CASPAR CAPPELEN-SMITH Caspar Cappelen-Smith graduated from Bristow Academy in 1997 and returned in 1999 to obtain his Instrument rating. He now flies for Norsk Helikopter AS.
Flying Super Pumas offshore was my ultimate goal when I set off to start my training at Bristow Group in the spring of 1996. It took me just short of 5 years to get there. It wasn't always easy, but I never regretted going through with it."
Jan Victor Schlechter graduated from Bristow Academy in 1998. He now flies for Norsk Helikopter AS. "The picture is taken after strapping down the helicopter on a semi submersible rig called "Stena Don". I am flying out of Brnnysund in northern Norway, one of Norsk Helikopter's five bases. We are operating one AS332L "Super Puma" which is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Of the 8 pilots based here, 4 are on continuous duty. All pilots are working 14 days on/off. Transportation of oil workers and/or cargo to and from the Norne field 110 nautical miles offshore is the main activity. The longest flight is to a drilling ship 200 nautical miles out. The contrast between winter and summer is huge. Flying during the winter months is a real challenge at these high latitudes. Limited daylight, no outside visual references and wind speeds of 50 knots is quite common. Since temperatures well below freezing occur, icing also represents a problem. Flying during summer is the complete opposite. No icing, unlimited daylight, happiness! TORMOD GAUSEL
Tormod Gausel graduated from Bristow Academy in 1999. He now flies for Norsk Helikopter AS in Norway. "I went to California in June 1998 after leaving my job and belongings in Norway. That is something I haven't regretted one single day, even though it's been a lot of work to reach the point where I am today. After graduating from Bristow Academy, I started instructing as a CFII in Danbury, Connecticut, and came back to Norway in February 2000. I converted to a Norwegian The weather on the northwestern coast can be pretty rough in the wintertime, and we're equipped with a anti-iced aircraft with heated blades. That is definitely necessary as the ice easily builds up to an inch on the aircraft. The job involves flying passengers to boats and installations, and it varies from landing on huge oilrigs with big'ol heli decks to maneuvering over smaller vessels in rough seas. Some of the destinations can be up to 200 NM from land. It's a good job, and Norsk Helikopter is a great company to work for."
"I work for Norsk Helikopters and am based in Stavanger. We operate Sikorsky S-76C+ and AS 332 Super Puma MK2. I still enjoy flying and the weather can at times make the job quite interesting. However, what I like most about my job is the time off giving me chance to travel and have fun." STIG ONARHEIM Stig Onarheim graduated from Bristow Academy in 1999. He now flies for Lufttransport in Norway. "I work as a co-pilot in the Agusta 109 Power for Lufttransport. We work a one week on two week off schedule. The week we are on we are on 24 hours standby. We fly the ship's Pilot from shore to the oil and gas tankers on the West Coast of Norway. We will land on the ship's helideck (if it has one), or we use the hoist.
We normally fly around 15 hours a week, day or night, in stormy weather and snow. We normally operate under VFR, but we also do some IFR when the weather is bad. We fly with a crew of 3, with 2 pilots and one HHO (helicopter hoist operator). We operate 3 A109, two for Pilot transport and one for EMS."
|
| << BACK TO SUCCESS STORIES INTRO |
"In late 2000, I got an offer to start working for Norsk Helikopter AS in my hometown of Stavanger, flying Super Pumas offshore. I currently fly about 450 hours a year, on a 5-2-5-9- schedule. This means that I work Monday through Friday (5), weekend off (2), work Monday through Friday again (5), and then have 9 days off. Working offshore is a fairly interesting job. The weather in the North Sea can be challenging to say the least, and the Super Puma is a great aircraft to fly. Landings are done in winds gusting around 60 knots, on unstable decks at night, where your only reference is the well-lit rig which is dancing around in the high seas. Of course, most of our days are fair weather, straight line, easy living, but the winter up here keeps you on your toes from time to time.
At the most, we are flying 3 flights a day, but usually it's one or two. Other days it's just being on standby. All flights are conducted under IFR (no surprise, really).
license and got a job with Norsk Helikopter AS. I'm currently flying the Super Puma out of Brnnysund, which is in the middle of Norway. The flying here is great, and the weather varies a lot. In the summer time its daylight almost 24 hours a day, but in the wintertime it's the opposite. 
JARL MOLVAR
