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Mar
24
2025
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Posted 3 days ago ago by Admin
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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.
RPMN: How did you get your start in the helicopter industry?
After flight training, I was employed as a pipeline patrol pilot. I planned on visiting the area and an instructor at the flight school I was at put me in touch with a pilot working at Chesapeake Bay Helicopters. During my visit I only anticipated saying hello, but it turned into an interview then and there. I remember getting my CFI on Thursday and had a job offer on Friday. The following Wednesday I was a working pilot flying a Schweizer. I was familiar with the aircraft as I used it for training, and we also flew two pilots. One would take the role as an observer while the other flew. I quickly transitioned to the MD500, flying power-line patrol and from there I moved on to performing external load on power lines.
RPMN: When and how did you choose the helicopter industry? Or did it choose you?
I initially thought all helicopter pilots came from the military, which I did try. While serving in the Parachute Regiment, we would work a lot with the RAF and I would always talk to the pilots.
I started looking at flight schools in 2004 and visited flight schools in Australia, Canada, Scotland and the USA. I picked Florida in the U.S.; the weather was fantastic.
I was, at the time, in a high paying job doing security and my initial plan was to start flight training in 2006. I kept putting it off because of the money in my then-job that I didn’t want to give up. I was also enjoying the job. I had one close call too many, this one resulted in actual medical treatment, and I could see my mother and friends were really upset about it. So, I decided to make the plan happen in 2009. I did not return to security work.
RPMN: Where did you get your start flying or maintaining professionally?
I started at Chesapeake Bay helicopters flying pipeline patrols and then moving onto power-line patrols in the MD500 and Bell 206. From there I moved to Air 2, which is where I cut my teeth at external loads. I had a fantastic time there and had some great people around me from all different aspects of power-line aviation. After Air 2, I worked at a few great places. I helped others with training, and I have settled in at Winco Powerline Services and am still enjoying it.
RPMN: If you were not in the helicopter industry, what else would you see yourself doing?
Probably still working in the security industry, but I really can’t imagine not flying.
RPMN: What do you enjoy doing on your days off?
When I get days off at work I like to hike, ski, snowboard, kayak, explore a new city, take one of the double decker bus tours if available. When I am at home, I like spending time with my family, cooking a good meal, going for a run, and helping the kids with homework.
RPMN: What is your greatest career accomplishment to date?
Successfully vectoring in two helicopter air ambulances that were direly needed and had the wrong co-ordinates. In January 2024, we were on a job in Florida; myself and the crew witnessed a crane falling with two linemen in the basket above. I believe they fell just over 100 feet. We treated them as best as we could, but they were in really bad shape. One of the crew members was tracking the helicopter air ambulances and we could tell they were going in the wrong direction. I managed to convince the incident commander from the fire department to give me his radio and I gave them a vector to our location. They showed up less than 10 minutes later and the injured linemen were rushed away to the hospital. Both lived and I am very thankful for the crew and everything that went right that day.
RPMN: Have you ever had an “oh, crap” moment in helicopters? Can you summarize what happened?
I was performing a Class C external-load side pulling. We utilize this method to pull wire between structures so that a power line can be installed.
I was halfway through the pull when I heard the rotor RPM increasing. I stopped and also stopped the pull, and tried to beep the RPM down the incr/dncr switch on the collective; this only slowed the increase slightly. I gave out a radio call that I was jettisoning the load; I then released the load and rolled off the throttle, I then slowly lowered the collective as the RPM was very high. It was like a hover auto from about 50 feet. The aircraft landed with no damage. The fuel control and the governor were changed the next day, and the aircraft was returned to service. Looking back, the aircraft was giving me signs that the governor was on its way out. For the previous three days, I was manipulating the governor with the incr/dncr switch a lot more than usual.
RPMN: If you could give only one piece of advice to new pilots, mechanics, or support personnel, what would it be?
This is a great industry: get out there and get involved, meet people, always keep learning. Attend events like Verticon, as it’s a great place to meet people in the industry.
RPMN: In your view, what is the greatest challenge for the helicopter industry at this moment in time?
Workforce development: 10 years ago, a job advertisement for my particular field would have been a group-text message. The position would have been filled the next day. Now, it is more than word of mouth;, all companies must advertise job postings because pilots and mechanics are not available.
I tell people if you have three out of five of the listed requirements, go for it. What the companies want and what they get can be two very different things. We would much rather hire a trainable pilot with a great attitude versus a turnkey pilot with a questionable attitude.
It’s up to everyone, and it's up to companies to train and mentor new hires. Invest in them, so you get a return on your investment.
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