Articles for tag Helicopter Maintenance
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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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May
23
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Growing up in the Deep South often meant when you turned 16 years old you went to work in the cotton mill, which was true for me. My mom, dad and sister all worked for the local cotton mill in one capacity or another. That wasn’t a bad thing. The mill provided dependable jobs for our community and had other benefits as well…company paid retirement and a company provided vacation destination with housing if desired.
The one thing I remember as a great employee incentive was the Zero-Defect award. The ZD award was given to deserving employees who achieved an established criteria and maintained excellence.
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Tags:
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
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Mar
30
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Balance is critical. It doesn’t matter if it’s the helicopters we fly and maintain, a person on a tightrope or just managing our everyday life. Maintaining balance is required if we are to continue to progress and minimize our limiting factors. We can take anything to the excess and quickly get out of balance. That’s why it is a good idea to have an accountability partner to help you see things that you may miss seeing yourself. The saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees” is accurate and sometimes briefly stepping away will clear one’s focus.
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Tags:
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Training
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Oct
04
2021
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Posted by Admin
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It was an ordinary day and I was having an ordinary lunch with my friend. Something we do each week to break up the day, share some laughs and conduct some business. Today, it was double patty melt day at our favorite hole in the wall restaurant. It is the hard-to-find, off the beaten path restaurant where everyone knows your name and you know them too. When the server returned with my friend’s patty melt, he quickly surveyed his sandwich and quipped, “Hey, you forgot to add mayo.” In one motion she whirled around and without hesitating she replied, “It’s not my responsibility to manage your sandwich.” He was left speechless, but I could not hold back my laughter.
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Tags:
Aviation Maintenance
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
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Jun
07
2021
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Posted by Admin
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It all began with a motivational poster bought from the trunk of a car. That poster hung on my bedroom wall for years, positioned so it would be the last thing I saw before going to sleep and the first thing I saw upon waking up. (No, I was not married at the time.) These seven words I saw and contemplated multiple times every day:
Change Your Thoughts and Change Your World.
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Tags:
Aircraft Maintenance
Helicopter Maintenance
Helicopter Mechanics
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Career Development
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May
17
2021
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Posted by Admin
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A myth is generally defined in this context as a widely held but false belief or idea. And when it comes to aircraft maintenance, a majority of aircraft owners and a smaller number of mechanics seem to thrive in that mythical maintenance world.
So pop in your copy of Magic Carpet Ride and let’s take a journey down the yellow brick flight line to unlock some of those long-held maintenance myths.
MYTH: The mechanic is responsible for maintaining the aircraft.
No. While a mechanic is responsible for the specific work they perform, in reality, it is the owner who is held responsible overall by the FAA for maintaining the aircraft in airworthy condition. The feds even conveniently stated that in black and white in FAR Part 91.403(a).
So if you think you get a pass on all regulatory maintenance infractions, you may want to think again and be more involved in the maintenance processes that take place on your aircraft.
And just when you think you have that myth resolved, the owner is also responsible for compliance with the requirements of Part 39, Airworthiness Directives. This is also stated in Part 91.403(a). So while your APIA may check for the actual AD compliance during every Annual inspection, the owner is the one who is accountable to the Man.
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Tags:
Helicopter Maintenance
Helicopter Mechanic Duties and Responsibilies
Helicopter Mechanic Liability
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Regulatory
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Apr
12
2021
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Posted by Admin
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I recall starting the day with excitement, yet nervous anticipation as my civilian helicopter maintenance career began. As a young man, I didn't have a taller-than-me stacked toolbox filled with every possible combination of tools one can imagine. What I had was a two-drawer portable toolbox that was stocked with the bare minimum. When my new boss and future mentor saw this, he asked, “What are you going to do with those plow tools?” By his raw honesty, he certainly succeeded in his intent to change my perspective. If I was going to be a professional aircraft mechanic, then I had to be equipped for the role.
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Tags:
Helicopter Industry Customer Service
Helicopter Industry Professionalism
Helicopter Maintenance
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Feb
08
2021
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Posted by Admin
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My first exposure to aviation began in the U.S. Air Force. When training in my chosen field was postponed, I was asked to crosstrain to a secondary career field. “We really need aircraft mechanics,” I was told. I readily agreed, and so the adventure began. Later, as a crew chief for the F16 Fighting Falcon, I quickly learned the importance of marshaling aircraft and the use of hand signals…flight controls-check, speed brake-check, stop, go, chock, and the aircraft salute. Little did I know at the time that these simple hand signals would become part of an especially important essential tool that we must use every day. We have already discussed the tool of integrity: doing the right thing, and the tool of commitment: the fuel for action. Let us now look at the essential tool of communication.
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Tags:
aircraft mechanics
Aviation Maintenance
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Career Development
Safety
Opinion-Editorial
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Oct
05
2020
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Posted by Admin
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Looking back, I recall the time just after separating from active duty with the U.S. Air Force. I was attending Alabama Aviation Technical College to obtain my Airframe and Powerplant certificate. It was during this time that I was hired at Fort Rucker by the helicopter maintenance contractor that supported U.S. military helicopter pilot training. One of the first requirements of this contractor was to have a minimum tools list. As a young man just out of the military, I did not own many tools nor could I afford to buy a lot. Taking my tools list, I drove to Sears to comply with the minimum, never dreaming that in the ensuing 39 years I would collect so many thousands of dollars in hand tools, special tools, precision tools and high-end toolboxes.
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Tags:
Airframe and Powerplant certificate
Alabama Aviation Technical College
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
U.S. military helicopter pilot training
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial