NorthEast Helicopters

You may be wondering why I would be blogging about helicopters, because after all didn't I quit my helicopter job last year? Well yes I did. But it looks like I'm not the only one who thinks these birds are pretty cool. So after accepting a job promotion making obsene amounts of money and moving all the way across the country with his *accomodating* girlfriend in tow, Jason has confessed that his lifelong dream is really to fly. And so fly he will. We spent last weekend driving down to Connecticut in order to check out the school he is interested in. They are one of the oldest helicopter flight schools in the country, operating for over 30 years. They train in Robinson R22's which for anyone who doesn't know, is about the smallest helicopter I've ever seen. It is also supposed to be one of the most challenging to fly, the theory being that if you can fly one of these then you can fly anything! I'm not sure I like those odds...

Don't get me wrong. I would really enjoy being able to tell people that my boy is a pilot. I would also like any flight perks that might come along with this. But flight school is an expensive and time consuming decision. Add to this that many of the jobs available to pilots are in remote places working crazy hours and moving around wherever there is work. I guess we could quite possibly end back up in Alaska!! Of course that wouldn't be until after flight school, maybe three years from now. But yeah, what a cool job. When we first got to Albany I did a "discovery" flight in a Cessna 152 airplane and it was such a rush to take the controls and pull back off the runway! I am trying to be supportive which is hard since Jason spends his time looking at the FAA site online and reading to me all the different ways people have found to crash in helicopters. Working on a base the last two years I know how many things can go wrong with them.

Oh well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised with this wild streak, coming from a guy whose dad has climbed the tallest mountain in the country. Twice. The Cammisa's are crazy...

*I apologize for not blogging all week but I had an equipment malfunction and could not get my camera to upload any photos. And what good is a blog with out pictures? Also I have been busy adapting into the new job. More on that later.