Page 6 - Sept 2015 Volume 19 Number 9

In the Belly of By Gary “Waldo” PeppersFrom a three-foot hover, I nosed the Bell 47 over the edge at the main base of West Cameron 180, an offshore oil field near Cameron, Louisiana. Descending toward the water toward our blistering sixty-knots cruise speed, I made my wake-up call to the company radio operator in Intracoastal City: “Tango Four Seven is up and around, West Cameron One Eighty, local.” After a few seconds the operator came back with, “Good morning, Tango Four Seven, how’s the weather?”“Clear and calm,” I reported. And warm, I thought, for early January.“How’s the viz?” the operator persisted.I gazed at the sun on the horizon. “About 93 million miles,” I smirked, “Why?”“You’re the only one flying today, so far. Everyone else is shut down in fog. Keep a good eye out.” He didn’t need to caution me about weather. Though I had a helicopter instrument rating, courtesy of Uncle Sam’s Army, my trusty old Bell’s4 • TWIN & TURBINEpanel was bare – not even a turn- and-slip. This was strictly a day-VFR operation.I let my riders off at a “toad stool” pumping platform about two miles from base. As I idled, they went below to retrieve data cards thatrecorded the natural gas flowing ashore overnight. With the cards, I’d return to the main platform for my next two operators. With all six teams delivered to their work platforms and all cards retrieved, I could look forward to a short break and breakfast.SEPTEMBER 2015