Throwback Tuesday --Birmingham Helicopter Traffic Reporting

     One of my first duties at WERC Radio in Birmingham, starting in 1976 (can you tell by the clothes? The hair?) was doing the traffic reports from our helicopter. 
     Those first weeks, when I barely knew 280 from I-65, were harrowing, but the force feeding made me learn the city layout very quickly. 
     We were up in all kinds of weather, including an ice storm that paralyzed the city. We had to land every so often to scrape ice off the bubble.
     And the air we were flying in was frequently less than high-quality.
     I can't recall the name of that pilot in that picture, but I believe he was, like myself, a Vietnam Vet. Anybody recognize him?
     Steve Sanders, more recently of WGN in Chicago these past 25+ years, was the previous traffic reporter. His pilot made a rather hard landing that year in East Lake because of fuel starvation (i.e. running out of fuel). That was enough to convince Steve to remain earthbound and to send me up for what would be thousands of hours of flight time.