Author: Admin
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Sep
10
2018
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Posted by Admin
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In aviation, there are some topics that never seem to remain settled. For instance, does the responsibility for the inspection and maintenance of an aircraft fall to the owner/operator or the mechanic? Simple. The owner or operator.
However, this hierarchy still gets twisted around occasionally. The reasons vary on both sides of the fence. They range from simple misinformation or misinterpretation of the FARs to intentional motives in pursuit of an external agenda.
Follow along as we delve into the available guidance and provide a balanced, one-stop-shop approach to who’s in charge of maintaining an aircraft.
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Categories:
Regulatory
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Sep
04
2018
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am the director of maintenance for Haverfield Aviation in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Haverfield operates 23 MD-500 D and E models, one Garlick UH-1H, and one Delta Enterprises UH-60 A model Blackhawk. Haverfield Aviation is an innovative operator that utilizes its fleet to service the transmission power grid throughout the United States. Haverfield offers comprehensive visual inspections, demolition and construction, maintenance, OPGW support, aerial tree trimming, helicopter lift services, FLIR, and drone services.
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Aug
27
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Helicopter communications and flight tracking are becoming more reliable, consistent, and affordable; thanks to a multi-platform (cellular/radio/satellite) approach being taken by manufacturers and service providers alike. Here’s a sampling of what’s available today to keep helicopter pilots and their ground stations connected and constantly informed.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
Training
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Aug
20
2018
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Posted by Admin
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If the key to Success City is preparing oneself to take advantage of opportunities, then Kaman’s Senior Director of Business Development Roger Wassmuth has worn that master key to a nub. “Taking advantage of opportunities that presented themselves on my path pretty much got me to where I am today. I enjoyed most of the path that I took,” he circumspectly says.
The path has been no leisurely stroll down a meandering way, rather Wassmuth’s career path ascended to his senior position beginning at a fast and purposeful pace. The Columbus, Ohio, native—and proud Ohio State University Buckeyes fan—entered the military in 1978 directly out of high school, where he served as a Navy maintenance technician. He even honed his maintenance skills earlier as a boy in his father’s full-service gas station. (You may remember those now extinct establishments: service attendants wore ties, and usually a smile, as they checked your oil, belts, battery, and tires while topping off your tank.) The boy started out pulling weeds on the station’s lot and eventually worked his way up to performing repairs, tune-ups, and oil changes.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Human Interest
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Aug
13
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Even though I had arrived one and a half days earlier in Sesto Calende, Italy, I found myself in culture shock and jet lagged. On my first day in the Leonardo Training Academy classroom, we jumped right into the aircraft specifications and limitations at a swift pace after a short introduction by our ground school instructor Paolo Fracchia and the issuance of our Microsoft tablet and training materials.
When I realized the training bus was leaving the station and I better get on board and start taking notes, it took my brain at least 30 minutes to catch up. Then at the end of the first day, we were informed that at the conclusion of ground training there would be a 100-question closed-book exam, proctored by EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency). We would have to correctly answer 75 percent of the questions to continue training. My visions of gallivanting around Italy with my colleagues, drinking beer every night and dining on pasta, evaporated in an instant.
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Categories:
Training
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Aug
06
2018
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Posted by Admin
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A gentleman on my professional Facebook page, claimed a certain unit was “the best aviation unit in the world.” While we pilots often make strong claims, I got to thinking: What criteria would qualify a unit to be considered one of the best in the world?
Naturally, I immediately thought about the unit I served with in Vietnam from October 1968 to October 1969. We were the Black Widows of Charlie Company assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. I was Black Widow 25. When I arrived we were based at LZ Sally, 7 kilometers northwest of Hue. Several months later we moved to the air base at Hue Phu Bai.
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Jul
30
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Periodically, I have the privilege of assisting Part 135 operators with temporary management and training position services. My role may include providing instructor and/or check-pilot services for their Part 135 operating certificate. In many cases, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) inability to support an operator training and checking program is driven by their FAA inspector’s lack of experience and/or currency in the aircraft operated by the Part 135 certificate holder.
A few weeks ago, I was working with an operator to become their Part 135 instructor and check pilot. Following the guidance provided within FAA Order 8900.1, we requested an initial cadre approval and set the process to move forward. That letter was crafted and submitted in October 2017. Once our principal operations inspector (POI) received the request, we were notified that the office did not have adequate staff to conduct pilot proficiency checks in the requested aircraft make and model, so an FAA inspector from another office would conduct the checks.
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Categories:
Regulatory
Training
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Jul
24
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Here’s a tip to help troubleshoot a customer bleed air system. Different manufacturers have their own nomenclatures, but this is the system that takes hot engine bleed air and routes it for cabin heating, cooling turbines, particle separators, and the like.
On occasion, the bleed air problem only manifests itself when the aircraft is running. One way to check this without running an engine is to apply shop air to the aircraft bleed air system. The picture below is a work aid version used for Bell 212/412, MBB BO105, Bell 222/230, or any aircraft with a 209-type bleed air “deck” valve.
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Categories:
Training
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Jul
16
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Since tablet computers first became mainstream products, electronic flight bag (EFB) solutions have developed some critical mass also in the domain of helicopter operations. Multiple helicopter operators all over the world have, to some extent, implemented EFBs, and a decrease in the use of paper-based flight deck documentation is being witnessed.
At CHC, EFB solutions were first introduced in the U.K. in 2014 and have since expanded across its global operations. “Our EFBs include all necessary flight information, including operations manuals, weather information, and helideck data and approach information that is easily accessible at the fingertips of flight crews via iPad”, says Dave Balevic, CHC’s senior vice president of engineering and operations. “They include our operation flight planning system (OFPS), which has been used to plan more than 100,000 flights across our fleet. Our OFPS is made in-house, with extensive input and direction from our pilots and is currently on its fifth generation as we work to constantly improve it and make it a more efficient tool.”
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Categories:
Training
Safety
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Jul
16
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Two years ago I posted an article to LinkedIn entitled, “What We Get Wrong!” At the time I didn’t realize how that it would resonate with many people either transitioning out of the military or those that had. So after two years, I decided to write a follow up to it. Once again I asked a few chief pilots and helicopter industry human resource recruiters for their thoughts on what military pilots get right and what they enjoy about them. The following is an overview, in no specific order, of military veterans’ positive attributes.
When given a task they complete it. Former military members are very mission oriented. They understand what needs to be done to get the job done; when tasks are complete they offer assistance and jump in to help others with others tasks, even if it means sweeping the hangar.
When declining a position, they are very courteous and don’t burn bridges. Taking the extra minute to let someone know you have decided to take another job somewhere else in a gracious manner is well received an appreciated. For example, “Thank you for the opportunity to work for your company, but I have found a position with another company that I think I am a better fit for.” That is better received than “I’m not going to work here and found something else that pays better,” or just blowing them off.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors