The Pilot
I recognised a niche in tourism one year and decided I would build a Helicopter aviation company based on the international tourist industry.
In order to do this I needed to become a commercial helicopter pilot, not simply piston driven helicopters but jets. I don’t believe in owning any business where I can’t step up and take on any role.
My first day in flight school was an eye opener for me, my instructor talked about every aspect around the aerodynamics of flying helicopters, all very exciting and what I thought would be a breeze, to be honest I became bored very quickly, all I wanted to do was climb into a helicopter and bast off into the sky, this was something that was not to be missed by my instructor.
‘Let me tell you something about helicopters,’ he said, ‘unlike an aeroplane that by the sheer nature of design wants to fly, with its sleek fuselage and the design of its aerodynamic wings it wants to soar above the clouds and glide across the sky.’
He took and extended pause here and picked up his bottle of water, I’m sure to allow time for his words of wisdom to sink in rather than to quench his thirst. He wanted to be sure he had my attention.
‘A helicopter on the other hand,’ he continued after theatrically placing his bottle of water back on the desk, ‘does not want to fly. It will glide like a set of car keys,’ he said pausing for effect. ‘A helicopter only wants to do two things in its life, it wants to crash and it wants to kill you. Your job as the pilot is not to let it.