Welcome!

I'll be your pilot for a scenic helicopter tour where you get to enjoy the sights, relax, and have a memorable experience.

I have over three years of experience and around 180 hours flying these helicopters, including Robinson R-22s, R-44s, and a Bell 206B2 JetRanger. This experience has been gained flying over 13 different aircraft over half a dozen cities in two continents.

This briefing is to help you relax and be aware of what to expect.

Ehud's Helicopter Passenger Briefing 101 - THE BASICS

Revised 2012-02-05 0543z (1443 MST the day before :)

The Purpose of our Flight

The purpose of our flight is for you to have fun. Everything in this summary is geared toward that end. More details below, but really if you read "The Quick Summary" and "What to Bring" that's good enough. I'll cover some of the rest in the aircraft.

The Quick Summary

What to Bring

Note: If you need sunglasses or a cap or water, just tell me the night before. Sorry, I don't have spare shoes in your size.

The rest of the stuff

You do not need to read this unless you're interested

Some of this repeats the notes above. Some of it expands the information. Some of it adds new information.

I will repeat the important parts of this during preflight and prestartup procedures.

Safety and Enjoyment

The Goal - Expanded

The goal is for all of us to have a good time, enjoy the flight, not get sick, and see interesting things. When this is not happening you need to speak up -- I'd rather have a short happy flight than a long miserable one.

Our helicopter is more cramped than the car we took to the airport, but usually people are more comfortable and do not get sick. Even people who get carsick fly fine in a helicopter.

Helicopters are MY hobby but not yours. That means if YOU are not having a good time we need to get you safely to the ground... and I will fly later :) Okay? If you are not comfortable either flying OR saying "I'm not having fun" you need to rethink if you want to try and fly. Being a passenger on a luxury airliner is one thing (you have to do it) but in a private helicopter you have a choice :) Exercise it :)

If you are not having fun then it is a great idea to tell the pilot (me) and let's call an end to it. I'm not into torturing my passengers, and you're not into being tortured. If you are we can discuss that on the ground.

Personal story: A friend I gave a ride to was uncomfortable and did not fess up. He only told someone else after the flight. If he ever asks to ride again we will have one of those "daddy lectures". Seriously. If something is NOT 100% COMFORTABLE then tell me then. I CAN do something to fix it, change the situation, help acclimate, or return to base.

The R-22 vs the R-44

At this time -- in Tucson -- I only have access to Robinson R-22 helicopters. It's a small two-seater helicopter in which if you're 190lbs or lighter, we can fly together. (As I lose weight that number will grow.) In Phoenix and Las Vegas I have acess to the R-44 helicopters.

When an R-44 becomes available, it's a four-seater, and the passenger weight limitation with me in it is around 340lbs. Usually then an instructor comes along for insurance reasons.

In the R-22 I'll be in the right-hand seat and you'll be in the left-hand seat. When you want to see something I'll orbit it so you can see it best. In the R-44 the instructor and I will be in the front and you'll have a wonderful side view out of either the left or right side.

Right now (Feburary 2012) I have been checked out to rent 3 R-22s from two different flight outfits in Tucson and Las Vegas, and 1 R-44 in Las Vegas. Depending on our flight there will be different ways to get there. These are summarized below.

What to wear

What to bring

What to expect

The Intercom

You'll have a headset (that's two ear-pieces and a microphone). What we say (and air-to-ground) will be heard in the ears. What you say (in the microphone) will be heard by all of us. Adjust for comfort and relax :) I will plug it in for you, so really all you have to do is put it on your head and adjust the microphone...

With one exception (below under "EXCEPTION:") do not ever interrupt other people talking, even if it's Air-traffic-control. Just pretend someone hit the "PAUSE" button on our conversation. Resume after the interruption.

What this means is if ANYONE ELSE is talking then STOP IMMEDIATELY and wait... and when there's no talking... wait another second or two to make sure I don't want to respond to something someone said... and then resume :)

If I hold up a finger it likely means "STOP TALKING NOW, PLEASE."

The startup and stuff

More STUFF YOU DO ***NOT*** NEED TO KNOW -- The startup tests

I explain these as I do them but thought I'd pre-explain in case you care :)

That's it!

Special Requests

When flying with passengers I try to make soft gentle sweet lovely maneuvers. However, should you feel that you want maneuvers that are not quite that sweet let me know. I will never do anything that is dangerous, but just like driving other people around... when you drive family you drive different.

In simple words PLEASE TALK TO ME!!! Tell me what you want. If you're happy say so. If you're not, say so. If I ask you why, please tell me so I can correct it!!!

We also may have specific goals for this one flight, but diverting here or there won't hurt anything or anyone. This means if you want us to go two miles north and overfly your house JUST ASK!!! Nobody will be hurt. Worst case we'll either not be able to do it, or Air Traffic Control won't let us. BEST case we WILL do it :) So ask!

Safety Repeated or Danger! Danger! Rotors Spinning!

What if there is a problem?

First, please remember that helicopters are safer than the roads on which you traveled to get to the airport.

If there is a problem it will be taken care of.

The worst case -- which is not bad at all -- is an autorotation. That does not mean spinning :) It just means having the air rotate the rotor as we make our descent to a touchdown. It's not dangerous, and we practice it more often than regular landings! Do not be afraid nor freaked out nor worried. Your job is to relax, enjoy the scenery, take pictures, and above all else... relax :)

Where to go?

IF WE'RE FLYING OUT OF CACTUS HELICOPTERS this applies: Take Valencia west past Campbell (how you get to the passenger terminal at the airport) and take the next turn south - Plumer Ave and go east on Elvira on the small private road to a Southwest Heliservices Hangar.

IF WE'RE FLYING OUT OF ARIZONA AEROTECH/DOUBLE EAGLE this applies: Arizona Aerotech flies out of the Double Eagle Aviation stables. Take Valencia West to Old Nogales Highway South. Take Apron road (across from Circle K) and then wend your way north and east to Double Eagle Aviation.

IF WE'RE FLYING OUT OF THE EXECUTIVE TERMINAL this applies:

You want to park at the base of the Tucson International Airport Tower. This is at the end of Plummer Avenue. Here is a two minute video showing exactly how to get there from when you're approaching the airport on Tucson Boulevard.

Once you've parked, make your way to the cushy sofa lounge in the Executive Terminal. Here's a one-minute video showing exactly how to get there.

Final comment about pictures

I've given lots of people rides... but to be honest, I have no pictures that I've taken. That means if you take pictures it would be really cool if you could share those. Facebook, Picasa, and MMS messaging reduce the resolution of the pictures. So if you can share the actual pics, that would be cool :)

That's all folks!

Enjoy the ride!

E

P.S. Here are some helicopter pictures I took...

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Helicopter Passenger Orientation by Ehud Gavron is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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