A Day in the Life of a Sky 10 Helicopter Pilot.
You might think, “What an exciting job to be a helicopter pilot!” Some days are pretty routine for Sky 10 pilots. But when breaking news hits, that gets the adrenaline pumping.
Sky 10 has two helicopter pilots – one has the early morning shift and the other has the afternoon/evening shift. The day starts off with a review of Sky 10 — checking to make sure all parts are in working order because safety is their main priority. Then they go into the station and check to see if there are any notes left from the last pilot. They also need to log all their flights and who goes up with them.
The average flight for Sky 10 is an hour when they cover weather and traffic for a newscast. The longest flight they usually do is about two hours when there’s breaking news. The average speed is 75mph and they can get up to 120mph if they need to get to a location fast. After every flight before returning to the station, they fill up the gas tank at the closest airport.
One of the pilots, James, described his most exciting flight covering a car chase to the border. While in flight, he’s constantly communicating with air traffic control, law enforcement and the other news helicopter pilots. The driver in this particular car chase drove down to the border then made a couple of u-turns so James had to communicate his flight plan to not get in the way of law enforcement while working with the news photographer to get the best shot for 10News. Fortunately, there’s a special camera that’s mounted Sky 10 that can zoom in from far distances and get a clear shot of the subject.
That’s a basic look at a day in the life of Sky 10 helicopter pilots. If you have more specific questions, let us know.
Although, no longer the pilot for Sky 10, I could relate to a typical day doing the job. After 15 years of chasing news, I think I had pretty much seen everything that could happen in this sleepy town including a stolen Army tank, heaven’s gate suicides and enough fires to make hell look like Antartica. I remember the days when I had to fly so low to the ground because the camera was on the photogs shoulder hanging out the side window. But that’s not why I am typing here. I just wanted to say a sad goodbye to Lee Ann Kim on her prostperous departure. i flew Lee Ann in Sky 10 for a majority of her career and have to say there are a myrid of funny moments with her in that bird. Best of luck to you Lee ann! You will be missed my friend.
Kyle A.
“Old” Sky 10 pilot…
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