How I got Into Flying Helicopters

Today I'm at "Reading at the Beach" talking about how I became a helicopter pilot. Here's an excerpt:

"The Army trained me as a medic and an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). I was not a good soldier...but I loved being a paramedic. Where I responded to Army 'regiment' with near-distain, what I was trained for had the opposite effect: I liked splinting a broken leg. Inserting an IV. Dressing a sucking chest wound. One weekend a month I was a grunt soldier and a token medic. But for two weeks in the summer I was a soldier medic. And during our two-week training of my third year in the Guard, I took part in a mock battlefield exercise that changed my life..."

Read more here!

First Flying Lesson -- and One Hilarious Surprise

After three delays (weather – maintenance – weather), I finally got my first fixed-wing flying lesson in. Mostly I flew straight-and-level with a few shallow turns (my instructor did the take-off and landing).

Surprise #1: It was easy! Compared to flying a helicopter, it was a piece of cake. I hear landings are the hardest – but if I can learn to hover in a helicopter (now THAT was HARD) then I think I can handle this...

Surprise #2: No airsickness! I had it for the first half-dozen or more helicopter lessons but it went away as I got used to the motion. Maybe it was just a really calm day and I’ll be UN-happily surprised next time...

Surprise #3 (and this one you could NEVER guess!): in April of 2005 (yep, 4-1/2 years ago!) I took a demo flight. My logbook was signed by that instructor at the time. When we completed this lesson, my current instructor went to sign it and...it was HER signature in my logbook -- from over 4 years ago! She had married and had a different last name and I had never put it together.

How is that for cosmic karma (a topic I’ve blogged about in the past)??