Yet another medevac...

I miss EMS flying.  I still consider it thee funnest job I've ever done, enjoying every minute of nearly a decade of moving the sick and injured to proper health care.  The late night callouts, planning trips in poor weather with minutes to launch, holding one rear wheel of the old S76A on a floating dock in North Western Ontario as the paramedics unload and reload stretchers, confined areas, visiting with isolated First Nations communities, some still living in tents and following the caribou herds in the depth of winter, the roof top heliports in downtown Toronto, flaring down onto six lane super highways with traffic backed up as far as the eye can see, the camaraderie and joking with the paramedics, working as a tight-knit team.....it was a very good time. The offshore industry can be challenging, and the money and schedule is far better, but to be honest, the flying is rather boring.  The SAR element has breathed new life into the industry for me, but I still miss the thinking on your feet requirement of EMS.  If I could make the same coin.....

But, we've been tasked with quite a few medevacs for the offshore industry this tour, blasting off to Dar Es Salaam in a rush, and it's given me a taste of fond memories.  Not that offshore can't be fun too.  Blasting two hundred miles out over the North Atlantic in full blown blizzards could never be classified as boring.  The weather out of Nova Scotia added an element of challenge that not many spoke of, but every one craved.  How can life have any flavour if everything is easy?

Flying in East Africa is not very challenging.  The AW139 is a very capable bird, and apart from seasonal heavy rains, the weather is generally clear and bright, and one does not have to worry about icing.  There are other perks to touring offshore internationally, but those perks are apart from work, apart from challenging flying, and generally involve the cultural aspects of travel.  Where else could one step back in time and ride in a dug out canoe, fresh from fishing the outer reef?  Take a bite of life, whatever the menu presents...