We have been in situations where we are going down at 500 feet (150m) per minute, with full climbing power on, but provided you are aware of the terrain at the bottom, and you get some forward speed on, you can expect the decent to halt as the down air hits the ground, and you can swoop out.

If, however, you are on the top of a mountain, on the leeward side, and close to the surface (10 feet/3 meters) and the rotor winds from the mountaintop come down and catch you, you may well be forced into the ground. This can entail a lot of paperwork which is the last thing you need after a long walk home

When there is a head wind of 10 knots, this can help you - in many ways. First, when you leave the deck. To be in a healthy flight situation, you need to be doing about 40 knots. At this speed a bit of aerodynamic wizardry takes over and generates lift for you, rather than relying on the rotors alone. It's a bit like getting up onto the plane in a boat

To land with no power, we need to start out with at least 40 knots going under the machine. This means that if the engine has a day off, we can perform an 'autorotation'. To do this you use the upward flowing air to turn the rotors, and keep them spinning, and when you get near the ground you increase pitch on the blades, with one of those handles that I hang on to, and this will stop your decent - momentarily ! You then tilt the machine backwards to stop forward motion, tip it level, and control the last short decent with what energy you have left stored in the blades

You always have to be aware of wind direction, as you want to use a head wind to slow your forward speed, and to generate airflow through the rotor system.

The inertia stored in the blades will deplete very quickly, so you only get one shot. Best if you make it a good one, that way you can pop back with a can of fuel and continue saying you stopped for a spot of fishing. As I've mentioned, crashing involves a lot of paperwork - which can get very tedious

This little trick allows helicopters to be safer than aeroplanes. When you land an plane it has to be doing 130 knots (e.g. Boeing 737). Try landing that in a small parking lot - the fence at the end gets big VERY quickly.

One way of getting to the magic speed in minimum time is to climb away backwards from the ship, then tip the nose over. Gravity is free, use it. When you drop over a ton of rivets from 400 feet (120m), 40 knots happens very quickly. Remembering to pull out at the bottom is all part of the training.

When transiting low level, go low. If you are a few feet from the surface the air cannot dissipate so freely, and you can ride on your own air cushion, (think hovercraft) thereby lift is generated, so you can use the power for speed, and not just to hang the helicopter in the sky.

On my way to the Esperanza, I flew down the coast of Morocco, where there are a lot of cliffs. The prevailing wind was from the sea, and as it hit the cliffs it was deflected up. Now, if you sit about 50 feet (15m) above the cliff-top, you can 'ride' this wave of air like a surfer. The result is that the power you were using for pitch in the blades to keep you up can now be used to speed you forward. Our Heli will cruise at an indicated speed of 130 knots - we had a ground sped of 152 knots. 22 knots for free? Take it!

Because the ships we're monitoring aren't always orientated correctly for the cameras, the light, the wind, etc. etc., we sometimes have to fly backwards. As helicopters defy all other rules of aeronautical logic, they are able to do this.

If you were in an aeroplane doing this, you would be putting on your life jacket and hoping that you are not over a desert. I always thought parachutes were the done thing when free-falling, but the authorities, in their wisdom, feel that a life jacket is easier to operate, and doesn't require any special training - so this is what they give you.

I suppose also that the logistical nightmare of trying to gather all the survivors who had parachuted to the ground would be ten times harder than just crashing them all in the same spot, with a bright orange jacket on which you can't inflate until you have left the aircraft, but I guess when you have just hit the ground at 130 knots, you, your two friends, AND the seat you are still strapped to, have just been catapulted out through the roof, the thought of pulling the red knob on your jacket has been replaced by much greater thoughts.

Better to fly across oceans than continents.

When the camera people want overheads of the deck - that's a little different. To the first timers (heli-virgins) it scares the crap out of them. It quite often has the same effect on me when I get this blood curdling scream coming over the intercom, as we swoop round and position ourselves up side down over the deck - the advantage I have is that I can switch off their microphone and leave them to babble in the back on their own. The results however, (photographically) can be dramatic - so long as the cameraman keeps his eye on the target with out going into a state of disorientation

All these things, and many more, seem like circus tricks to the uninitiated, but most of these manoeuvres do have a purpose. There are times at the end of a tour when we do have time out and crew members can experience the joy, and see the justification of this piece of equipment, then, yes, it is fun.

If any time you have a question about flying and helicopters, please ask. If I know the answer, I will tell you - if I don't, I'll make something up!

- Hughie the Pilot

1 knot = 1.852 km/hour

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