As we fly around the rugged North Wales coastline off the Isle of Anglesey, the pilot instructor of our Griffin helicopter points out landmarks such as Crash Car Gully and Submarine Rock.
These are sites regularly visited by the RAF's Search and Rescue Training Unit, or SARTU, as they teach pilots and aircrew to pluck people in distress from mountains, cliffs and the sea:
"Pilots already know how to fly, land and navigate a helicopter when they get to us," said Flight Lieutenant Mike Castle, our pilot for the day and second-in-command at SARTU.
"This course takes it further and teaches them about hovering next to decks and cliffs, and gets them used to running the aircraft while being guided by the winch operator in the back."
Trainee pilots are prepared for a job that Flt Lt Castle describes as:
"Like flying a house while looking through the letterbox."
They will practise flying helicopters at low speed and near obstructions, such as rocky outcrops in and around cliffs and mountains.
Through a mixture of virtual reality simulator training, 'chalk and talk' classroom briefings and numerous helicopter flights, or sorties, they will learn how to hover with precision using very limited references, and how to captain and lead a search and rescue helicopter crew:
"Pretty much anybody who flies helicopters will be suited to this," said Flt Lt Castle. "But you've got to be able to get on with people."
A search and rescue crew comprises four airmen who work together onboard a Sea King helicopter: a pilot and co-pilot in the front of the helicopter, and a winchman and winch operator in the rear. Pilots often rely on the rear crew for directions as they hover in tight spaces during rescues unable to see below them.
Civilian instructors Graham Goosey and Mark O'Leary are both ex-RAF search and rescue crew members who now put the trainee rear crewmen through their paces:
"The pilot listens to the winch operator for directions as he can't see anything, so the winch operator in the back is effectively in control," said Graham, emphasising the importance of the role.
Prospective rear crewmen practise their skills in a virtual reality simulator before moving onto sorties in Griffin helicopters around the Isle of Anglesey:
"It's rare that people come to SARTU for their first posting as it's so hard," explained Flt Lt Castle.
"Training takes place in good weather and bad, at day and night. Generally the team is called out in bad weather, so they must be prepared."
On completion of the SARTU course, the next progression is on the other side of the airfield at RAF Valley, at the Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), where trainees learn to fly the Sea King helicopter.
Squadron Leader Nick Pollard oversees the course:
"Pilots come here to learn to fly the Sea King, including winching from decks, from cliffs, and from the water," he explained.
Training schedule: top left - Sharon receives a quick tour of the virtual reality simulator; top right - she is then kitted out with a jumpsuit, helmet and lifejacket; bottom left - she embarks on a short training flight in a Griffin helicopter; bottom right - the winch operator demonstrates how a crewman is lowered from the helicopter to pick up a casualty from the rocks below
[Picture: Steve Bain, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
"And they need to be trained to find them in the first place, by day and night. Finally, everything is drawn together in search and rescue training scenarios, preparing them for the front line."
Pilots leave the OCU as qualified search and rescue co-pilots, but they are expected to graduate to captain within two years.
Flight Lieutenant Dominic Sanderson is half-way through the challenging six-month OCU course:
"The big change here is that there's no repetition," he says. "You do something once and you are expected to remember it."
It is clear that Search and Rescue remains a challenging and difficult role, but it is one that is essential for the safety of both the UK population and international visitors, both on land and at sea.