at the Meteor crater in the same location. Several of Jetcopters helicopters and pilots were being used and Jim had contracted several other operators from around the country to be used in the film. A few days before this was to take place, we flew into the Winslow, AZ airport where the movie crews prepared the helicopters to look like Army aircraft. They masked off the windows of the helicopter and then sprayed on a rubberized peel paint in Army colors. Then added decals for the insignias and markings to make them look like military aircraft. When the shoot was finished, they put the helicopters on a wash rack and sprayed the peel paint off with a high pressure water hose. If for any reason there was any damage to the paint, the movie company would repaint the aircraft. The technology was pretty advanced for this application and repainting the helicopters was not done very often.
Civilian helicopters used in the movie Starman click to enlarge
This was really going to be my first experience being directly involved in an actual movie. We were a large group of pilots and we spent nearly a week doing this part of the movie. It was fun being out on location, doing the wardrobe thing and watching the making of a movie first hand. I had met John Carpenter earlier before working for Jetcopters, so I was comfortable with working with movie people. Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen were the two principal actors and were both very friendly to work with. Finally, this was going to enable me to become a member of the Screen Actors Guild. I was now qualified and just needed to fill out the application forms and pay a membership fee. This was one of the first things I did when we returned to Los Angeles a few weeks later.
At the end of the shoot at this location, Jim asked me to fly the camera helicopter a Bell BH-206L3 to the Scottsdale, AZ airport where it would receive a 50 hour maintenance inspection. They could complete this inspection in one day and the next day, I ferried the helicopter to Nashville, TN. I made one overnight stay in Dallas, TX before going on to Nashville the next day. more on Jetcopters in the next post.........
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