|
Mar
24
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
RPMN: What is your current position?
I am the director of safety at Winco Powerline Services. We perform aerial powerline work which includes new constructions, maintenance, inspections and emergency response. I also serve on the Board of Directors for Vertical Aviation International.
RPMN: Tell me about your first experience with helicopters.
As a passenger in a CH47, I was tired, cold, wet and The Royal Air Force was three hours late. I think they were on their coffee break!
After that my first ever lesson was in 2005, I was on leave in Australia and I took an intro flight from a company called Chopper Line just outside Brisbane. It was fantastic and I got hooked. Then, I started flight training at the Bristow Academy in Florida at the end of 2009.
[Read More...]
Tags:
David McColl
Director Of Safety
Pipeline Patrol Helicopters
Winco Powerline Services
Categories:
Human Interest
|
Mar
17
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
It’s a bright and sunny autumn morning at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. While on the adjacent ramps it is still quiet, the ramp of HMLA-773 (-) is already packed with Bell UH-1Y Venom and Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters being prepared for the day’s flying by the busy maintenance crews. Although being a Marine Reserve Unit, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 plays a key role in the organization and operations of the United States Marine Corps.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
|
Mar
07
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
This year DART Aerospace is celebrating 50 years in the rotorcraft industry. Interesting to see how it all started.
The Summer Olympic Games were coming to Montreal in 1976. Jim Bradley and his family created a company to sell souvenirs to the throngs of visitors from around the globe coming to Canada. As they were gearing up in 1975, another opportunity came to Bradley in an industry far from souvenirs—a small helicopter job for the installation of an HF Whip Antenna on a Sikorsky helicopter. Bradley seized on that opportunity, and thus 50 years ago, DART Aerospace was born. The business now sells rotorcraft products and services to customers in almost every nation on Earth. “It’s funny how companies start and how they evolve over time,” says DART’s current president, Ryan Williamson. He speaks from experience, for he came to aerospace from an industry as unrelated to helicopters as Olympic souvenirs—the furniture manufacturing business.
[Read More...]
Tags:
DART Aerospace
Jim Bradley
Ryan Williamson
SEI Bambi Bucket
Simplex
Categories:
Company Profiles
|
Mar
03
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
NHV at Esbjerg Airport
Esbjerg Airport, on Denmark’s west coast, has long been a key aviation and transport hub. Among its notable operators is NHV (Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen), recognizable by its bright yellow helicopters. NHV plays a crucial role in offshore helicopter transport, particularly in the North Sea.
Esbjerg Airport is a key base for NHV A/S, supporting offshore personnel and equipment transport, including wind energy services in the North Sea. Its proximity to major oil and gas fields makes it ideal for NHV’s passenger, cargo, and training operations.
NHV operates three H175 helicopters at Esbjerg, employing 36 staff: 14 pilots, 14 technicians, and eight office personnel.
[Read More...]
Tags:
NHV
NHV (Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen)
Offshore Helicopters
Categories:
Company Profiles
|
Feb
24
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
The helicopter industry is experiencing one of the most transformative periods in its history. The rapid advancement of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft is reshaping the way we view rotorcraft operations. Once seen as a niche market, these emerging technologies are now disrupting traditional helicopter roles, forcing the industry to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Editor Lyn Burks
Editors Letter
Rotor Pro
|
Feb
17
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
Any regulatory change takes time, and this certainly applies to the Federal Aviation Regulations we live by. While frustration looms as the regulatory change process unfolds because of the time it takes, we must remember that it is an unfolding process and at least be thankful that the process allows and considers input. It’s also worth remembering that at the end of the day, everyone isn’t going to be made happy with the changes. Such is life!
[Read More...]
Tags:
FAA Final Rule
Flight Instructor Certificate
|
Feb
10
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
A few weeks ago, a longtime friend and fellow flight instructor reached out to me regarding a regulatory issue surrounding logging night vision goggles (NVG) and night flight time consecutively. Many in the NVG industry, including FAA staff, believe they are to be logged independently. However, this is not correct. It is indeed permissible to log NVG and night flight time consecutively, but don’t take my word for it. Please follow this link and scroll down the pages to Section #29. You’ll find the answer around the third paragraph of that section: [https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2009/08/21/E9-19353/pilot-flight-instructor-and-pilot-school-certification]
[Read More...]
Tags:
FAR Preambles
Flight Instruction
NIght Flight Goggles
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
|
Feb
03
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
For units of the New York Army National Guard, the year could not have started busier. In early May, Bravo Company of the 3-142nd Assault Helicopter Brigade (B. Co 3-142 AHB) deployed four Sikorsky UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters to Gulfport, Mississippi, to participate in the MARSOC 24-4 exercise. Meanwhile, Alpha Company of the 3-142 Assault Helicopter Brigade (A. Co 3-142 AHB) was deployed with four UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters and 45 personnel to Barbados to take part in the multinational exercise named “Tradewinds 24.” This annual exercise, organized by the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), took place from May 4 to May 16 with the participation of 25 countries. The focus during this 39th iteration of the exercise was mainly on improving interoperability and effectively executing both maritime and land operations, but it also dealt with humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Helicopter Bridage
MARSOC 24-4
New York Army National Guard Aviation Unit
Tradewinds 24
Categories:
Human Interest
Company Profiles
Opinion-Editorial
|
Jan
27
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
A few weeks ago, a longtime friend and fellow flight instructor reached out to me regarding a regulatory issue surrounding logging night vision goggles (NVG) and night flight time consecutively. Many in the NVG industry, including FAA staff, believe they are to be logged independently. However, this is not correct. It is indeed permissible to log NVG and night flight time consecutively, but don’t take my word for it. Please follow this link and scroll down the pages to Section #29. You’ll find the answer around the third paragraph of that section: [https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2009/08/21/E9-19353/pilot-flight-instructor-and-pilot-school-certification]
[Read More...]
Tags:
My T wo Cents Worth
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
|
Jan
20
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
This past year was a banner year for innovation in the rotor industry, with all kinds of exciting and new ideas moving from thought to physical reality. Here are some of the most stunning projects that crossed our desks this year!
[Read More...]
Tags:
Aurora Flight Services
Bell FLRAA Program
Loft Dynamics
Rotor Pro Best of 2024
Skyryse