The Adventures of Chopper Chick!: I flew through the pot holes in the sky today

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I flew through the pot holes in the sky today

It certainly was a weird kind of windy day today. Flew up to a brush fire in Santa Clarita where we all had our butts kicked. Then flying over the city in L.A. it was just as bumpy. Felt as if I was hitting all the pot holes in my flight path.

I have not had much time to blog lately. I do read and appreciate the comments! I love it when someone writes in that knows someone I had posted on here and has lost touch with them and I get to bring them back in touch. That has happened several times and just recently again. Arthur I sent Dave an email by the way.

My friends have been bugging me to update my blog. I honestly can't keep my thoughts together long enough to make it to my computer. I've also been working non-stop and studying in my free time. It has been a busy past two months. Every time I fly, I think, wow, how cool that is what just happened, and I want to blog about it. I wish I could put my thoughts on a voice recorder and then they magically appear here! How cool would that be? Or maybe not cool. You may not want to hear all my thoughts. hahaha.

I've had some great adventures and taken some great photos recently. I am hoping to have time to get those up soon. I had my trip to DC with my mom, been flying tons of news, patrol, etc. I flew on my birthday for FOX. Can't think of a better way to spend my birthday. It was a gorgeous day to fly. Mostly flew up and down the beaches. It was a good day. We didn't cover any death or destruction. In fact, we witnessed a really cool dog rescue by L.A. City fires helicopter crew. They hoisted and short hauled a cute lab from a canyon bottom. It was a great thing to watch. Typically flying news you go through so many emotions with seeing all of the death and destruction below us, while up above we pilots and camera operators are having the times of our lives. It's really bizarre how we can be having so much fun, but watching and witnessing such horrible things that happen here in L.A. beneath our skids.

Well, I'm sure I'm leaving alot out, but I need to go study a little bit before we fly again. Have a wonderful week everyone!!!!

5 comments:

Oliver Hanisch said...: Hey Desiree,

what are you studying for. Instrument? Just wanted to say hi and Aloha from Honolulu. They are working on a special TFR for me here for the entire island once I go up....... ;-)
Hang loose and if you want to visit and experience a different paradise, give me a ring.
Olli; 2:44 AM
camerapilot said...: Sorry, more Potholes today I think. Its 4am, Thursday and I can hear the wind chimes.
June is coming because "Woodey" the cat I got, who survived the Day Fire, is showing me a trophy... a June bug!
I think he wants me to eat it.
Nothing more awful than what you went through the other day.
I gotta head out, "Transformers 2" is starting.
Good luck!; 4:17 AM
camerapilot said...: Getting your butt kicked all day in an air machine and people want you to update your blog.........sweet.
You keep movie hours, which probably means... you kind of sleep, eat over a sink or drainboard, have a glass of wine while walking around the house doing chores and then it's bed time. The thrill of an evening is not getting dental floss stuck between ones teeth and people then want you to update your blog?
Well friends will be friends.See what happens Dez when you have a cool blog. It's your own fault.
Take it easy, don't sweat the little stuff. We'll hear from you when we hear from you.; 7:27 PM
Arthur said...: Hey Desiree,

Thanks for emailing Dave. He is one of the best and most thoughtful people I have ever met. One guy I really miss talking to. Tell Dave that Zuma (my chocolate lab) is still alive and well - though he is pretty old and creaky - 13 yrs. Dave used to help me out a lot with him when I was off forest and at work at Mammoth. Dave will be glad to know Zuma has had many good years in Santa Barbara, then Pismo, and spent many months in Baja at the beach.. He now has a yard all of his own in South OC... A true dog's life.

Dave and I started out in fire together in Mammoth, and were roommates in Mammoth for 2 years or so. I heard he bought a house in Indy, which made me laugh because he used to give me a hard time for living there when I was on the crew and he was on the Shots.

I am in Raleigh, NC on business this week, so I have had some free time to read your posts and look at some of the crew shots. Way too many memories... My dad was actually born in Lone Pine in 1940(his parents lived just down from the base in Independence. They both moved there after college - she was a teacher and he was managing the old plant on the dry lake), They left for Riverside when my dad was 1 year old, but they continued going up there to fish and camp for many years. My dad passed on the tradition with me. Lots of family history up there, and I spent a good 5 years up there after college.

It's funny, because I recently re-connected with an old friend in France who is a pilot (fixed wing) for an Air France subsidiary (flying a BA-146 from Paris to London). The reason I was searching H525 online was so that I could send him a pic of what I used to do. I haven't seen him since 1992 (college years), so neither of us knew what we'd each other had been up to. Thanks to your blog I was able to send him a picture of a rappel.

Wow, sorry for the rambling comments. Sometimes I think I am the only one that appreciated Independence, but I can tell you get it too. Amazing place to spend time, but aptly named. Not many people around. Please tell me you discovered the road to Onion Valley out of Indy! What a great motorcycle ride. I used to do that every night after work!

Are you headed back next season, or are you moving on to new challenges?

Best,
Arthur
arthur.burns@cox.net; 7:33 PM
camerapilot said...: I'm so used to getting up at 4 in the morning to drag my sorry "a--" onto a set somewhere that even though it was Sunday I was in that twilight state, I heard a muffled thud shortly before 5am. I thought it was one of the cats jumping off a table onto the wood floor or something
My L.A shack is approx. 8nm from "Uni"(Universal Studios).
After shutting up the cats with copious amounts of food the phone rang. It was my mom telling me that Universal Studios was on fire.
I told her that we should all bow our heads and grieve over all the fiberglass, plaster, framing and tons of bird shit that was going up and forming toxic smoke.
The real worry first and foremost were the people fighting the blaze.
The second worry would be the loss of film vaults where too many to count films are already being lost because of being printed on nitrate film. Countless scenes from artists unknown are being lost as the hours tick by. But anyway.....
The facades that the media were reporting about, well, they aren't really telling anyone what they are. So I'll tell you.....
They are fiberglass, plaster and chicken wire tacked onto framework,
embellished with paint and gloss with an occasional curtain hanging in a window to give the effect that a human is living in it.They usually are comprised of three walls and contain M.C.Escher type catwalks that lead to nowhere. Truth be told it is nothing more than what it's called, a "facade"...a false, superficial, or artificial appearance.....
As long as film is not damaged, film history is not lost. As long as firefighters are not harmed, nothing is lost.
By 6am I was heading past Uni on the 101 going to Laguna to check up on my other shack and I saw a couple of ENG choppers parked in a hover west of the smoke cloud, was dat you ruffus!?; 6:03 PM

Post a Comment

PHPA / Professional Helicopter Pilots Association

Promoting safety and
understanding among
helicopter pilots, the PHPA
continues its mission
contributing to the critical
operations maintaining safe
helicopter missions and
acting as a liaison with the
community.

Coordinating efforts towards improving communications, methods of operation within the airspace system, or any other area that will contribute to the safety and education of all pilots;
Provide a forum for identifying and seeking resolution to local problems of interest to the membership;
Promote community relations between the public and the helicopter industry.

The PHPA is a national
organization with the
corporate office in
Los Angeles, California.

Become a member and help
support your helicopter
community.

Go to:
http://www.phpa.org/

Board of Directors
Executive Officers & Board of Directors
Robert Butler - President
Alan Frawert - Vice President
Tom White - Secretary
James Paules - Treasurer

Board of Directors
Morris Cohen
Guillaume Maillet
Ed Story
Desiree Horton
Gary Hollbrook

Pat Carey

Leonard Maughan

Board of Advisors
Ricarda Bennett Esq - Legal Advisor
Alex Calder - Web Administrator

How I got started..........

For those of you who are looking at a life of flying helicopters or just curious how I started and got where I am today, read on.......................

I have been flying helicopters for over 18 years and mostly here in Los Angeles until recently in 2005 when I started fighting fire as a contract pilot all over the U.S. during the summer and in the off season on occasion. Currently I fly for about six different companies as a free lance contract pilot. My main company that I work for is Heli-Flite/Aris Helicopters in Riverside, CA, where I do Aerial Construction flying, fly for Corona Police Department, and fly fires during fire season. In the off months outside of fire season I fly some news and photo and movie production flights for various other companies which some of them I have been working with for over ten years. Since I have received many emails in regards to how does one become a helicopter pilot.....I am giving a little insight to those of you who ask how I got started and how much it costs to become a pilot, well it's a long story and everyone has a different story as to how they got their start. Some people had it easy, some people had it tough, some joined the military, others did the civilian route. There are so many different ways to do it and no one has the same story. As far as cost, well it was alot less 18 years ago, so you will have to check with a flight school on that one. I started flying when I was 19 years old and at the time I couldn't get a loan, so I worked two jobs 7 days a week and after two years, finally got my private. If you can get loan, it will not take you that long as I could only afford a couple of lessons a month. I never got my CFI as I found other ways to build time. Even 18 years ago being a CFI did not pay the bills, so I worked other jobs and flew part time over the years to build my time. I washed helicopters in exchange for flight time. I even paid for left seat time for quite some time to build hours. I jumped on any chance I could get for free flight time riding along with other pilots in an empty seat. I made lots of sacrafices and had no time to myself. It was all about flying, kinda how it still is today. hahaha. Anyway, I started a dba and made brochures and brought myself my own flight business doing tours and photo flights out of a Hughes 269 and an R22. Eventually I had some money to put myself through Bell Factory School which enabled me to fly a Jetranger early in my career with very little time. Back then insurance companies did not require massive amounts of flight time. With just 300 hours and factory school, I now had a jetranger to run my tours in. It eventually led to flying for other companies. Sending myself to Bell school opened up opportunities and possibilities for me. It was also my reputation that opened doors. Attitude is everything. You will not suceed in this business with a poor attitude. Keep that in mind. Trust me, I'm not perfect. We all don't have perfect attitudes, but you know what I mean. My job offers took off from there. I was doing tours for various small tour companies and flight schools and then started flying traffic watch, then soon I was flying news in a 206 which later led to an astar. When I got into fire, I sent myself to long line and mountain flying school. Sometimes if you want something, you will have to pay for it to get ahead and open doors for yourself. I found a company that hired me with no fire experience. With my training I had paid for and experience from flying over the years I was on my way to do what I had always dreamed of doing, fighting fire from a helicopter. I was patient as it took time to get where I am today. You have to be patient sometimes. I still get impatient on occasion and want it all now, but it just doesn't work that way. So my advice to up and coming pilots who ask how to do it? Find a good school, find some money, stick with it, don't ever stop, don't make excuses, don't let others discourage you as that will happen your entire career, and you will suceed and get what you want eventually. Good luck!

By the way, some pilots never stop paying their dues. Sometimes if you want certain things to happen in your career you will find yourself making the same sacrafices later on, but the sacrafices seem even greater because with time, comes more responsibility and more to lose when sacrafices are made. But sometimes the gain is worth it!