A nice pair of legs,...and a queston?

[r22butters]

Is it normal to hot load with no one at the controls?

 

[hotstart]

Well that's a ticking time bomb if I've ever seen one.

[Eric Hunt]

Hmmm... loading pax with engine running, but no person to marshal them away from tail rotor - wrong

 

Loading pax while refuelling - wrong

 

Loading pax into front seat with engine running and nobody guarding controls - double plus ungood!

 

Pax looking around for something to grab while climbing in - lucky she didn't touch the collective.

At least they had the mod that turns the pedals into footrests.

 

So many holes in the swiss cheese, and luckily they didn't line up that time.

[hotstart]

Also, nothing against soliciting tips at all (anyone in tours does duh!), but stuffing your own 20's everywhere directly in front of the guests faces and a gigantic sign seems unprofessional and tacky. Sure, a paperclip with a folded 20 in it clipped under the upper glare shield on the pilot side just barely in view is fair enough. But that amount everywhere is kind of ridiculous. A subtle 20 in your semi transparent upper pocket and a heavy emphasis on "I hope you enjoyed MY tour for YOU today" is about all I'll do. If I even thought about clipping money to the panel or mentioning the "T" word I'll be set packing. From personal experience the more subtle I am the more tips I get. The more direct I tried to be at previous jobs tended to turn people away. I think it all comes down to tactfulness. I know this has nothing to do with butters post, I guess when I saw that ridiculous amount of bait (or real tips) it instantly made me think that guy is kind of a dick. Hot loading with no safety measures whatsoever other than frictioned down controls (which normally suck on all 206s I've flown) probably doesn't help my opinions on it all either. Ok end of rant

[RisePilot]

Yes, even strippers remove the cash notes from their g-strings from their previous round of lap dancing.

[WolftalonID]

Yes, even strippers remove the cash notes from their g-strings from their previous round of lap dancing.

Hahaha yes for the win!

[WolftalonID]

Wow...I know the company I currently work for is like ubber ultra conservative on all issues...and that is good for what we do. I have worked for companies that are less strict, but still VERY safety conscious on all ops. This operation is flat scary...even watching his final approach over the buildings low level like that was so unnecessary when he has an really nice fly way to work with too. The general public has no idea the level of risk they are being exposed to in an already risky adventure.

 

My first though was a cringe seeing her seeking something to hold onto when she entered that cockpit. My last thought was a cringe watching that low level approach over the businesses and cars below. He had other safer options.

[Nearly Retired]

Oh my God. Really?

 

It is flat-f*ck'n amazing what we can get away with in helicopters, time after time, until we don't get away with it anymore. (FLYNYON ring a bell?) This one was such a cringe-worthy flight. What stood out for me? Where does one begin!

 

• For one thing, the 206 has a *HUGE* blind spot to the right front because of that big, fat doorpost. Pilots who develop the "206 slouch" end up with their face right by the door post for too much time - as this one did. He hardly looked out to the right at all. MId-airs happen. And in an area with as many sightseeing helicopters as Orlando, you'd *think* he'd be more on the lookout for the odd R-44 on a similar tour. I mean, you'd think... But no. Many tour pilots pay more attention to their passengers, looking to the left far more than they should be, neglecting the other quadrants. Shame on them. All the time he was flying that 206, I kept remembering the NTSB recreation of that mid-air in Phoenix in 2007 when those two TV helicopters came together over a scene.

 

• Then, that tip-begging...puh-leeze! When I did tours in the early 1980's, I used to keep an empty styrofoam water cup on my center console with a single and a five-dollar bill artfully but discretely arranged so the pax could see them. These guys who stick $20 bills all over the dash are just horrible. And it's becoming a trend, too - there's an operator up here in my part of Florida (Pensacola) that allows it. If I got in and saw that I'd go all Soup Nazi and be, like, "No tip for you!"

 

• Other than that...I mean...wow. People who know me know that I *hate* shallow approaches. There is almost never a "need" to do a shallow approach in a helicopter at sea level. We're not flying 47's and 12C's with weak-ass Franklin engines anymore. Even when you're heavy (which he wasn't), a steeper, slower approach gives you more control - in my humble opinion. Leave the shallow approaches for airplanes. That operator's neighbors must love them!

 

(Oh, to the people who worry about a person grabbing an unattended collective? When a 206 is at idle, pulling full-up on the collective only causes the MRRPM to slow down. Nothing else will happen. Now, if she also started rolling the throttle on...well then, Houston, we'd have a problem.)

 

• Hopefully the pax were briefed in the operations shack prior to the flight - because I didn't hear them get much of a briefing in the ship. Even under Part-135, the rule is only that the PIC must ensure that the passengers "have been orally briefed" prior to takeoff. It doesn't say that the PIC has to do it himself - only that it be done. Part-91 says basically the same thing. But still...

I've debated hitting "Reply" on this post. It might seem unfair, criticizing another pilot's technique and method of operation. Would I want my flights to be put under such scrutiny?

 

Then again, when people post videos like this on social media, the door for criticism is opened. When you know you're being video'd for posterity, you'd better be on your best behavior. And oddly, many pilots are not (e.g. that 412 pilot at the skydiver convention in Illinois). YouTube and Facebook and whatever clearly show the world how sloppy some of us have become.

[r22butters]

,...and hey Wilford Brimley, would it kill ya to take a few seconds and do a hover check before yankin' it around!

 

Ha ha ha, yeah, I know, I'm the only one who got that memo,...ain't that right Mud?,...you still out there buddy?

[Little Bird]

Man. I thought this sh*t only happened in shitholes like where I am now. Sadly no. How hard is it to use your brain and be just a little bit professional.

[nightsta1ker]

Don't worry. It doesn't get any better anywhere else in this industry.

[Eric Hunt]

Have to say, I have never seen anybody soliciting tips or having money stashed around the cockpit like this dill does.

 

But the best tip I ever got was an Irish man who slipped US $1000 into my top pocket. Noice!

[helonorth]

Have to say, I have never seen anybody soliciting tips or having money stashed around the cockpit like this dill does.

 

But the best tip I ever got was an Irish man who slipped US $1000 into my top pocket. Noice!

 

I would bet a grand this never happened.

[Eric Hunt]

Helonorth, you can slip it into my top pocket, thank you.

 

This Irish family flew in with their own Gulfstream, I picked them up in an S76, flew them to several horse studs where they bought a few racehorses, had a nice lunch with them, flew them back to the steps of the Gulfstream, he did the pocket thing.

 

They hopped in, the door closed and away they went.

 

I will take 10 x $100s, thank you Helonorth.

[Hand_Grenade_Pilot]

 

I would bet a grand this never happened.

 

That's actually not too hard to believe.

 

Back when I was flying tours, I ended up w/ a private charter for a gay couple that wanted to go sightseeing for an hour. Immediately after takeoff, one of them has an emotional breakdown... he was terrified of heights. I bring them back and his husband doesn't want to abandon him, so they both decide to call it quits. They tipped me $200 for 10 minutes of flying.

 

$1,000 for a billionaire is ass wiping money.

 

But to bring it back on topic... the pilot in that video is a complete disgrace. Doesn't deserve to use the title 'professional pilot'.

[helonorth]

Helonorth, you can slip it into my top pocket, thank you.

 

This Irish family flew in with their own Gulfstream, I picked them up in an S76, flew them to several horse studs where they bought a few racehorses, had a nice lunch with them, flew them back to the steps of the Gulfstream, he did the pocket thing.

 

They hopped in, the door closed and away they went.

 

I will take 10 x $100s, thank you Helonorth.

 

You left out the part about what they had for lunch.

[Eric Hunt]

Pay me the money and i will tell you.

 

The sad part was that the teenage kids were so blase about travelling in the Gulfstream, riding in a VIP 76 over spectacular scenery and all, they just looked bored with having so much money.

[helonorth]

Pay me the money and i will tell you.

 

The sad part was that the teenage kids were so blase about travelling in the Gulfstream, riding in a VIP 76 over spectacular scenery and all, they just looked bored with having so much money.

 

I already know what the rich and bored Irish family traveling on a Gulfstream had for lunch. None-of-this-ever-actually-happened burgers with a side of I-have-a-vivid-imagination onion rings.

 

My money is safe.

[Eric Hunt]

Whatever you reckon, sport. You must be right. Because you were there. Not.

 

DILLIGAF?

[helonorth]

 

 

DILLIGAF?

 

Yes.

[nightsta1ker]

Someone needs a nice tall glass of chilltheFout. I've never gotten a thousand dollar tip, but I've made $1000 in tips in a day flying the canyon. That was an unusually good day, but it happens occasionally. I believe your story Eric. Haterz gonna hate.

[helonorth]

Haterz

 

Yeah you rap stars all stick together.