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Road To Ruin


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Guest graunch1

Al Engst, Kenting's king of Inuvik once apon a time, while brother Elmer was dreaming about his cement sailboat in Fort Smith :D

Last time I saw Randy Klohn was in the early 80's at Dome Pete along will Bill Jaenecke, Mel Barton, Freddy Nelson , Marty Voss and Bill ( I feel bad today because my stocks are down) Kipke.

 

More names from the Past --- How about KO? Now in YVR last I heard

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Got bitten at a very young age. My first ride (so I'm told) was in an Okie 206 with Merv Hesse before I was even a year old. I have a few pictures of a young lad (me) cleaning the bubble of Pat O'Riellys' 47 at Takla Lake when he flew for NMH. Those two gents plus others such as Randy Diston, Nick Bloomfield and Pete Bachinski were kind enough to answer all of my pestering questions and to let me come along on many heli-rides. I never wanted to do anything else... well, truth be known, I'm not really good at anything else.

 

Anyway, got my commercial stiff-wing in '91, flew for a couple of years doing bush stuff and eventually multi-IFR, saved some cash (I was single) and did the heli conversion with Kieth McMillan at Delta in Boundary Bay in '97. Best job in the world.

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I got hooked in 1980 after winning a ride in a 500, also seeing the Labs around Comox didn't hurt.

 

I liked seeing the names posted. Ev was my mountain instructor in 96, I think, and Jan was there yelling 'MACHETE'. I estimated that Ev had more time on the starter button than I had in helicopters when I did that course. I didn't scare him too badly considering I was a ham-fisted BV107 guy at the time. Is Ev still flying? I've heard he retired a few times, but came back a couple times, too.

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... I didn't scare him too badly considering I was a ham-fisted BV107 guy at the time.  Is Ev still flying?  I've heard he retired a few times, but came back a couple times, too.

Ev and Bill Foote have both retired. I did the full 76 hr mountain an ops course there in early '96. Maybe we crossed paths.

 

RH

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407 Driver flew my father around a lot and I used to get him to ask 407 questions about wrenching on heli's. 407 told him that NLC had a good heli tech program and that if I was interested in wrenching on helicopters I should go there. I also had beers with 407's wrench of that time (he lived across the street) and he also said that I should go to NLC. I went to NLC and got my diploma in drinking, camping and bug swatting. So I have to say 407 got me hooked on aviation and I have yet to seek treatment. :up:

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Had my first ride in a MD 500 when I was 12 and loved it. It was just the coolest thing ever. I always knew I wanted to be a pilot, but had never even considered helicopters untill that point. After that flight it was helicopters all the way.

 

This was all reinforced 2 years later when I watched my step father drown in Hawaii. The Coast Guard had been called hours before but never showed up due to the pilot going to the wrong island. But out over the water was a black MD 500 that belonged to a private owner, who heard what was going on over the scanner, and decided to come help the search efforts. From that point on I knew when I had the experience I would do whatever it took to fly an EMS helicopter. I just want to help out those in serious need of it, as I have seen first hand what happens when it all goes very wrong.

(Don't ask how I got wanting to be an EMS pilot from a obvious SAR story... it just happened that way.)

 

So this September I'll start training at Coast Helicopter College in Victoria with B.R. and other VIH fellas. Can't wait!! It's been 5 years in the making and still doesn't seen real.

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