Steve Torpey

So he was most comfortable in the right seat.

And I just knew this case was going to be different.

And I remember finishing my walk around and he's already strapped in.

And the door was open and I looked up at him.

I said, Captain, what do you think about the right seat?

And he looked down at me and...

I didn't know what his response was going to be.

I could just be fired at that point.

I'm kicking him out of the seat.

I mean, he basically owns the air station.

But when we are together in the aircraft, I am the aircraft commander because I had the most experience, even though he's my boss.

So he looked down at me and graciously just unbuckled and said, Steve, I'd do the same thing if I were in your shoes.

So he got out, got in the left seat.

And now he's in the left seat, not a place he's very comfortable in.

And I'm in the right seat.

So the flying pilot in the right seat does most of the flying while we're hoisting because the flight mechanic is also on the right side of the aircraft looking out to the right.

Yeah, it's very important to realize while we're hoisting the pilot in the right seat, there's a point at which he can't see what we're hoisting to anymore.

So the hoist operator is the eyes for the pilot.

So the pilot is basically blind.

He can't see the target because it's beneath them.