Charger swapped for Sea King

The day started at the unit at 0830, earlier than university lectures!

The first stop was the Port of Liverpool where the tour included a discussion in the incident room before all students were shown how staff operated the gates for entry into Liverpool and how certain ships were accompanied for entry into the port.

We then began the journey towards Altcar (including a short pit stop at Sainsburys).

Upon arrival we were greeted by a pilot and an observer of the Sea King in which we would be later flying.

Forms for next of kin details were passed around which started to make a few people feel a bit nervous of what could happen!

We were then separated into two groups, the first were to fly in the Sea King first whilst the others were given a tour of one of the Lynx helicopters, then vice versa.

Once in the aircraft we were issued a safety brief, complete with instructions on what to do if one of the two engines failed!

After ensuring everyone understood this properly and was wearing the appropriate headgear, the pilot started the engines.

Once airborne we were allowed to undo our seatbelts and look around the helicopter and out of the ‘windows.’

As expected, it was very loud and most of us could not hear what each other was saying, which resulted in some amusing hand signings asking for photos and if everyone was OK.

Some were even allowed to take turns and sit with the observer by the door, giving a clearer view and also being able to see how the flight was navigated.

We flew over part of Liverpool for half an hour and then back to Altcar for the next group’s turn.

After landing and getting us all safely off the helicopter, the pilot explained that it was a particularly bumpy ride as what most people would know as the ‘power steering’ became defective.

The majority of us were surprised at this as it hadn’t seemed bumpy at all, showing just how used to being on ships we were!

Consequently, the second group experienced their ride in a different Sea King helicopter.

The whole day taught us a lot about the operation of Sea Kings and was very enjoyable for everyone involved.