Category Archives: Random rantings

Greece is no vacation

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Heligypsy

Originally posted on Helicopter Pilot, will travel:
Tampa airport. The white zone, is for happy reunions and brave goodbyes. A last kiss, a look back and then its off to Greece and three weeks of firefighting in the Air Crane.…

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Greece is no vacation

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Heligypsy

Tampa airport. The white zone, is for happy reunions and brave goodbyes. A last kiss, a look back and then its off to Greece and three weeks of firefighting in the Air Crane. Airline travel is a grind. This day … Continue reading →

Posted in Random rantings | 5 Comments

Quote

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Heligypsy

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. — Helen Keller.

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Holding the Line Revisited

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Heligypsy

Recently a friend had asked me if fighting fires with the Helitanker was different from country to country? It is different for the obvious reasons, in the same way that Italy is different from Australia or Greece or Canada. Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Random rantings | 8 Comments

Firefighting in the city

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Heligypsy

Athens, Hellas and the wildfire that had travelled cross country for about 15 miles, was now reaching the city. The fire was running through the upscale neighborhood about as fast as a person could run. There were in fact a … Continue reading →

Posted in Flying Stories, helicopter firefighting, Helicopter Pilot, Random rantings, World Travel | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Flight, Duty, Safety and Profit

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Heligypsy

When I first started flying helicopters commercially in about 1975, my boss told me that he could use all the helicopters he could get for about 5 months of the year. After that, he said “I wish you could all … Continue reading →

Posted in helicopter firefighting, Helicopter Pilot, Random rantings, World Travel | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

I seem to have hit a nerve

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Heligypsy

I wrote a blog a while ago about some firefighting I did in Northern Saskatchewan . I worked in many small towns and villages and most of them were pleasant experiences. A few towns were less than pleasant and one … Continue reading →

Posted in Random rantings | 9 Comments

The Start and Finish

Posted on July 4, 2009 by Heligypsy

Our S-64 Air Crane had been checked and made ready for the first fire call of the day, if it was ever to come. Time now, to get into the books, flight manuals, study guides, or maybe less demanding pursuits.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Contract helicopter pilot, helicopter firefighting, Helicopter Pilot, Random rantings | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Following Along

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Heligypsy

The G.P.S. unit installed in our S-61 helicopter was state of the art. The company had spent a lot of money to make sure that we would always know where we were and for good reason. The mission was in … Continue reading →

Posted in Contract helicopter pilot, Helicopter Pilot, Random rantings, World Travel | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A few problems with the hydraulics

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Heligypsy

I wrote a blog previously about hydraulic failures. The blog was technical and hypothetical in nature. It can make for dull reading and many helicopter pilots still regard hydraulic failures as a minor problem in some aircraft. Certain helicopters will … Continue reading →

Posted in Helicopter Pilot, Random rantings, World Travel | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments