Chillin'

Chillin' at the homestead in rural Nova Scotia, torn between trying to unwind after a hectic sixty days of shutting down operations in Gabon and then flying our two Super Puma L2's through twenty-three countries in twenty-five days, and impending unemployment.  I am doing my best to relax and unwind, all the while scouring the market trying to find opportunities that will keep me airborne.  I find it hard to believe that I'm going to be laid off from a company that I gave some seventeen years to, but the market is pretty much flat, and they can't seem to find work for me.  The entire offshore oil market has taken some hard hits.  I have not been too aggressive as of yet, and my resume is pretty darn thick, so I'm not overly concerned....yet.  I need some downtime too, but knowing the time at home could be long, I have to get my name out there .  Momentum is a powerful force, and I want to keep busy.

Photography is a passion, and I was researching cameras pretty much the entire tour.  I wasn't home for twenty-four hours before I treated myself to a new full-frame kick-ass unit that has set the industry aflame.  I was seriously looking at a Nikon D750 but the size and weight had me back to Sony, with their impressive new A7ii, with some new Zeiss glass.  I just need another adventure to fully test the diminutive yet impressive technical marvel.  The full size sensor is the real draw, but there's a host of impressive features making me wish I had splurged for this beast prior to my last tour.  Ah well.  There'll be more fun to be had.  I hope.

I've got so many leads on so many interesting jobs, yet none are solid enough to give me a ton of confidence that I'll be flying again anytime soon.  I could find myself home mountain biking, fishing and jamming on my guitar for months on end, or, I could find myself right back where I belong, flying in some third world locale.  It gets addictive.

  

Anyone in need of a pilot with experience setting up and managing bases just about anywhere in the third world?  Longline, SAR instructor and check pilot, sim instructor and TRE on the 139 and 332.....here's an excerpt from my cv if anyone is looking....

Times:             BH47/R44/HU30             350 hours

                        Bell 206B/L/L1/L4        2860 hours

                        Bell 222                         1540 hours

                        Sikorsky S76                   600 hours

                        Sikorsky S61                 2830 hours

                        AS332L/L2                   2500 hours

                        AW139                           600 hours

                        plus some time on the Bell 205 and Hughes 500

                       Pilot in Command         9000 hours   

                       IFR                                1960 hours

                       Offshore Oil                  5980 hours

                       TRE/IOS                         620 hours

Total Time Flying Helicopters : 11400 hours, and I really want some more......