Helicopter creates excitement among children

Children in Fitz-hughes were given an eyeful on Old Year’s Day, when a helicopter from the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Nationa Security landed on the Fitz-Hughes Park.{{more}}

The helicopter, captained by Major Paul Browne of the Trinidad and Tobago National Operations Centre (NOC) Air Division, was doing a flyover of St Vincent in the wake of flooding which took place on December 24 and 25, 2013.

Those on board the helicopter included Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar, deputy chief agricultural officer Ashley Caine, director of special projects in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jerrol Thompson and members of the media.

Many children ran to the park to see the landing, and when the party disembarked, the officials and media went to view the Cacartha bridge that was destroyed during last week’s flooding, while the chopper’s crew stayed with their machine.

The children were timid at first, but after a while, they surrounded the crew and began to ask questions. One youngster, around 11 years old, asked Major Browne how he flies the helicopter. The pilot’s reply was that he flies using a number of control systems, of which there are three main ones.

Major Browne, who is the deputy director of the air division of the NOC, which is part of the Trinidad and Tobago ministry of national security, told SEARCHLIGHT that he has been flying for 21 years.

He quipped that he started out flying fixed wing aircraft, before he “saw the light and moved over to helicopters.”

Browne said that apart from doing the aerial surveys and bringing relief to the people affected, he hoped that the members of his crew could bring some form of inspiration to the children to deal with the educational aspects of things, as that is the safest way to succeed.

The veteran airman told the children that as far as aviation is concerned, that they must do math and English, along with physics, geography, social studies, chemistry and biology. He said although the field is fairly rounded, the sciences are required.

Browne said that the defence force of Trinidad and Tobago has four helicopters and that the Ministry of National Security also has four, including the one he was flying. He said the cost of each of those machines is around US$17 million.

The helicopter also created a stir among the children of Diamonds Village, where it also landed on Tuesday. The other crew members on board the helicopter were co-pilot Captain Garth Nero and Tactical Flight Officer Darren Garcia.(TY)