Antsis
Senior Heliman
Location: Kent, United Kingdom
| Hi All
Just picked up on this post and, apart from some replies, it makes for interesting reading.
I've been flying RC for approx 14 years and got into heli's in 2004. I was living in southern Afica and heli's were few and fair between, primarily due to the cost. I moved to the UK in 2002 and approached the local clubs in the SE of the country. Most of them were keen for me to join until I mentioned I wanted to do helicopters. Then the attitude towards me changed and I was told I'd have to go on the waiting list because there were, suddenly, no vacancies. I learnt very quickly to mention I flew FW and, if accepted, wait a few months before suggesting I wanted to do heli's. I was lucky in that one club had a heli pilot as one of its founders, but most of the others weren't so accomodating.
Since I started flying helicopters, there have been more members in the two clubs I belong to start as well. However, we still get the odd comment about "bl**dy helicopters". Unfortunately, and this is not a dig at the older generation by any means, these comments have been from the more established members of the club. Including one from our chairman who referred to helicopters as flying "egg beaters" and did not want them at our concours night.
The strange thing is, I think because helicopters require more maintenance than FW, we, as heli pilots, are a lot safer and more conscious of how we.
Ant |
