Mechanic Humor

The 12,000 pound Bell 412, with an emoticon.  

Random Photo

Elizabeth Cook Peebles, a female helicopter pilot somewhere over the deserts of Arabia.

The local religion would have her draped in a burka and stripped of most of her rights. But by the happenstance occurrence of her being born somewhere else she's given a wink and a nod from her male passengers as they climb on board.


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Location:Surrey Dr,Bonita,United States

Disingtegration

What many might find surprising is that most helicopter accidents happen for the most moronic of reasons.  Which is why perhaps so many helicopter pilots have a feeling of invulnerability:  they cannot imagine themselves making such ridiculously sophomoric mistakes.  


As the current story goes this pilot was unable to release the cable dangling underneath his helicopter (after using it to place the steel structure that was to be used for a christmas tree decoration), and so was descending towards a low hover so someone on the ground could manually unhook it from the belly. The other end of the cable, though, was still anchored to the top of the steel metal structure, so as he descended the cable was dangling precariously close next to him, as of course the other end was stuck on his cargo hook.  


You could almost see it coming, as the ground guy pulls on the cable to free it from the helicopter, which then eliminated whatever slack the pilot was counting on for clearance and snapped the cable right into the rotor arc.  And then two seconds later the helicopter ceased to exist.  

El Commandante

This is the Commandante of the Ensenada Airport. He officially reports to the aeronautical authorities in Mexico City, meaning he reports to no one.

And so he is the final arbiter of where you can fly and land, when you can do it, and how much it's going to cost you to do so. He controls the military staff dispensing flight plans, the customs and immigration officials granting or denying visas, and whether or not the ominous drug sniffing German Shepard will come visit your helicopter.

The approval stamp in his top right drawer represents the demarkation between misery and freedom, between being told you've entered the country illegally and being allowed to briskly walk out to your helicopter and take off before he changes his mind.


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Location:Ensenada, Mexico

Coronado Landing

Me landing in Coronado, California,  one of the most expensive zip codes in the country.  

Close To You

For better or worse, one of the skills I learned while flying on the BAJA races in Mexico was to desensitize myself to operating in close proximity to buildings, powerlines, and other aircraft.  If nothing else it helps to build a much deeper appreciation for exactly how long and wide your helicopter is.  

Pilots Vs. Mechanics, Part 1

It is probably genetic, but there exists an eternal friction between helicopter pilots and mechanics, each suspicious of the other, each convinced that the other's sole purpose in life is to make their lives a miserable hell.  


After a 10 hour cross country flight across 5 states I land at my final destination, and no one is in sight as I taxi to my parking spot and land, and then pause looking around for one of our mechanics.  Of course he has not shown himself, because he is waiting behind the hangar door until I shut down the helicopter and begin gathering my belongings before he saunters up and announces he'd like me to move the helicopter 100 feet to the right.