|
|
 |
January/February
2000
Issue
Magic
Carpet Ride
Helicopter tours provide a different perspective of the
islands
 It’s
1990 and Joanna and Richard Gollin are hosting commercial helicopter pilots
at their bed-and-breakfast inn on Scotland’s Outer Hebrides Island.
When the island’s unpredictably wild weather permits, the pilots,
who work for salmon fish farms, often give joyrides to the Gollin family
and inn guests. One day, one of the pilots says to Joanna, “Here,
you have a go at flying.”
She took him seriously.
Fast-forward nearly a decade and it’s almost 10
a.m. on a typically beautiful autumn day at Page Field, the general aviation
airport in Ft. Myers. A part-time resident of Sanibel Island, Joanna Gollin,
pilot and owner of two UH-12C Hiller helicopters, is president of JoannAir
Helicopter Services. Now it’s her turn to give the joyrides to sightseers
and thrillseekers.
In the intervening years, Gollin, completely hooked
on helicopter flying, earned her private helicopter pilot’s certificate
from instructor/dealer Sidney Evans of Dove Transport in Sarasota, Florida.
She obtained her commercial certificate in California, “flying in
all sorts of different environments: the desert, city, mountains, and
beach.”
Gollin has a “loose partnership” with Evans
and often flies her Hillers from Page Field to his private Dove Heliport
in Sarasota, where JoannAir Inc. also offers sightseeing rides, aerial
photography shoots, and flying lessons. Evans does the maintenance on
Gollin’s copters, which, she says, “is ongoing, constant—much
more than with a plane.”
Along the way, Gollin did obtain her fixed-wing pilot’s
license but she greatly prefers helicopters. “With helicopters, you
just have to be at a safe altitude, say 300 feet above the ground instead
of 1,000 feet over built-up areas when you’re in a plane. And I’d
much rather have a problem in a helicopter because you can land pretty
much anywhere, if you have to.”
She’s never had a problem, however. The UH-12C
Hiller, a piston-engine helicopter that is no longer made, has a legendary
track record as a primary training aircraft with the U.S. military. “It’s
the truck of the helicopter world,” Gollin adds. “Medevac people
use them also.”
A Page Field employee drives us in a cart to Gollin’s
copter, which sits near a gigantic letter “H” painted on the
tarmac. Gollin explains that her helicopter’s two doors are off most
of the time; otherwise, it can get too hot. Visibility is great in the
Hiller at all times, and fabulous with the doors off. The Hiller can go
up to 79 miles per hour, and its tank holds 29 gallons of fuel, which
lasts Gollin about 1 hour and 40 minutes. “I can fly to Sarasota
in one go,” she notes.
I climb in the middle, with Gollin on my left and photographer
Kathleen Blase on my right. The copter is equipped with dual controls
for instructor and student. Gollin gives us an initial safety lesson,
including telling us to be careful of the aircraft’s rotors. “If
you are nervous, hold on to your harness.” I gulp. “And remember,
we can always turn back at any time.”
We put on our microphone-equipped headsets, which block
most of the noise while allowing us to listen and talk to each other.
Gollin is busy adjusting dials. She shouts, “Clear,” to alert
anyone nearby that she is about to start the engine, which also starts
the rotors turning. After checking engine instruments to ensure all is
normal, she radios the control tower. The controller tells Gollin she’s
clear to cross the airport.
We slowly lift off and hover above the ground. I grip
my double shoulder-strap harness as the ground recedes, and suddenly we’re
flying right over the heavy traffic on U.S. 41. Blase nervously wipes
her hands on her pants but then starts to get the hang of leaning out
to take photos.
We’re going about 60 miles per hour as we fly toward
the Caloosahatchee River. The number of canals is astounding. The bumpiness
makes my note writing wiggly, but the noise isn’t bad at all. We
go over the massive Gulf Harbour development on McGregor Boulevard. As
far as I can see, we’re the only aircraft in the sky.
I’m definitely getting more relaxed as we fly past
several mobile home parks, where the meaning of double-wide or triple-wide
becomes clearly evident. Above the Sanibel Factory Stores on Summerlin
Road, Gollin says, “It always amazes me what a totally different
perspective you have up here, with a totally empty sky.”
I can see people so clearly, being just 300 feet up.
Now I realize that when mosquito control helicopters fly over Sanibel,
they really can see me wave. “Oh, yes,” says Gollin. “It’s
nice when people wave. Quite often they do so from the beach.”
The boats look so pretty as we pass over Port Sanibel
Marina on the Ft. Myers side of the causeway. Flying over San Carlos Bay,
we see birds hovering along the causeway, where the wind picks up. Just
a few boats are in the water.
The low profile of Sanibel’s condominiums is a
marked contrast to Punta Rassa’s high-rises. We get a bird’s-eye
view of that favorite symbol of Sanibel, its lighthouse. “This is
the best thing I’ve done all year,” Blase says with a big smile.
I watch our pilot for awhile, and Gollin grins. “I
know it looks like I’m sitting here doing nothing. Actually, I’m
constantly working with the throttle to make sure we have plenty of power,”
she explains.
We pass over the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce
building and then the Dunes Golf and Tennis Club. Golf courses look odd
from the air—like paisley squiggles or Bigfoot’s footprints.
As we fly over the J.N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Refuge, the
landscape looks startlingly like a map of Sanibel, showing just how much
of the island really is protected land. It’s much harder to tell
from the ground that two-thirds of Sanibel is undeveloped.
Interestingly, the wind seems to die down over the refuge,
and the air definitely feels cooler. Out over Pine Island Sound, we can
see where boat propellers have wrecked the turtle grass. Gollin says she
can sometimes see manatees or dolphins in the water.
Heading toward Captiva and Buck Key, we can see the
water of Roosevelt Channel, which looks army green. Turning her aircraft
to the gulf, our pilot says, “It’s a shame it is so windy. The
sea is quite churned up. Sometimes it is turquoise.”
We can now clearly see the beautiful geometry of Blind
Pass, which has been closed up by shifting sand.
While over Captiva, we get a real sense of the hugeness
of what many people call “trophy homes.” In Sarasota, Gollin
says, she often takes Realtors up for aerial photography of properties
they are trying to sell. Occasionally, the agent will take a client up,
too.
Alas, it’s soon time to head back to Page Field.
We turn back toward Sanibel and fly over the Sanctuary development and
golf course on Wulfert Point before crossing Pine Island Sound.
Below us now is St. James City on Pine Island, looking
quite inviting. We can see the sightseeing boat Stars and Stripes, which
is based at Sanibel Marina, making its way carefully through the water.
We fly over a very shallow area of the sound known as the Miserable, where
boaters have to be very careful. Sadly, many boat propeller marks are
evident on the turtle grass near Punta Rassa.
It’s now about 50 minutes into our flight, and
we fly over Sanibel Harbour Resort’s tennis center. Gollin scans
the courts where her husband is supposed to be playing.
We’re about 10 miles from Page Field. Gollin tells
the control tower that she wants to come in.
As we near the airport, we gently descend to the giant
“H.” The copter drops down, and with one tiny shake, we are
right next to the big dolly that transported the helicopter from its hangar.
Gollin switches some dials and the aircraft really starts to shake as
the engine shudders to a stop. I smell hot oil as we sit and wait for
the rotors to spiral down.
It’s shortly after 11 a.m. and our magic carpet
ride is over. While walking away from her helicopter, Gollin says, “Sightseeing
is such fun. Flying over the islands is just heaven, and giving people
rides is tremendous fun. What could be a nicer way of making a living?”
For information on sightseeing trips and other helicopter
services, contact JoannAir Inc. at 941/275-3355.
By Libby
Grimm
|
