It Was Said That We Have a Few Seconds

          All the while it must have happened to each and everyone of us. A moment in the middle of an experience where you hear an inner voice whisper to yourself to do this and that to avoid an undesirable thing to happen at the end of the act, I had that voice telling me to place the helicopter cluster keys on the left side chest pocket of my flying suit before I was overridden by my excitement to have taken the front seat of the van and leave the airport in a hurry.  So according to my assessment unminding the benefit of the doubt I had for the tarot card reader who once gave me a reading that a playful spirit is manipulating things behind my knowing, the cluster keys would most certainly be there at the right side frontseat of the staff van.  With the pilots, directing me on what possible things to do, I called the telephone operator at Camp Florendo to reach the Duty Driver of the staff van. It got us into so much hopeless attempts for nearly an hour with the telephone inside our room but the line was busy. Until the first pilot was able to reach the operator and left a message for the driver to return back at the hotel that we felt such a relief with a little light on the problem. Lying on my folding bed with cold sweat despite of the airconditioning, thinking about the possible chances should I get out of the mess or not, I was dreaming of sleeping and waking up to realize I was just having a bad dream. Unfortunately though, I couldn’t even fall to sleep so I left lying and left our room to get down at the hotel lobby.

          A  helicopter key is nothing more than a cluster of keys bearing a silver coated key that looks much like a key to the doorlock that unlocks the fuel filler cap of the fuel tank for refuelling, 2 black plastic coated keys that unlock the baggage compartments and access doors, all 3 tied by a red lace to be put together giving the holder the access to a P50 million worth of government property, VAT not included. But in the first glance it lacks the sophistication to match the ignition keys of a luxury car such as a BMW, a Jaguar, a Porsche, or a Ferrari. It doesn’t have the built-in remote control to activate the locks in the push of a button at a distance nor does the equipment it is built to secure is equipped with a security system to give an odd sound for an alarm in case of burglary.  A careless practice perhaps because in a 3rd world country like ours, we can’t underestimate but we can’t expect thieves to be gifted with helicopter training that could worth millions of looted money or if they maybe lucky to have the training, there’s a specific type rating to be met. It’s much easy to have the familiarization to drive a Toyota Corolla and shift to Mitsubishi Galant for a surface vehicle but it’s another thing with flying machines. Aircraft manufacturers made it sure that you will not forget who made the equipment once you get strapped in the cockpit failing to recite your emergency procedures wondering why you can’t even park aside or leave the flying behind while getting busy with the pages of the flight manual seconds before you get reunited with the ground with a loud boom. Each type of aircraft has its operational characteristics and limitations solely applicable to its own and risking your life with the notion that knowing to fly one gives you the confidence to fly the other will just make you a part of a company of stubborn pilots who once and again proved that pilot error is the final temptation enoughed to make you a part of my collection of aircraft crash newsclippings.  The other thing, starting a helicopter doesn’t require an ignition key because flying it is comparatively a simplified, complex kind of endeavor. Considering an average helicopter was pre-flighted by a flight crew/mechanic, everything is at your fingertips once you have your butt at the pilot’s seat, that’s the simplicity. It’s only a question if you push the right button and if you made the right sequence while keeping your eyes on a no. of gauges to initiate the next proper move, now that’s the complexity. So imagine the ultimate ease when I was lifted from the worries of all these complications.