I'm sure many of you have plenty of "first year stories"...unfortunately I myself have none yet to recount. But I am very curious about peoples experiences. How different was the reality of the job as apposed to your long held fantasy of what you were hoping for.
This is what I know so far....after being licenced I'm required to do "radio work"...but I'm not certain what that entails. Then were does one go from there. How long did it take before you actually flew a helicopter?...did any of you suffer from depression after you sank so much money into a career that failed to deliver?(I know about the divorce rate)
Please don't hold back details...I can take it, nor will I run in the other direction screaming after reading your post.
temporarily rotorless
First years stories...
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sky's the limit
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There are so many, it's hard to know where to start, and I wonder how easy it is to incriminate oneself??? LOL
There are a number of "I learned from that" situations from not only the early years, but interesting or difficult operations to this day.
In fact, just this last week, I spent 6 days in the WORST, rundown, shithole camp I've been in - ever. The place leaked, there was garbage all over the place, I trapped 21 mice in my room over a 48hr span, shot one black bear that had taken up residence under our trailer and wouldn't leave, and the place flooded.... Twice.
Woke up on the bear shooting morning, took care of that, then went down to the dock with the 500 to fuel up.... Only the dock wasn't there anymore, nor was the road, nor were my 18 Jet A drums, fuel gear, spares kit, long lines, or nets. It was all floating where the log sort was, threatening to head out to sea.
The rain was coming down sideways, 110mm that day alone, the waves were rolling in, tidal surge with the storm was 8ft over normal high tide, and there were 12 of us up to our waist in freezing cold water pulling all the above gear from the ocean. My nuts are still in my armpits, and that was on Monday.....
Anyway, we got all my gear back, but I really wasn't seeing the humour in it at the time, been a long year.
Still want a camp job?
stl
There are a number of "I learned from that" situations from not only the early years, but interesting or difficult operations to this day.
In fact, just this last week, I spent 6 days in the WORST, rundown, shithole camp I've been in - ever. The place leaked, there was garbage all over the place, I trapped 21 mice in my room over a 48hr span, shot one black bear that had taken up residence under our trailer and wouldn't leave, and the place flooded.... Twice.
Woke up on the bear shooting morning, took care of that, then went down to the dock with the 500 to fuel up.... Only the dock wasn't there anymore, nor was the road, nor were my 18 Jet A drums, fuel gear, spares kit, long lines, or nets. It was all floating where the log sort was, threatening to head out to sea.
The rain was coming down sideways, 110mm that day alone, the waves were rolling in, tidal surge with the storm was 8ft over normal high tide, and there were 12 of us up to our waist in freezing cold water pulling all the above gear from the ocean. My nuts are still in my armpits, and that was on Monday.....
Anyway, we got all my gear back, but I really wasn't seeing the humour in it at the time, been a long year.
Still want a camp job?
stl
Talk about a bad day at the office. I enjoyed the mental visuals with that one. I would definiatly trade rush hour grid-lock for frozen nuts from glacier water any day.... bare-bone moments like those will surely impress the grand kids someday.sky's the limit wrote:There are so many, it's hard to know where to start, and I wonder how easy it is to incriminate oneself??? LOL
There are a number of "I learned from that" situations from not only the early years, but interesting or difficult operations to this day.
In fact, just this last week, I spent 6 days in the WORST, rundown, shithole camp I've been in - ever. The place leaked, there was garbage all over the place, I trapped 21 mice in my room over a 48hr span, shot one black bear that had taken up residence under our trailer and wouldn't leave, and the place flooded.... Twice.
Woke up on the bear shooting morning, took care of that, then went down to the dock with the 500 to fuel up.... Only the dock wasn't there anymore, nor was the road, nor were my 18 Jet A drums, fuel gear, spares kit, long lines, or nets. It was all floating where the log sort was, threatening to head out to sea.
The rain was coming down sideways, 110mm that day alone, the waves were rolling in, tidal surge with the storm was 8ft over normal high tide, and there were 12 of us up to our waist in freezing cold water pulling all the above gear from the ocean. My nuts are still in my armpits, and that was on Monday.....
Anyway, we got all my gear back, but I really wasn't seeing the humour in it at the time, been a long year.
Still want a camp job?
stl
Thanks for sharing, and yes...I still want a camp job!
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sky's the limit
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The Crew Boss with our Bear......
Didn't get any other photos that day, too frantic and wet to be playing with cameras. There are some moments that make good stories, and while this may turn into one of those, it came at the end of a very long year, and my sense of humour is somewhat degraded!
Didn't get any other photos that day, too frantic and wet to be playing with cameras. There are some moments that make good stories, and while this may turn into one of those, it came at the end of a very long year, and my sense of humour is somewhat degraded!
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sky's the limit
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No, wasn't reaching for it unfortunately, would have been quite a picture.
Had a MUCH better day today, sunny, lots of hours, and a big Steelhead that now lives in my fridge. Caught several, this one was the best, jumped 5 times during the fight. Was almost enough to distract me from the big Grizz prints I was standing on.
stl
Had a MUCH better day today, sunny, lots of hours, and a big Steelhead that now lives in my fridge. Caught several, this one was the best, jumped 5 times during the fight. Was almost enough to distract me from the big Grizz prints I was standing on.
stl
STL....a little ex-chef's cooking tip for your Steelhead dinner.
In a skillet fry some capers in a little vegetable oil til crispy and set aside on paper towel. In a mixing bowl add diced tomatoes, coarsely chopped basil, crushed kalamata olives. Lightly coat with some extra virgin olive oil and a splash of freshly squeezed lemon....mix together gently.
Spoon the mixture over your pan fried Steelhead then crumble your crispy capers over top. No need for salt because the capers will be enough. No pepper either...it will over power the wonderful light flavour of the fish.
Bon Appetit!
In a skillet fry some capers in a little vegetable oil til crispy and set aside on paper towel. In a mixing bowl add diced tomatoes, coarsely chopped basil, crushed kalamata olives. Lightly coat with some extra virgin olive oil and a splash of freshly squeezed lemon....mix together gently.
Spoon the mixture over your pan fried Steelhead then crumble your crispy capers over top. No need for salt because the capers will be enough. No pepper either...it will over power the wonderful light flavour of the fish.
Bon Appetit!
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sky's the limit
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sky's the limit
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Your very welcome, dinner looks Great!!..good job on the fillet...beautiful colour. I was surprised you had all the ingredients. This recipe works on all types of fish especially white oily fish like sea-bass.
Last edited by Rotorless on Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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sky's the limit
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GilletteNorth
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Re: First years stories...
STL, what do you do, keep a camera hidden up your ass? you always have pics of all the interesting stuff...
Hope you took lots of that trip to Florence recently. Lovely place France... been there done that, would love to do it many times more.
Hope you took lots of that trip to Florence recently. Lovely place France... been there done that, would love to do it many times more.
Having a standard that pilots lose their licence after making a mistake despite doing no harm to aircraft or passengers means soon you needn't worry about a pilot surplus or pilots offering to fly for free. Where do you get your experience from?
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sky's the limit
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Re: First years stories...
GilletteNorth wrote:STL, what do you do, keep a camera hidden up your ass? you always have pics of all the interesting stuff...
Hope you took lots of that trip to Florence recently. Lovely place France... been there done that, would love to do it many times more.
Lol Gillette,
I made the critical mistake of not taking enough photos during the first few years of my career, so I'm just trying to cover the bases.... As for Florence, we had a gorgeous day there a couple weeks ago - took about 150 photos on my big camera. I'd post them, but we were robbed in our Villa in Tuscany that night, and the camera took a walk along with all the photos..... Not impressed! Well, actually, I am impressed as they robbed us while we slept - from our rooms..!
Anyway, insurance claim is in, and I should have the replacement in a few weeks.
I usually have my little point and shoot with me, often give it my crews while I'm working. Glad you're enjoying the results.
Cheers,
stl
Re: First years stories...
Small point here. Me thinks perhaps that Florence is in Italy.GilletteNorth wrote:STL, what do you do, keep a camera hidden up your ass? you always have pics of all the interesting stuff...
Hope you took lots of that trip to Florence recently. Lovely place France... been there done that, would love to do it many times more.
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GilletteNorth
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Re: First years stories...
Ok ok, so I had France on my mind, sue me 
Having a standard that pilots lose their licence after making a mistake despite doing no harm to aircraft or passengers means soon you needn't worry about a pilot surplus or pilots offering to fly for free. Where do you get your experience from?
Re: First years stories...
Not that there is anything wrong with France!!GilletteNorth wrote:Ok ok, so I had France on my mind, sue me
