wcobra

Wasn't it Mr. Dobbin with the old Canadian banner buying Sealand and then buying Okanagan (or combining them?). I was with Associated Helicopters at that time which was owned by Okanagan during the initial western assimilations. When Ranger was being assimilated we were checking over some of their machines bringing them into the western operations. That became a pandemic of it's own sorts eh?

That makes sense re VIH. Re the other outfit..."Resistance was futile, they were assimilated" to use a version of a quote from a series on tv. And yup, a mess it became. Sad...

Delta Helicopters currently HQ just out of St. Albert, Alberta comes to mind as a company that has certainly been around a very long time! I think Don originally started it in the early '70s!

Happiness was a Bow Job, but a Shir-ley is better!

That's a good link, unfortunately the article is from last November. Their website (www.tntaheli.com/index.htm) has ©2020 Trans North Helicopters indicated on it and they are apparently looking for AME's and Pilots. From that it seems they may have been sold and are operating. If someone is looking for work, give them a call and report back. Fortunately for me things are stable but slowed a bit...for now. Stay healthy everyone and like my Mom used to say...WASH YOUR HANDS!!

Yup, what a beautiful sound! I miss it a lot as well!

Well, helicopters are cool! Working on them is cool! Flying them is cool! Some of the places I've worked were/are cool, and some down right cold! It's a challenging industry with lots of good, some bad, some hard, some easy; some good companies and some not so good. I know things can always be better (and have experienced it too), but I / we accept the terms of our employment when we sign up/join a company or accept an assignment, wherever in the world it may be. Ya I know some pilots think they are worse off than everyone else, but many enjoy the career, with it's relative challenges; likely some AME's as well. I do expect to be paid well for what I do, and have my expenses covered when away from base/home which has been the case throughout over 40 years in this game (relative to the times at the time). As a pretty good AME (maybe even an excellent one), I never did get paid what the heavy duty mechanics did/do, or what others may get, but it was alright and I was able to provide for / raise my family by honestly working this game, but it did come with a lot of sacrifice too (mostly loss of family time which I tried to maximize when back home). My Son chose to go heavy duty (good choice for him) and makes a lot more money than I ever did, but not without lots of challenges, drama, cutbacks, loss of benefits, etc (due to the times … sound familiar?). Every career has it's challenges and rewards; it's up to us to find contentment/balance and work to improve things or perhaps move along to that so called better job/career (grass is always greener). Other than the long periods away from my Family, I would still chose to do it all over again and still have fun doing it ☺️. And yes, although many changes over the years … I'm still in the industry 🙂.

Not complaining at all, this is what I get. It's not meant to "top up" at all. It seems an appropriate amount to permit reasonable meals while away from home.

South of 60 - Breakfast = $20; Lunch = $20; Dinner = $50

It used to be exceptional, maybe still is good but all their great guys are leaving or have left! Retirement or other reasons.

Happy New Year Grey Horizon, with 2019 being officially destroyed it should all be able to now get better from here on in...maybe a Brighter Horizon! 🙂

So far as I know the Costco's in Alberta no longer do the custom earplugs 😞

A start is a start is a start. That's it that's it that's it.

Hey Lindsay, That is a good question to ask if you are not familiar with these types of modifications. The main reason is due to "Lateral C of G" limitations pertaining to the helicopter. Simply put, if one were to put too much weight on the side of the helicopter you could lose control of the helicopter relating to the sideways (or lateral) movement/control. Another very important reason pertains to the structural limitations of the airframe where the cargo basket is attached. Some helicopters have fittings (aka "Hard Points") where equipment may be secured to, and some attach it to existing areas originally meant for other parts of the helicopter such as the Crosstubes (landing gear component) which due to structural analysis would have their own limits. The restrictions or limits assigned to the basket would be taking this into account as well. Hopefully this helps you understand a little bit better.

Over 40 years in the industry with 18 in the field on the Bell mediums and NEVER experienced that. Possibly not torqued from the start ...?