Kirsten Larsen
Northern News Services

NNSL (Feb 19/99) - Being a helicopter pilot may be viewed as a thrill seeking job, but to Clint Middlestead, just working on the sleek machines is a rush.

The 31-year-old has been working as a helicopter maintenance engineer since he was 20, and in the past four years of employment with Great Slave Helicopters he has seen and done things which the average nine-to-five office job just doesn't offer.

Middlestead became hooked on helicopters when a next-door neighbour, in his home-town of Prince George found him employment in the field and taught him all he knew. Middlestead received formal training as an aircraft, rotary engineer at Northern Lights College in Dawson Creek, and after four years of apprenticeship and passing his departmental exam, he became a licensed engineer.

With that accomplishment, nothing much could hold Middlestead back from navigating his career to it's full travel potential.

Middlestead, who's permanent residence is in Edmonton, rarely gets to see his home. He works on a rotation of six weeks with only two weeks off. The hours of work are based on what needs to be done on a machine, which can mean having to work an all night shift on a helicopter that has to be operational at the break of dawn.

"We do not work eight hours a day, 40 hours a week," said Middlestead. "We work whatever it takes. As long as it takes and that's the truth."

When a pilot has to fly out to a community or site that requires a long stay over, a maintenance engineer goes along, which Middlestead said has it's positive points along with it's draw-backs.

"Most of the places we go are in the middle of nowhere - It's just a camp, just a drill camp," said Middlestead. "There's drillers, the geologist, the cook, the pilot and yourself. You are their for six weeks in the middle of January, February, which isn't the most pleasant time to be living in a tent outside. A canvas tent with wooden floors. They are heated and quite warm though."

Passing the time in between repairs and preparation of the machines for the transportation of work crews is often scattered with whatever recreation or thought comes to mind.

"Sleep, read, go for a snowshoe on the lake or grab a snow machine if the camp is lucky enough to have one," said Middlestead. "Talk to the cook lots - learn how to cook. There's also paper work.

In the summer time there's lots of fishing."

The time spent in Yellowknife at the Great Slave Helicopters base offers the luxuries of living in a city, but with a number of employees requiring the use company lodgings, the accomodations can become crowded at times.

"In the summer time at times, guys were coming out of camp sometimes at the same time and there are people coming into town to replace them. So everyone is in town so for one night or so all together.

"When the bedrooms were taken there would be two cots in each one, and when those were full you slept on the floor," said Middlestead.

As long as Middlestead can pull a wrench, he will be happy working the long, strange hours it takes to fine tune the machines that give him the lifestyle he loves.

"The money is great the travel is excellent," said Middlestead. "Riding around in a medium helicopter, a 112 or 204, there's nothing cooler, I think - those blades slapping. I mean it's pretty different."