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MARTIN: |
This is very comfortable. And the coffee is good. Thanks. Are all
the men working? |
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PILOT: |
Some are working. Some are sleeping. Nobody comes here after lunch.
The men come here after work. It will be busy soon. |
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MARTIN: |
What about the men who work at night? |
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PILOT: |
Sometimes they come early in the morning. But they usually come
after they sleep. |
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MARTIN: |
How
long have you been a pilot? |
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PILOT: |
A
helicopter pilot? Eighteen years. I flew before that though. |
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MARTIN: |
What do you mean? |
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PILOT: |
I
had a pilot's license before I became a helicopter pilot. I few
light airplanes. You know the little ones. |
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MARTIN: |
When did you start flying? |
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PILOT: |
When I was fifteen years old. I had a pilot's license before I could
drive a car. My dad was a pilot. |
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MARTIN: |
What kind of training do you have? |
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PILOT: |
Do
you mean for flying a helicopter? |
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MARTIN: |
Yes. |
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PILOT: |
I
was in the army. I trained in the army. I always wanted to fly.
That's why I joined the army. I knew they would train me and give me
experience. |
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MARTIN: |
Did
you always want to be a helicopter pilot? |
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PILOT: |
I
don't think so. I can't remember exactly. I became interested after
I joined the army. I was amazed. |
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MARTIN: |
A
helicopter amazed you? |
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PILOT: |
Yes. I couldn't believe them. |
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MARTIN: |
What do you mean? |
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PILOT: |
I
couldn't believe they could fly. But I wanted to try it. |
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MARTIN: |
Which is more difficult to fly, a plane or a helicopter? |
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PILOT: |
A
small plane is easy. |
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MARTIN: |
Have you flown a military plane or a large, fast plane? |
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PILOT: |
No.
I think the flying is similar. A helicopter is maybe harder at low
speeds and hovering. |
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MARTIN: |
Tell me about hovering. |
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PILOT: |
You
know what it means, don't you. The helicopter just stays in one
place in the air. It's like it just sits there in space. |
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MARTIN: |
That looks easy. |
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PILOT: |
But
it isn't. The wind moves the helicopter. The pilot keeps it steady.
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MARTIN: |
It
was windy when we landed on the rig. |
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PILOT: |
That's what I mean. You have to be very careful. |
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MARTIN: |
Is
the training for airplane and helicopter pilots the same? |
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PILOT: |
No,
it's not the same. It's similar. Much of the training is the same.
But some things are different. Helicopters are much slower than jet
planes. |
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MARTIN: |
That sounds like a good thing to me. |
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PILOT: |
Maybe you're right. |
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MARTIN: |
Are
helicopters safe? |
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PILOT: |
Sure. They are safer than jet planes. |
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MARTIN: |
Why? |
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PILOT: |
They can go slow. Very slow. If the engine fails, they are better
than a plane. You can come down in a helicopter safely. Hey,
Charlie. This is Charlie Swope, Martin. |
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MARTIN: |
Hello, Charlie. I'm Martin Learner. |
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CHARLIE: |
I'm
happy to meet you. We don't have many visitors. |
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MARTIN: |
What do you do? |
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CHARLIE: |
I'm
an engineer. |
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MARTIN: |
What kind of engineer? |
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CHARLIE: |
I'm
a mechanical engineer. |
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PILOT: |
Hey, turn that down. Please. |
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PILOT: |
Thanks. I want you to meet Martin Learner. He wants to ask you some
questions about the rig. OK? |
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CAST: |
Why
not? Sure. I don't mind. Etc... |
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