Author: Admin
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Jan
07
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Seven years ago I was invited to speak at my first Helisuccess Career Development Seminar and Job Fair and was literally blown away by the experience. This year’s event was no different and I can say it gets better and better each year. This year we had 13 speakers covering 16 topics and $4,000 given away in scholarship money.
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Categories:
Career Development
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Dec
31
2018
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Posted by Admin
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The United States Helicopter Safety Team (www.USHST.org), a cooperative effort between industry and government, continues to promote safety and reduce civil helicopter accidents and fatalities nationwide. The team was formed in 2013 as a regional partner within the International Helicopter Safety Team (www.IHST.org) and has become a worldwide leader in improving safe helicopter operations.
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Categories:
Safety
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Dec
31
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Chief Warrant Officer 3 Taylor Galvin in Baghdad, Iraq, died earlier this year as a result of injuries sustained when his helicopter crashed in Sinjar, in Iraq’s Nineveh Province. Galvin’s helicopter crashed while conducting a partnered counterterrorism mission in support of the Operation Inherent Resolve coalition to defeat the Islamic State, according to a U.S. Central Command statement.
A decorated Vietnam veteran died earlier this year while piloting his personal helicopter. Schwarz was a commercial pilot, who had a love of flying.
Henry E. Schwarz was the president of the Virginia Helicopter Association prior to his passing. In his earlier years Schwarz was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot who served in the Vietnam War. He led more than 100 combat air assaults and received 29 medals for performance and service to the country. He was also a member of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society and a member of the Wilbur Wright Chapter, National Capital Region.
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Dec
24
2018
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: Tell me about your first flight.
It was a J3 Cub. I was 8 or 9 years old and my dad took me out to a grass airstrip where plane rides were sold. After the pilot put me in the seat he started untying the airplane and when he got to the rear of the plane he lifted up the tail and started shaking it acting like the plane was going to take off It wasn’t even running yet, but I grabbed the stick and yelled, “Let her go!”
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Categories:
Company Profiles
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Dec
17
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Anyone who’s ever traveled in the western United States, has come face to face with the great Rocky Mountains. They’re formidable. They’re hard. They’re rugged. Such are the characteristics of the people it takes to run a helicopter business in and around those beautiful, yet unforgiving rocks.
Mark Taylor is chief pilot and co-owner of Rocky Mountain Rotors (RMR). After hearing his journey, I view him as a living testimony to what happens when the school of hard knocks crosses paths with perseverance and a little bit of luck.
Taylor began at Silver State Helicopters as a Robinson R22 pilot. He now owns and operates a full-service helicopter operation utilizing the R22, R44, Bell 206, 407, and 429. The gregarious and charismatic aviator is a horseman and a hunter. At the end of my first day with him, he asked, “Do you like beer?” I knew we were going to get along just fine. We enjoyed an amazing Salmon Fly ale from Madison River Brewery that concluded Day One on a high note.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
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Dec
04
2018
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Posted by Admin
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I’ve been privileged to fly in different countries around the world. You gain a perspective on the good, bad, and ugly of our aviation system here in the United States. With that said, I haven’t been anywhere outside of the U.S. where opportunity for all citizens to experience aviation is more available than here in the States. You are not excluded from aviation, because of your gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or any other differentiating factor. Additionally, many physically challenged persons find themselves successful in aviation as well.
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Categories:
Career Development
Training
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Nov
26
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Crew Resource Management (CRM) gives us the tools to make safe, prudent decisions; it’s something I wish I’d had while flying a JetRanger on a seismic survey contract in Papua New Guinea. Knowing what could hurt me would have prevented my nearly being eaten by a huge crocodile.
Mike Keith, a pilot with me on contract, and I (stupidly) agreed to go crocodile hunting at midnight with two line cutters Russ and Tom Dooley. I should have known to say no; a week earlier; Russ had thrown a 16-foot python in the back seat of my aircraft in a burlap sack.
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Categories:
Safety
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Nov
11
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Probably the first thing noticed in this article’s photos are the paint jobs on Ecocopter’s H125 helicopters, Much of their artwork is admired on social media for its intriguing and avant-garde style, but the fact is that operator Ecocopter, is intriguing and avant-garde itself.
Ecocopter is a Chilean company born 15 years ago with the vision of providing a different type of service in their region of the world. Born with a single helicopter, they were pioneers, providing the first EC130B4 in Chile for private use. As changes occurred, especially in the mining sector, they began to provide air services to industry. Then, after having success, an AS350B3 was purchased. After the aerial sector for industry continued to grow, the next logical step was to buy four helicopters to start Ecocopter’s fleet.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
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Nov
11
2018
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Posted by Admin
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I was a full-time municipal firefighter 20 years ago, while at the same time flying helicopters on my days off. In 1999, I was offered a job as a pilot flying helicopter air ambulance (HAA.) It seemed a perfect fit as I not only had experience treating patients in the streets and setting up HAA landing zones, but I was a local pilot with significant experience.
In in the life of an HAA call, there are two major decision points that are singular moments that can change the arc of history. The first moment is when the pilot must decide whether or not to launch. When everything’s normal, (i.e., weather, crew, and maintenance) the decision’s easy; you launch. The second moment happens when en route and some part of the flight begins to degrade. The pilot finds himself at a crossroad: keep going or turn around and head back to base?
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Categories:
Safety
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Nov
05
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Military helicopters are always advancing in the range of missions served and the technology being developed to support them. Here is what five of the world’s top military helicopter manufacturers are doing to keep up.
Airbus Helicopters Pushes Ahead With Lakota Trainer Deliveries
Airbus Helicopters’ U.S. factory in Columbus, Mississippi, is manufacturing for deployment at the U.S. Army’s helicopter training centers 35 UH-72A Lakotas, which are the military version of Airbus Helicopter’s H145. They are being built under a $273 million U.S. Army contract signed with Airbus in March 2018. Seventeen of the UH-72As will be sent to Fort Rucker, Alabama, for training entry-level helicopter pilots. Eighteen more will be deployed to the Army’s Combat Training Centers, for training observers/controllers.
This purchase comes after the U.S. Army had already bought 155 UH-72As to replace its 181 TH-67 Creek training helicopters, which are based on the Bell 206B-3. (At present, both helicopters are being used as trainers.) The Army also has more than 412 UH-72As in its fleet serving as light utility helicopters.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors