wcobra

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 ...?

Ahhh History! Seems everything comes about sometime. If it aint repeating itself we resurrect it in talk :-) It's still good information though.

Having issues logging in. Have to refresh a couple of times and hit the login key just right on the timing.

Merry Christmas Everybody! Have a wonderful time with your Families if you are home, and if not, fly safe and have a great remainder of this season and a Happy New Year :-)

Hey Swede, The answer is in the CARs, lots of reading especially with having to go between the Justice Canada site for the regulation and Transport Canada for the standard. In my initial response to your question I was trying to condense the answer a bit more but hit the wrong button; regardless, the AMO Certificate and Ratings dictate what the AMO can do. You also have to be aware that if the manufacturer deems work to be "specialized" by their own definition (Airbus like to do this) in their description of "who can do the work" that this would likely fall under the same requirements. Hope that helped!

Specialized Maintenance 571.04 No person shall perform the specialized maintenance set out in Schedule II to this Subpart on an aeronautical product other than an aircraft operated under a special certificate of airworthiness in the owner-maintenance or amateur-built classification, except in accordance with (amended 2002/03/01; previous version) (a) a maintenance policy manual (MPM) established by the holder of an approved maintenance organization (AMO) certificate issued pursuant to Section 573.02 with a rating of a category appropriate to the work to be performed; ​ From CAR 573 Entitlement to and Scope of Certificate 573.02 (1) The Minister shall issue to a maintenance organization that demonstrates that it meets the requirements of this Subpart an approved maintenance organization (AMO) certificate authorizing the maintenance of specified aeronautical products or the provision of specified maintenance services. (2) The AMO certificate shall specify, in accordance with the criteria specified in section 573.02 of Standard 573 - Approved Maintenance Organizations, any category in which ratings have been issued and shall list the aeronautical products that the AMO is authorized to maintain or the maintenance services that the AMO is authorized to perform. (amended 2005/05/31; previous version) (3) The scope of the work that may be performed under each rating specified on the AMO certificate is determined by limitations that are set out in the certificate. ​ From CAR Std 573.02 (3) A rating in the aircraft category will specify one or more types or groups of aircraft that are eligible to be maintained. Each type or group will be further subject to one of these limitations: (a) Non-specialized Any maintenance on the aircraft of the types specified, or any of their component parts, provided the maintenance is not specialized maintenance under the provisions of Schedule II of Subpart 571 of the CARs. ​