HELICOPTER OPS: GEORGE TONKING
GIVE THAT MAN
A BELL
I know it’s clichéd, but where has the year gone? December, the busiest month in our profession, is upon us. And it’s busy, not only because the security industry is on high alert, but because many pilots, like normal people, go on holiday with their families, leaving a gap for extra charter work. I RECENTLY COMPLAINED to a colleague about how tired I was before the silly season had even started. He was having none of it and clearly told me to wind my neck in and to remember how privileged I was to have the job I do. Too often, in our short-sightedness, we don’t recognise what’s obvious to others. In my case, this includes the fact that I get to fly diverse machines, compared to many of my peers in the helicopter industry worldwide who tend to fly one specific type, basing their careers on it.
pointed out, my line of work allows me to stay relatively fresh on a high number of the types on which I’m rated. A closer look at my logbook revealed just that, with fluctuating numbers during different seasons. At the time of writing this column, I am current on 6 of the 13 types I hold a rating for. That’s something. It doesn’t mean that I’m superskilled, just that the variety of jobs I’m called to do regularly requires choppers with distinct personalities.
Ev e r y helicopter is a di ff e r e nt t ype
In the helicopter world, unlike aeroplanes, we don’t have many series-type aircraft. Every helicopter is a different type on which to be rated. And once rated, you need to stay “current” on each type, lest you lose your rating. Fortunately, as my good friend and colleague
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December / January 2021/22
One of those, which I first learned to fly many years ago, is the beautiful, sleek Bell 407. In helicopter development, one of the costliest outlays is the testing process and type certification. It is, therefore, far more cost effective to develop on a proven design platform than to start a clean-sheet design. The Bell
