Bristow Memories
In early March 2003 Captain Stephen Hogarth, Chief Helicopter Pilot with JCB Aviation, visited The Museum to renew acquaintance with Hiller UH-12C, G-ASTP, in which he had flown a helicopter solo for the first time in 1976 at Bristow Helicopters' Flying Training School.
Steve has subsequently joined 'The Friends' as a life member and has kindly agreed to write about some of his experiences, with Hillers and Whirlwinds, for this site. The first of his "jottings" appears below.
HILLER UH-I2C
"In the early 1970’s it became clear that, following the release of Iicences to offshore oil areas in the northern North Sea, a significant expansion in helicopter activity was about to occur. The favoured helicopter, for the initial phase of operations, was the two pilot Sikorsky S-61N.
Bristow Helicopters Ltd decided that a Cadet Pilot training scheme could feed First Officers onto the S-61N, from an ‘Ab Initio’ stage at Redhill.
All prospective students were, in the early stages, expected to have self-funded a Private Pilot’s Licence aeroplanes and an IMC Rating - to "show willing".
A full career path to Captain, and beyond, was available to the successful candidates and training started using the Hiller UH-12C and Bell JetRanger.
Each student carried out an integrated course of ground school and flying for one year, flying 90 hours on the UH-I2C followed by 60 hours of JetRanger. This soon changed to 60 hours on the Hiller and 90 hours on the Bell 47G2, with some 15 hours of procedural instrument flying on the Bell 206 being carried out prior to the S-6IN.
Within 12 months, the cadets had flown four different types of helicopter and were placed on the line at Aberdeen and Sumburgh to land on drilling rigs, production platforms and ships - in all weathers, both day and night.
The learning curve was pretty near vertical !
The captains at Aberdeen were often very experienced Bristow hands, some going back to the whaling days in Antarctica. Their courage was often severely challenged, as some helidecks could only be viewed by the First Officer, as he or she was left to land the helicopter, with the captain only getting the occasional glimpse!
Lasting friendships came out of this exceptional delegation of responsibility !
Landing 24 passengers onto a rolling and heaving deck was a far cry from the Hiller which, in the hot summer of 1976, could barely lift the student and instructor - sometimes touching the ground when hover taxied downwind.With its wooden main rotor blades, climb speed of 45kts and a stately cruise of 55kts it gave the students that never to be forgotten experience of ‘First Solo’ in a helicopter and the very demanding early stages of helicopter flight.
The ruggedness of the Hiller was legendary - it had to be! G-ASTP, nicknamed "gas tap", has been thrown at the ground thousands of times, in engine-off landing practices, and survived. The only damage perhaps the student’s pride and the instructor’s nerves.
The Bristow ‘home brew’ student scheme was very fruitful and trained hundreds of pilots, many now in senior positions within civil aviation. Most are still flying helicopters, others Boeing 747’s (sad fellows) - but it all started, for many, with the Hiller UH-12C."