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Jun
02
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Just prior to Verticon 2025, Rotor Pro visited Donauwörth, Germany, to learn what the vertical lift industry can expect to see in 2025 from Airbus Helicopters. With nearly 8,000 employees, the facility is home to Airbus Helicopters’ second largest manufacturing facility in the world. Donauwörth is home to not only the development center of the CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL prototype, but also the production lines of the H135, H145, and the military NH90 helicopters.
Looking into the rear-view mirror, Airbus Helicopters had a strong 2024. 455 gross orders (net: 450) showed a steady market growth with a strong performance last year for its light, light twin-engined, and heavy helicopters. Orders came from 182 customers in 42 countries. The Company delivered 361 helicopters in 2024, resulting in a preliminary 57% share of the civil and parapublic market.
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Tags:
Airbus Helicopters
Airbus Helicopters Pioneer Lab
CityAirbus NextGen
H140
H160
Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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May
27
2025
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I work as a utility helicopter pilot in Alaska, where a helicopter is often the only way to transport passengers and supplies to remote areas. Conducting aerial surveys, pipeline, and power-line inspections, slinging equipment to mountain tops or conducting crew changes for offshore platforms and container ships in the Bell 206 and 407 are just a few examples of my various tasks. The ever-changing weather can be a challenge: Besides extreme temperatures, we often deal with complex weather patterns that can shift rapidly and unpredictably.
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Tags:
Jani Hartung
Utility Helicopter
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Human Interest
Career Development
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May
19
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Around the corner from Helsinki International Airport, Coptersafety stands as a center of excellence in the helicopter pilot training world. This innovative company has carved a niche for itself by focusing exclusively on simulator-based training, pushing the boundaries of safety and proficiency within the demanding world of helicopter operations. “Our mission at Coptersafety has always been to increase safety in the rotorcraft industry, with bespoke [custom tailored] training services for helicopter pilots around the world,” said Hannu Marjoniemi, CEO and co-founder of Coptersafety.
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Tags:
Coptersafety
helicopter pilot training
rotorcraft safety
simulator-based training
Categories:
Company Profiles
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May
12
2025
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Posted by Admin
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We catch Gretchen Johnson in a rare hour of relatively free time. She was in Orlando, having headed south from her metro-Atlanta home, when she said in a cultured, soft Southern accent that would make Scarlett O’Hara sit up and take notice, “Thank you so much for choosing to spend an hour with me; I’m flattered. Hopefully, something I say will be worth repeating. It’s wonderful being down here in Florida because now Miss Georgia can’t decide whether she’s winter or spring.”
Make up your cotton-pickin’ mind, Miss Georgia!
It would be wrong to base an assumption on Johnson’s accent and Southern manners that she’s some antebellum belle. The CEO and founder of DaVinciSKY was in Orlando for a “Women in Power” symposium—and that could be a clever pun because Johnson’s flagship company and its subsidiaries feature helicopters in power-line construction, inspection, and maintenance.
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Tags:
DaVinciSKY
power line patrol helicopter
Utility Helicopter
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
Company Profiles
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May
05
2025
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Posted by Admin
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On the personnel supply side of the equation, most every operator is working hard to recruit and retain experienced pilots.
There are still many external forces impacting the supply of working helicopter pilots. These forces are not only keeping the supply lines short of personnel, but stifling the growth of the base pilot pool as well.
As published in previous salary survey reports, the factors impacting operators stem from many issues to include; aging pilots retiring en-mass, aggressive airline recruitment of helicopter pilots, and the retraction of pilot training pipelines from traditional sources like civilian academies and the U.S. Military.
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Categories:
Career Development
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Apr
28
2025
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Posted by Admin
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The helicopter industry is continuing to face a pilot shortage that threatens to impact operations across sectors, such as emergency medical services (EMS), firefighting, law enforcement, offshore transport, and tourism. As seasoned pilots retire and fewer new aviators enter the workforce, companies are struggling to maintain flight schedules and meet increasing demands for aerial services.
Several factors contribute to this shortage. One of the primary challenges is the high cost and long duration of helicopter pilot training, which can exceed $100,000 and take several years to complete. Unlike fixed-wing aviation, which often benefits from more direct career pathways and funding opportunities, the vertical-lift industry lacks sufficient structured programs to attract and retain new talent.
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Tags:
Helicopter Pilot Shortage
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Apr
21
2025
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Posted by Admin
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In the mid-1980s, during my first tour as a young and inexperienced U.S. Army AH-1F Cobra pilot in Germany, I went through a near-catastrophic event that forever changed my approach to cockpit safety. It happened during a routine but fun training mission where I was performing low-level flight maneuvers in a loose trail formation with several other Cobras. I was at the controls in the back seat, flying in the trail position, focused on terrain using the peaks and valleys to try to remain clear of a notional surface-to-air missile threat. It didn’t get much better than this for an easy day of flying.
I aggressively banked left and descended into an approaching valley. As I reached my desired heading, I attempted to return to wings-level. Nothing happened. Uh-oh. Despite my maximum effort to apply right-aft cyclic, the aircraft stubbornly continued a left roll and descent. I blurted out my problem to my front-seat copilot. No response. He had problems of his own.
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Tags:
Safety Sitrep
Securing the cockpit
Categories:
Safety
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Apr
14
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Whether through fighting fires directly or aiding those who do, drones are making serious progress in saving lives and property. Here is a brief rundown of some of the amazing things that drone technology is doing for firefighting today.
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Tags:
Ascent Aerosystems_RotorPro
Skydio_RotorPro
UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Apr
07
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the design and operation of helicopters, ushering in a new era of innovation and efficiency. By leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms and data analytics, AI enables more autonomous flight capabilities, improves predictive maintenance, optimizes flight paths, and enhances safety measures.
From revolutionizing helicopter design and testing to supporting real-time decision-making in complex operational environments, AI is pivotal in reshaping the future of rotary-wing aviation. This integration of cutting-edge technology promises to streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance the overall performance of helicopter fleets worldwide.
For Leonardo Helicopters, AI is integral to achieving its mission to its customers. Leonardo's primary objective is to guarantee in-flight safety by delivering helicopters featuring the highest safety levels. This approach to safety is at the heart of all activities, from design and production to customer services, ensuring that all aircraft meet the most rigorous safety standards.
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Tags:
Leonardo Helicopters
Leonardo Helicopters Diagnostic Service Tower - AI
Categories:
Company Profiles
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Mar
31
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Ironically, flying unmanned aerial systems (UAS) can often sound like buzzing mosquitoes. You can hear them buzzing in on approach, and eventually, when close enough, you can see them peering down at you from above. Yet, UAS is a new solution to controlling mosquito populations in Lee County, Florida. Mosquitoes serve many purposes in a healthy balanced ecosystem. In fact, mosquitoes are considered pollinators, as much as any bee or butterfly. Having said that, the average citizen likely believes that they have no useful purpose, because their proliferation of peskiness knows no end. They irritate us on beaches, hiking, and working with animals. They can cause serious disease and eventually death for mammals, reptiles and birds, and they are incessantly difficult to kill. Mosquito diseases can affect humans, horses, birds, dogs, cats, and more.
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Tags:
Lee County Mosquito Control Aviation Unit
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Company Profiles