{"product_id":"pike-richard-flying-the-waves-a-helicopter-pilot-s-experiences-1980-2000-9781903953099","title":"Flying the Waves: A Helicopter Pilot's Experiences 1980-2000","description":"Following on from his highly praised autobiography The Spice of Flight, in which he described his 20-year career with the Royal Air Force as a jet fighter pilot in the early 1960s and later as a military helicopter pilot, this book continues Richard Pike’s flying memoirs. \u003cp\u003eMuch more than just a sterile account of flying activities, Richard’s latest book takes us on an evocative journey, spanning his lengthy career as a civilian helicopter pilot and taking in a wide variety of experiences – some tragic, some dramatic, some comic – but all observed with a keen eye for detail and recounted with wry wit in an entertaining style. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter leaving the RAF, in 1981 Richard joined Bristow Helicopters in Aberdeen, re-training to fly the US-built Sikorsky S61 – the workhorse of the North Sea – an aircraft he was to fly as pilot and co-pilot, for the next 18 years. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMuch of his work involved routine ferry trips to and from the North Sea oil platforms, although changeable and often dangerous weather conditions ensured few dull moments for a pilot. There were also times of high drama, the most significant being the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmongst Richard’s other recollections are a number of eventful search and rescue operations whilst working for the Coastguard in the Shetlands and Outer Hebrides, a three-month working trip to the Falkland Islands in 1986 which afforded the opportunity to see where his cousin Hew Pike had commanded ‘3 Para’ during the Falklands War, and a voluntary trip to the Balkans, flying a United Nations S61, delivering humanitarian aid to the citizens of Kosovo. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll this and more is recalled in an easy-going and amiable style, which gives a fascinating insight into the working life of a commercial helicopter pilot, flying the waves of the North Sea and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodfield Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53796378214742,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.momoxbooks.com\/products\/pike-richard-flying-the-waves-a-helicopter-pilot-s-experiences-1980-2000-9781903953099","provider":"momoxbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}