Helicopter pilots
are just better than fixed wing pilots....
This
has been a serious debate for quite some time with battle lines well drawn and
the debate field hot, furious, and emotional. Obviously, the heat of the debate
and the surety of the participants are directly proportional to the amount of
liquid intelligence that has been consumed. Nevertheless, this humble observer
will present the evidence that clearly proves helicopter pilots are, as a
matter of fact, the most superior pilots in the aviation community.
First,
let's talk about the numbers. Airplanes have a lot of numbers: V1, V2,
VTOSS, MMO, the figures many civilian helicopter operations emulate.
However, while helicopter pilots try to operate "by
the numbers", the operating environment often precludes such a
luxury. The 757 pilot is "going to come over the fence at Vref+
15k"
or some other such number like that. Meanwhile, the helicopter lands on a
rig, perhaps with a 30K headwind, a 15K crosswind, or maybe he has to land
in a remote area with no wind... and he will LAND AT 0K GROUNDSPEED! If
you know anything about aerodynamics, I shouldn't have to say anything
else - the safety of the numbers does not always grace the helicopter
pilots, therefore, they need special skill to compensate when the numbers
are not even applicable. The rotorhead may be
landing at 40K IAS or 0K...airplane safety margins are all off!
Not convinced, let's talk operating
environment. It would be nice to be able to land on a flat piece of paved real
estate that was 200' wide and 8000' long for every landing; but for
helicopter pilots, that's the exception rather than the rule .(We are even
told to "avoid the flow" of the starch wingers lest we upset
their "numbers.").
Helicopter
pilots are called to land on small offshore platforms, smaller
shipboard platforms (that can be bobbing and weaving like Mike Tyson),
rooftops, forests, jungles, and next to highways at night to pick up the
injured. This is a VFR operation that would make most airplane pilots
cringe.
This
goes beyond those fixed wingers who call themselves "bush
pilots." Helicopter pilots are the true Bush Pilots, they land and
takeoff in the midst of the bushes! To this, the helicopter pilot adds all
the stuff the corporate or 121 operator does. They operate
in dense airspace, fly instrument approaches, operate at busy airports, and fly
in severe weather - often without the help of a four-axis autopilot with
"autotrim." (In fact, the only
autopilot may be control friction... and any objective dual-rated pilots
will confess the helicopter is quite a bit more diffi-
cult to fly on the gauges!)
At
this point I have to interject for the prima Donna part 91 operators in
their Citation X's, Gulfstreams, and Falcon 50's. Yes
Veronica, there are a lot of helicopters with color radar, multiple MFDs, EFIS, digital fuel controls, 4 axis autopilots, and
all the other goodies, so don't go there! We can operate your fancy
equipment as well!
I'm
not done - what about workload? The helicopter pilot is normally the "company
man" on the job. Therefore, they must not only be able to fly the
aircraft, they have to be the local PR man with the customer,
often solving the customer's problems so the aircraft is used the
most efficiently. The helicopter pilot might have to arrange for his
own fuel and even refuel his own aircraft. He checks the landing
sites, trains people how to work around helicopters without getting
injured, and makes sure the aircraft does not disturb Grandma Bessie's
chickens!
But
wait, like the Ginsu knife, "there's more!"
The rotor-head does it all. He does all the pre-flight planning, submits
the flight plan, prepares all the paperwork including the weight and
balance, loads and briefs the passengers, loads cargo, and after landing
takes care of the unloading and finally arranges for their own
transportation and room. This is often interspersed by
telephone calls to some company weenie that changes plans and expectations
every hour.
Finally,
the all important question, "What about control touch?" I
want to shut up all the hotshot fighter pilots. I've been in their
aircraft and they have been in mine... I could fly theirs but they were
all over the sky in mine! So then, Mr. Starch Winger; when you see a
Hughes 500 or
The
bottom line is; if all you want is to get into the air, find a Cessna, Beech,
F-16, or 757. However, if you want to truly fly, to be an artisan in
aviation and develop a bird-like control touch, then you want to be a
helicopter pilot. After all, a rock would probably fly if you made it go 180K.
The real
question for our fixed wing brethren should be,
"How fast
can you fly backward?"
~~~~~<>~~~~~
Don Joyce
An
Army Aviator's Scrapbook - The Aerie;
<http://community.webtv.net/GoldEagle4/GoldEagle4sAerie>
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