|
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
|
Jan
13
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
RPMN: What is your current position?
Director of maintenance for Helicopter Institute and Longhorn Helicopters. We are a Part 141 flight school, a Part 135 operator, a Part 145 repair station, and maintain just over 20 rotorcraft representing, at one time, five different manufacturers in-house. Helicopter Institute functions as a one-stop shop for pretty much any training need folks can have in rotorcraft aviation. If it’s done in a helicopter, we do it or train it.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Austin Rowles
Director Of Maintenance
Helicopter Institute
Categories:
Human Interest
|
Jan
07
2025
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
Helicopters play a pivotal role in the energy sector, offering unique advantages for construction, inspection, and maintenance tasks. Their versatility, speed, and ability to access hard-to-reach locations make them indispensable in supporting energy infrastructure projects, particularly in remote or challenging environments.
Winco Powerline Services (owned by parent company Quanta Services) bills itself as a power-line construction specialist. But before we dive into the details of this 33-year-old, highly specialized helicopter operator, let’s take a high-level look at how helicopters are used in the broader energy sector.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
|
Dec
27
2024
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
“Every day has hopefully my biggest failure in store… I look at failure differently from many people.” says Taylor Wylie, COO of Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing (AEM) a communication avionics manufacturer whose business is over 90% for and from helicopters. He is the first executive I recall profiling who actually likes failure. Yes, he sees failure, he says, “differently.” In fact, we will see Wylie relishes in unconventional thinking and he says that different thinking has been a key to his successful career. But what about his hopes for big failures? Notice those three little ellipses in his quote (…); they are employed so frequently, especially in political ads and movie promotions, they often go unnoticed. The words those three little dots hold the key: “with the opportunity to learn big things from that failure.” So, he embraces failure as a beneficial teacher.
[Read More...]
Tags:
COO of Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing (AEM)
Executive Watch
Taylor Wylie
|
Dec
23
2024
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
As we close another remarkable year, it’s clear that 2024 has been pivotal for the helicopter industry. From technological breakthroughs to shifts in market demands, this year has showcased the resilience and innovation that define our industry. In this Editor’s Letter, I’d like to highlight some of the key developments shaping the rotorcraft world today.
First and foremost, sustainability has taken center stage. With global aviation under increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact, the helicopter industry is accelerating its push toward greener technologies. Hybrid-electric propulsion systems and hydrogen fuel cells have moved beyond prototypes, with several manufacturers conducting successful test flights this year. These advancements promise to reduce carbon emissions significantly and align with international goals for sustainable aviation.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Helicopter Industry 2025
Rotorcraft Industry 2025
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
|
Dec
16
2024
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
Once upon a time, AI (artificial intelligence) was just a buzzword for all that was new, cool, and impossible in technology — but no longer. “AI is having an impact on the drone and helicopter industries today,” said Clint Church, chief engineer with Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing subsidiary that specializes in special-purpose uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). “AI is enabling remote operation of uncrewed aircraft, such as small UAS and military air vehicles,” he told Rotor Pro. “It is also enabling more efficient data collection for use cases such as infrastructure inspection and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. AI is also a significant area of investment in research and development. These investments are driving growth across our industry”
“AI is having an impact on the helicopter industry — not just our products, but many of our company processes,” echoed Mattia Cavanna, Leonardo Helicopters’s VP for technology and innovation. “So the short answer is: AI is not just a buzzword; it’s making a real difference.” The new question is, how much difference can AI actually make?
[Read More...]
Tags:
Artificial Intelligence in Helicopters
UAS
uncrewed aerial systems
VTOL
|
Dec
09
2024
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
The aviation industry has consistently been a beacon of technological innovation that leads to greater safety, efficiency, and capabilities in air travel. Helicopter aviation, a crucial branch of this industry, is now experiencing a profound transformation thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). From predictive maintenance to autonomous navigation, AI is revolutionizing operations in ways that would have been considered science fiction only a decade ago.
[Read More...]
Tags:
AI and helicopters
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
|
Dec
02
2024
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
For over five years, the capital city of Yerevan has been home to Armenian Helicopters, the sole commercial helicopter operator in the republic of Armenia. With two Airbus H125s and one Robinson R66 in service, the company is serving a market in an unstable region. Reporter Sven van Roij spoke to company CEO Arsen Manukyan on his company’s unique business opportunities, financial challenges, and changes in the customer market.
After working as a supervisor at the Central Bank of Armenia, Arsen Manukyan continued his career at the Armenian Ministry of Finance. He said, “After the Ministry of Finance, I worked as a chief of staff in the Civil Aviation Committee (CAC) of the Republic of Armenia, a governmental organization, responsible for aviation in all of Armenia. Whilst working in the CAC, an investor and our founding father, Karen Vardanyan, informed me he was willing to establish a company that would operate helicopter operations on a commercial basis. We started to support him and established Armenian Helicopters in February of 2018.” The company was – and still is – unique to the country. Never before had a civilian helicopter operator been established in Armenia.”
[Read More...]
|
Nov
25
2024
|
|
Posted by Admin
|
|
RPMN: What is your current position?
I'm the President of the “Vuichard Recovery Aviation Safety Foundation” (VRASF.org). We're a non-profit organization and I'm proud to serve as an international helicopter safety expert, keynote speaker, flight instructor, and producer of new safety videos to improve global helicopter safety. In Switzerland, I also run a small flight school for advanced training, including mountain ratings.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Claude Vuichard
global helicopter safety
Vuichard Recovery Aviation Safety Foundation
Vuichard recovery technique
Categories:
Human Interest