Articles for category Opinion-Editorial
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Oct
26
2026
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Posted by Admin
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With Rotor Pro being based in the United States, we work hard to ensure that our counterparts across the pond are adequately represented, especially given the region makes up one-fifth of the global market.
Europe’s rotorcraft landscape is going through one of its most pivotal transitional periods in modern aviation history. The sector stands at a crossroads, where urgent geopolitical realities on one flank meet an aggressive decarbonization agenda and technological transformation on the other.
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Categories:
Helicopter Event Coverage
Opinion-Editorial
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Oct
12
2026
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Posted by Admin
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Those that know me will tell you I am a card-carrying member of the weather-geek community. While I’m not one to study in-depth meteorology and never have been, I truly love weather products that help me safely and effectively do my job. A lot of people much smarter than me take care of weather forecasting; I simply like to know where to go and how to read that information and pass that knowledge on to others.
It is no shock that helicopter operations frequently occur in low-altitude, complex-terrain, and off-airport environments where certified meteorological visibility observations are sparse or unavailable. Conventional weather reporting systems, including automated weather observing systems (AWOS) and automated surface observing systems (ASOS), provide localized point measurements that may not accurately represent visibility conditions along helicopter flight routes, approach corridors, or in my case as an HAA Pilot, remote landing zones. I am always on the hunt for the next break-through that will provide insight, literally and figuratively when it comes to our low-level operating environment.
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Tags:
automated surface observing systems
automated weather observing systems
Visibility Tool APP
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Safety
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Sep
28
2026
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Posted by Admin
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Some pilots fly for work. Some fly for the love of it. And then there’s Sebastián Díaz — a Chilean aviator with over 9,000 total flight hours across helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and gliders.He flies to the most remote and unforgiving corners of the planet in conditions that can push any aircraft and crew to their limits.
Every year, between March and April, Sebastián organizes what has become one of the most extraordinary private helicopter expeditions in the world: a flight deep into Chilean Patagonia, pushing south until the continent simply runs out of land. This past season, a group of four Robinson helicopters — two R44s and two R66s — reached Cape Horn, the mystical southernmost tip of South America, where the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans collide in one of the most violent stretches of water on Earth.
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Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Company Profiles
Human Interest
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Aug
24
2026
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Posted by Admin
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Twenty-six years ago, I remember being in the cockpit of my S76C+ HEMS helicopter and marveling at the technology I had at my fingertips: twin FADEC engines, glass cockpit, and a four-axis autopilot. The helicopter could literally fly itself better than me. We still didn’t have NVGs, TAWS, HUMS, CVR, and all the other acronyms that would equate to aviation advancement like nothing our industry has ever seen.
Even though terms like uncrewed, drone, and UAS were not part of our vernacular back then, I remember having philosophical conversations with crewmembers around the lunch table pontificating on how someday, there would be computerized, unmanned aircraft that would be able to do our work, and most often, those conversations ended with, “That’ll never happen.”
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Tags:
drones and HAA
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Opinion-Editorial
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Jul
20
2026
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Posted by Admin
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“Preparedness is not about predicting tragedy. It is about respecting the moment when it arrives.”
The phone rang while I was driving my children home from school. Like many people in aviation leadership roles, I answered instinctively. The phone is always on. Calls can mean weather delays, maintenance concerns, crew changes, operational updates, or shifting schedules. In utility helicopter operations, problems rarely wait for convenient moments.
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Tags:
Aviation Accident Response
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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Jul
13
2026
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Posted by Admin
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Greg Edmonds is Kiwi to the core. The CEO of Salus Aviation, which has four locations in New Zealand, and operations in Boulder City, Nevada, and Pretoria, South Africa, proudly proclaims himself a “Kiwi” in the first few seconds of our interview in his native New Zealand accent. And why shouldn’t he? After all, he grew up in his nation’s capital city of Wellington, resides in its largest city, Auckland, and has a passion for its national sport of rugby, which he played in the past and still participates in on both amateur and professional levels.
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Tags:
Executive Watch
Greg Edmonds Salus Aviation
Categories:
Company Profiles
Opinion-Editorial
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Jun
29
2026
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Posted by Admin
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For decades, the rhythmic, thumping heartbeat of a helicopter rotor has been a sound of hope. Whether tracking a suspect through a darkened suburb, hoisting a stranded hiker from a crumbling cliffside, or rushing a critical patient to a trauma center, public safety aviation has relied on a singular, indispensable component: the human pilot.
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Editor Lyn Burks
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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Jun
22
2026
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Posted by Admin
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There is a hard truth in life and business that most people learn the slow way: some people are only close to you when they need something from you. The moment the need is gone, so are they.
The helicopter industry has more than its fair share of this type of person. Ours is an industry that likes to talk about relationships, trust, mentorship, and reputation. We describe it as a small community. We speak of loyalty, professionalism, and looking out for one another. We shake hands at events, share stories in convention halls, and talk as though this business is built on something deeper than opportunity. But if you stay in it long enough, you start to see another layer beneath all of that.
You begin to notice the people who call only when they need help, access, knowledge, influence, support or a favor. They know exactly where to find you when you can solve a problem, open a door, make an introduction, lend credibility, or help carry their load. In those moments, they act like you matter. They speak warmly. They remind you of your value. They praise your experience and your insight. They want your time, your energy, your reputation, and sometimes even your name next to theirs.
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Tags:
my two cents worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Apr
27
2026
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Posted by Admin
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As we move through 2026, the aviation industry continues to grapple with a complex workforce landscape. While fixed-wing airline pilot shortages often dominate headlines, the rotary-wing (helicopter) sector faces a unique set of challenges. Leading up to now, several converging factors created a "perfect storm" that has redefined the career path for helicopter pilots, leading to significant shifts in compensation and recruitment strategies.
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Tags:
2025-2026 Pilot Salary and Benefits Report
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Career Development
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Apr
20
2026
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Posted by Admin
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It is a familiar scene for me as a DPE: the well-prepared (hopefully, overprepared) applicant has all of their items out on the table and is anxiously ready to begin the practical test; their well-plotted cross-country is stowed away in their EFB, and when that portion of the oral exam begins, they are so proudly ready to show every painstaking detail that they have made in planning their cross-country. They have planned every detail down to the highest obstacle along the route, all of the classes of airspace or special-use airspace that they may transit during their cross-country, and then—BOOM—the discussion about weather comes up. I can't speak for all of my DPE colleagues across the country, but for me, this is particularly where I see a lot of deer in the headlights and a lot of word-salads.
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Tags:
DPE
EFB
rotorcraft checkride
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial