Page 5 - August2017

I Went For A Spin by Jim Munro

It was July 3rd, 1983, at about 5 P.M., on the Dreger by the time I had looked up, the helicopter had already turned
River system, 30 miles N.W. of Pine House, 90 degrees to the right, and was starting to spin, as it
Saskatchewan, I was flying a Sikorsky S-55 Turbine proceeded on up the river!
powered helicopter, on an Initial Forest Fire Attack Helicopters, at low speed, have a mind of their own, particularly
Mission. when the Little Fan at the back: either disappears or decides to

There had been an unusual amount of fire starts from quit! Some say, “Oh That’s the Fan That Keeps the Pilot Cool,
the large number of lightning strikes, the previous Cause When That Quits, The Pilot Really Starts to Sweat!”
evening, so we were the sole attack crew, sent to Well I didn’t have much time to sweat or even fret, so after
provide Initial Attack on this particular fire, from the Lac about 3 or 4 spins it was time for me to roll-off the power and
la Ronge Fire Base. do my best to stay right side up. All I had to do now was to land

Back-up fire crews were being flown into our site from a ground-based helicopter, on wheels, into the wet river!
Ile La Crosse, by float equipped Beaver aircraft. My Glubb, Glubb, went the Sikorsky, as it settled into the cold
crew on board that particular day, consisted of Peter running water. “Spark, Spark”, went all the batteries and
Vis, Helicopter Engineer and the Initial Attack fire crew, electronics that were way down, deep within the 55’s Tummy,
led by foreman and competent fire fighter Bill as She leaned way over, as She sank.
Mahonney, of La Ronge.
Over my flying career, I had many opportunities to discuss a
Little, did I know, that on that day, I would take another multitude of emergency procedures, with my brothers. What’s
ride for my life and would be elevated by Peter, my The Best Thing to Do In This Case, or how did he handle it, or
trusty Engineer. What an appropriate name, he had, as Did he survive, or Why, or How?
he stood about 6 ft. 6”, in big stocking feet, which was
considerably higher above ground level, than my much Most experienced helicopter pilots that are operating over
shorter dimensions! water, if they Have the Choice, such as a pilot filling a bucket or
similar fire fighting tank; will select an area that has a depth of
I had dropped Peter off, with the fire crew, while I water, that is sufficient to Only Fill the Bucket.
dropped many buckets of river water onto the fire line,
which was close to the river’s edge. When a water Water that is deeper than the depth necessary is not only
source is within a short distance, eg. ½ mile, of a fire; a wasted but can become dangerous to your health. Yes, I had
bucket equipped helicopter becomes an extremely been picking up water, just over a Sand Bar, in the river and I
effective tool in fighting a forest or grass fire. was very fortunate to have her settle onto the edge of the bar,
(just on the edge of where the bar dropped off into much
Bill called me on the radio and said, “One more bucket deeper water.) Thanks Lord!
and every things looking good and we can head home,
to La Ronge! Great! Roger, says I, as I swung back into Let’s get to the Funny Part? If you’re a helicopter pilot and have
the river for one last bucket. What a poor choice of Been There, Done That, Seen That, or Survived That, well
words! there’s got to have been some funny parts too! Just after I had
shut down the engine, as it was not required for any further
Here I was, 54 years old, I had cut most of my baby aerobatic flight, the trees parted on the other side of the river
teeth, on helicopter antics, and was looking ahead to and an orange “streak”, dove into the water.
turning 55 in a few months! Glubb, glubb, went the
bucket, as it sank into the river and I pulled in the It was Peter, my faithful and somewhat excited engineer, and
power!! BANG, went something? soon-to-become, faithful servant. He had heard the BANG and
had looked over, just in time, to see me doing Allemande
The Pilot’s seat in a Sikorsky 55, is up rather high, Rights, down below the tree line. He set a new ground speed
compared to the rest of the fuselage of many medium record, I’m sure, for the Half Mile Over Muskeg Terrain!
helicopters, which not only gives the pilot excellent
visibility, but it allows him to stick his head out of the He noticed that the complete tail-rotor gear box was missing, as
side window, much like the old steam locomotive was one blade. That’s another story, for another time. We
engineer, that used to shunt by our house, but believe didn’t hit anything, but it’s interesting how one person’s
me, when I say, I could really see… a lot! actions, can affect another person’s life…or death.
As I pulled in the power and watched the bucket come
up out of the water, there was a very loud BANG, and