Author: Admin
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Sep
12
2022
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Posted by Admin
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“I never really thought I’d have the title “Vice President” in front of my name. Coming out of the Army as basically an A&P mechanic, I never really thought my career would reach this level; it’s a pretty daunting responsibility to be honest,” says Vice President Kip McDermott of night vision leader Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) in Boise, Idaho. His current responsibilities seem daunting for sure: working with government regulators all over the world, writing test plans, certification plans, and wrangling designated engineering representatives (DERs) up for engineering reports, overseeing a Part 145 repair station along with ASU’s Part 135 and Part 141 flight operations groups, as well as being responsible for supplemental type certificate (STC) certification and ASU’s highly regarded night vision goggle (NVG) lab would “daunt” any executive, but McDermott is confident he can handle his lengthy list. If he loses his grip, he says there’s help, “The saving grace of it all is that I’ve got good guys I’m working with; I don’t have to micromanage them (I’ve never been a micromanager and will never be.) They make my job easier; if I drop something, they pick it up.”
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Tags:
Aviation Specialites Unlimited
Executive Watch
Kip McDermott ASU
RotorPro Executive Watch
Categories:
Company Profiles
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Sep
08
2022
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Posted by Admin
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The Mesa, Arizona helicopter manufacturer, emerges from bankruptcy ready to stabilize and support customers with an eye on future growth.
Brad Pedersen, the newly announced president of MD Helicopters LLC, is no-nonsense regarding the company's future. After three years of working through a bankruptcy process with a compilation of companies, Pedersen said that MD Helicopters is ready to focus on its core business – the customers and after-market support. The 35-year aerospace veteran said that the company is financially strong, and the bankruptcy was a collateralized loan fund that included ownership of several companies. It wasn't a bankruptcy borne of poor financial management.
By Jennifer Ferrero
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Tags:
Brad Pedersen
MD 500
MD 530F
MD Helicopter New Ownership
MD Helicopters New Leadership
MD Helicopters President Brad Pedersen
Categories:
Helicopter Event Coverage
Company Profiles
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Sep
05
2022
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Posted by Admin
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More than 10 million people viewed Phoenix TV station footage of an injured hiker spinning uncontrollably in a helicopter rescue basket three years ago, after one of the two stabilization ropes broke and the helicopter's rotor wash wildly rotated the litter for more than a minute.
While the rotations didn't injure the woman and the viral video spawned countless humorous memes, the woman didn't think it was too funny. She sued the City of Phoenix and won a $450,000 settlement.
Such violent spinning can lead to much, much worse outcomes. Caleb Carr knows this all too well.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Search and Rescue Baskets
Vita Inclinita Rescue System
Vita Rescue System
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Aug
29
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Beginning with this issue, our vertical lift industry media company Rotorcraft Pro, will rebrand itself to be Rotor Pro in order to broaden its horizons in an evolving industry.
The word “Rotorcraft” in our current brand has served us well for more than a decade, but the industry is rapidly changing and it’s too narrow a focus when considering aircraft advances such as powered-lift, eVTOL, unmanned, and urban air mobility.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Editor Lyn Burks
Rotorcraft Pro
RotorPro
Categories:
Company Profiles
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Aug
22
2022
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Posted by Admin
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One word is frequently repeated amongst Bell leaders about the V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft they are building for the U.S. Army: transformational.
"It is a leap ahead, not a step ahead," said Terry Horner, director of government relations at Bell and a retired Army chief instructor pilot. "We're seeing right now in world events why these new capabilities are important."
Bell is competing against a Sikorsky-Boeing team for the right to build the military's next-gen medium helicopter. The Army is the lead branch on the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program to develop that helicopter. While Bell is fielding its V-280 Valor in the competition, Sikorsky-Boeing is offering its compound Defiant X with a coaxial rotor system and pusher propeller. Both competitors say their prototypes can fly twice as fast and far as the UH-60 Black Hawk they are seeking to replace. The Army is likely to choose the winner this year and wants its new aircraft operational by 2030.
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Tags:
Bell Military Next Gen Helicopter
Defiant X
Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA)
Sikorsky-Boeing military next-gen helicopter
V-280 Valor
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Opinion-Editorial
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Aug
16
2022
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Posted by Admin
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As helicopter owners, pilots, and mechanics we must consistently be advocates for safety and always meet or exceed the standards. Personal safety and prevention of equipment damage are of utmost importance. The number one concern in the aviation business today is the rising cost of insurance. The rapid rise in insurance is directly due to injuries and equipment damaged.
So, how do we mitigate the risk thereby decreasing premiums? Here are some simple and basic measures that will aid your flight and maintenance operations in keeping safety as the top priority.
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Tags:
Aviation Maintenance
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Aug
08
2022
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Posted by Admin
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We’ve all been there: an urgent mission to rescue wounded or dying personnel, or have undergone surge operations in a lengthy campaign against high value that taxes personnel and machines. These scenarios place military aircrews and maintenance personnel in potentially hazardous positions of increased risk and challenging conditions. In these cases, the risk is often assumed by our superiors; sometimes they waive the rules altogether. Teams vow to never leave a fallen comrade and fly until the job is finished, or they operate in hazardous conditions because lives are at stake. Maintainers work extended hours with little rest to keep the machines flying. The actual or perceived pressures to complete these missions are very real. In combat, it may be OK to risk an aircraft and crew to save one life. Organizations have mottos such as “So others may live” or use terms such as “no-fail mission.”
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Tags:
Military to Civilian Helicopters
Military to Civilian Transition
Categories:
Career Development
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Aug
01
2022
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Posted by Admin
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What is your current position?
I am chief pilot at the Lee County Mosquito Control District (LCMCD). Our team of pilots operate a fleet of both fixed-wing and helicopters that currently consists of two DC-3TPs, two King Air 200s and six Airbus H-125 helicopters. LCMCD is the largest single-county mosquito control agency in the country and we fly a variety of missions from daytime liquid and granular treatments to nighttime ultra-low volume treatments with the use of NVGs.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Lee County Mosquito Control Aviation Unit
Thurbie Botterill
Categories:
Human Interest
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Jul
25
2022
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Posted by Admin
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When it comes to developing cleaner, greener propulsion systems for helicopters, the industry’s original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are going green. “Helicopters account for less than 1% of global CO2 emissions but there are still ways that we can reduce that figure,” said Luca Cossetti, an innovative power solutions specialist with Airbus Helicopters. “We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint to get closer to the end goal of net-zero CO2 emissions.”
“Aviation, including the helicopter market, is under substantial pressure to progress its sustainability initiatives with more efficient engines and airframes,” added Nicolas Chabée, vice president of Sales & Marketing (Helicopter) with Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC). “Our priorities include designing more efficient engines with reduced fuel consumption and ensuring our customers know that their P&WC engines can fly on up to 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from sources such as used cooking oil and algae.”
[Read More...]
Categories:
Regulatory
Helicopter Sectors
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Jul
18
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Another aviation team that bolsters the city and its surroundings is the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) Air Support/Search and Rescue Section. Director Steve Morris, says that the unit’s mission is clear: Provide air support to all sections of the department and any concurrent jurisdictions within Clark County. Their law enforcement helicopter operations date back to 1969 when the City of Las Vegas Police purchased and operated a Hughes 300. In 1973, the Las Vegas PD and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office merged and became the unit it is today. In the decades since then the program has flown Hughes 300, MD 500 (C,D,E), and two retired Air Force Bell HH-1H Hueys. Today, the unit flies one Airbus H145 in search and rescue configuration and three MD 530FFs in LE configuration.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Airbus H145 SAR
Churchill ARS 700 georeferenced moving map system
Goodrich hoisting
Helionix
inserting tactical teams
L3 Wescam MX-10 camera/sensor
Las Vegas Metro Police Air Support
law enforcement helicopter operations
MD530 FF LE Configuration
sling loading
synthetic vision cockpit technology
the aircraft and tactical flight officer (TFO)
Categories:
Company Profiles