Advancement Of The Helicopter Industry.

[Skidz]

I second that motion...

[twinstar_ca]

i still think we all make our contributions simply by being the people that we are and sharing all the different viewpoints there are...

 

for me personally, i have not made any direct contribution since it's not my primary livlihood... however, like ned said, i hope that when i was writing for corvus, that i presented the industry and it's people in a favorable way...

[cap]

I still say he looks funny sitting in a 500, doing off-level landings all the time.

 

Since I know/knew TOO WELL all those guys you mentioned Don, I'd like to attribute their abilities to "sip" on you, but alas I know they showed up in front of you with those abilities already in place. As far as Autair goes, I'd like to punch Paul Demarais right in the mouth for ever closing the doors.

[Blackmac]

Cap/Jetbox: I forgot to mention Jim Masse, hired him, Fred Wayte and another "kid" from out of the army. It's still strikes as a sad occassion when I reflect upon his demise.

 

Polar Shelf out of Tuk contract 68 or 69, get a call from Tuk, the 204 is down with hole (small) in one blade, Bell 47G4, pilot feels something hit the tail rotor, cuts the throttle, no yaw, but does a full on autorotationn on muskeg on floats. Needless to say once he hit the trampolene he also put the M/R blades thru the thing in the back referred to as the tail boom.

 

Being DOM and in the middle of an operational season and no spare engineers around, I proceeded to get everything for the G4 from the M/R head and blades, xmsn, all shafting and required bits and thingies out to the T/R, shipped asap to TUK.

 

The bell 204 blade was another problem to be solved, Bell had no repair scheme approved or any spare blades at the time.

 

As I was going thru Edmonton I talked to Jack Hook and we agreed on a repair scheme to get the 204 back to Montreal.

 

The parts were (BG4) were at the Munie and I made sure they were sent asap via DC-3, wide cargo door to TUK.

 

When I arrived in TUK, Fred Wayte and I repaired the 204 blade with metal set.

 

Harvey had taken of to Zoo land in Inuvik, so I flew the 204 out to the Island, picked up the Bell and slung it back and between Fred , the Kid and I, we rebuilt the Bell.

 

Harvey in the meantime showed up and him and Fred headed for yul.

 

The repair on the blade started to crack between yul and yow.

 

In the meantime the kid and I finished the Bell rebuild and the helicopter was heading for Inuvik to do some more work. As he had been out for a few months I asked him if he wanted to be replaced once I got back to Montreal (St Jean) and arrange it. He said no everything was fine and he would finish the job. Shortly thereafter once he had been in Inuvik for a while and for reasons known only to him, he decided to take the 306 out of the helicopter and swallow it.

 

Still shakes me.

 

PS: The kid's name might have been John Stephens, he was from Nova Scotia.

[cap]

Let's see now.......the 204 had to be AHA. I find it very hard to believe that Harvey would be even found dead in "The Zoo".....I wonder why he'd even think of going there ? You also forgot to mention Msr. Messier. 'Ol Jim occupied a special place in the heart of another one of his "mothers".......my wife. You don't say anything bad about Jimmy in her presence.

[jetbox]

Jim Masse, what a legend!!!!

[Elvis]

Calling Jim a legend is an understatement.

 

:elvis:

[cap]

Jim had a very "crusty" exterior and there were those that liked Jim alot and some who didn't. He wore a "mask" to cover the REAL Jim and few guys got to see him without that "mask" in place. There were valid reasons for that "mask" and one of them was because he had a heart as big as all outdoors and as stated, few guys ever were invited into that "inner sanctum". The wives however, couldn't be fooled by that "mask" and he knew it for some reason and got along famously with all of them, would do anything for them and treated them all with the utmost respect. He'd have made a great husband and father, but fate intervened cruelly on two occasions and prevented that forever. He was always a welcome guest in our home and at our dinner table.

[Blackmac]

Cap, agreed Jim was a softy. When at Autair Jim had sole posession of our FH1100, I say sole ownership because rue the day any pilot even got the aircraft dirty. We only operated one FH1100 and it was Jim's "baby". Jim watched the aircraft and hoarded all the parts and wouldn't let anybody near it come **** or high water. As he was the only one we had sent on a course for the 1100, I used to tell him in a joking manner that if I didn't need him, I'd fire his ***.

 

I got fed up with the hole operation of Wheeler/Autair when I couldn't get Wheelers ops certificate cancelled for not having enough maintenance staff to run the operation on a safe basis. The local Montreal Airworthiness Chief was to chicken to do it, saying polotics would not allow it.

 

The accountants from Place Ville Marie really new how to screw up aviation.

 

I went to Viking with me old buddy from the Mid-Canada line days and went back flying as a P/E, headed north and worked between Hall Beach and Macar inlet for the summer.

 

The rest of the AME's headed for Trans Quebec and other area's.

 

Jim was offered the job of base engineer in LG-2 by the Lash and finally Jim was an authority figure which he had never been before, he tended to get carried away.

 

Jim left the military with a loathing for authority figures which were mostly represented by pilots.

 

Can you imagine him working for me as his boss after Jack Pearson and having to put up with the fact that I was not only an engineer but also a pilot and telling him what to do. Was fun after a few beers.

 

I met Jim again when I went on a tour of the Canadain Helicopter bases in 1974 as Quebec Ops Mgr. When I was in LG-2 I went over to see Jim and he wouldn't even let me in the hangar.

 

Jim as Cap said was a good man at heart and an excellent engineer, but totally weird at times.

 

Jim and I used to have coffee on a regular basis in Vancouver in the latter years.

 

You had to love him in his own way. R.I.P.

 

Cheers, Don

[carholme]

Cap/Jetbox: I forgot to mention Jim Masse, hired him, Fred Wayte and another "kid" from out of the army. It's still strikes as a sad occassion when I reflect upon his demise.

 

Polar Shelf out of Tuk contract 68 or 69, get a call from Tuk, the 204 is down with hole (small) in one blade, Bell 47G4, pilot feels something hit the tail rotor, cuts the throttle, no yaw, but does a full on autorotationn on muskeg on floats. Needless to say once he hit the trampolene he also put the M/R blades thru the thing in the back referred to as the tail boom.

 

Being DOM and in the middle of an operational season and no spare engineers around, I proceeded to get everything for the G4 from the M/R head and blades, xmsn, all shafting and required bits and thingies out to the T/R, shipped asap to TUK.

 

The bell 204 blade was another problem to be solved, Bell had no repair scheme approved or any spare blades at the time.

 

As I was going thru Edmonton I talked to Jack Hook and we agreed on a repair scheme to get the 204 back to Montreal.

 

The parts were (BG4) were at the Munie and I made sure they were sent asap via DC-3, wide cargo door to TUK.

 

When I arrived in TUK, Fred Wayte and I repaired the 204 blade with metal set.

 

Harvey had taken of to Zoo land in Inuvik, so I flew the 204 out to the Island, picked up the Bell and slung it back and between Fred , the Kid and I, we rebuilt the Bell.

 

Harvey in the meantime showed up and him and Fred headed for yul.

 

The repair on the blade started to crack between yul and yow.

 

In the meantime the kid and I finished the Bell rebuild and the helicopter was heading for Inuvik to do some more work. As he had been out for a few months I asked him if he wanted to be replaced once I got back to Montreal (St Jean) and arrange it. He said no everything was fine and he would finish the job.  Shortly thereafter once he had been in Inuvik for a while and for reasons known only to him, he decided to take the 306 out of the helicopter and swallow it.

 

Still shakes me.

 

PS: The kid's name might have been John Stephens, he was from Nova Scotia.

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