Articles for tag Meet A Rotor Pro
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Jul
15
2024
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I’m a helicopter air ambulance (HAA) pilot for Metro Aviation, assigned to the Tampa General Hospital Program in Punta Gorda, Florida. Our base operates an EC135P2+ as our primary aircraft and a Bell407GX as our backup.
RPMN: Tell me about your first experience with helicopters.
I was around 15 years old, sitting in the backseat of my parent's car, which was at a standstill in a line of traffic, due to a major car accident. I vividly recall observing a helicopter landing on the highway to airlift a patient. As the helicopter ascended and departed the scene, I was struck by a profound sense of purpose, realizing at that exact moment that my future ambition was to become a medical helicopter pilot.
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Danielle Fuller
Meet A Rotor Pro
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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May
27
2024
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am the owner and president of Five-Alpha LLC. I also serve as the infrastructure advisor to the Vertical Flight Society and am the technical committee chair to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 418 Standard for Heliports and Vertiports. Some of the other volunteer hats I have worn during my career include board member and president of the National EMS Pilots Association (NEMSPA), board member and president of the Indiana Association of Air Medical Services (INAAMS), co-chair of the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team Infrastructure Working Group just to name a few.
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Five-Alpha LLC
INAAMS
Meet A Rotor Pro
NEMSPA
Rex Alexander
USHST
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Mar
11
2024
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Posted by Admin
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What is your current position?
I currently work as the assistant chief helicopter pilot at Tampa Bay Aviation. Tampa Bay Aviation is the largest helicopter flight school in the area; we have four locations across the bay (KCLW, KPIE, KSPG, and KVDF). Tampa Bay Aviation offers Part 141 and Part 61 courses from private through CFI, and CFII and ATP Part 61. We also work with the VA, so we can accommodate veterans as well. We are one of the largest fixed-wing and helicopter flight schools on Florida’s west coast. I also work as a part-time ENG pilot for Sky Helicopters, and a part-time charter pilot and check airman for Skyway Aviation.
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Joshua Montour Tampa Bay Aviation
Meet A Rotor Pro
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Opinion-Editorial
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Jan
29
2024
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am currently a standardization pilot for the factory training department, as well as a production test pilot with MD Helicopters LLC in Mesa Arizona. We specialize in initial and recurrent advanced emergency procedure training in all MD airframes as well as maintenance test pilot courses. It’s the absolute dream job, as I get to work with pilots in such a multifaceted industry. There aren't a great number of MD Pilots in the world, but every single one of them brings something significant to the table and are absolute powerhouse in their career field and I'm lucky to get to fly and learn from a great number of them.
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CJ Schneider
MD Helicopters
Meet A Rotor Pro
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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Dec
04
2023
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am an associate director at Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) in helicopter marketing, and my function includes program management. I’m responsible for all interactions between certain helicopter OEMs and P&WC. My role is exciting because I have a wide breadth of responsibility: everything from the tactical (deliveries, quality, etc.) to the strategic (new products, new technologies) to the relationship with my OEMs.
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Meet A Rotor Pro
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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May
22
2023
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
My dream job: experimental test pilot and instructor pilot for The Boeing Company in Mesa, Arizona. I primarily fly the AH-64E Apache and AH-6 Little Bird but I get to fly other helicopters and airplanes too, which provides lots of variety. The flight tests we conduct range from benign testing (new radios, software upgrades, etc.) to exciting experimental tests including weapons firing, testing new rotor blades and things of that nature. I work with a great group of pilots and support staff, which truly makes this my dream job. Besides, I do not know many civilian pilots that get to shoot miniguns off helicopters; I consider myself fortunate. On the side, I am also an FAA designated pilot examiner (DPE) in helicopters for private pilot through initial CFI certificates. Arizona’s great weather makes this area perfect for year-round flying so naturally there is a concentration of flight schools. The other FAA authorizations I have allow me to do special medical flight tests, military competency activities, foreign pilot license conversions and a few other things. I am active in local aviation organizations including being an FAA Safety Team representative, I am a co-chair for the annual HAI Heli-Expo Military to Civilian Transition Workshop and I work as an expert witness for aircraft accident lawsuits.
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Boeing Helicopters
helicopter experimental test pilot
helicopter instructor pilot
Meet A Rotor Pro
Scott Tinnesand
Categories:
Human Interest
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Mar
16
2023
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
My current position with Skyhunter Outfitters and Semper Fly Helicopters is CEO and pilot. I am a CFII and also an A&P mechanic so I help maintain our helicopter. Skyhunter offers helicopter hog hunting along the Texas/Oklahoma border as well as night thermal hunts on the ground. Semper Fly Helicopters does tours of Broken Bow Lake, Oklahoma, customizable tours, and skydiving events. I am working on solidifying a Part 135 so we can offer charters. We also do a lot of work with veterans and first responders and try to donate hunts and host events to raise money for them.
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Meet A Rotor Pro
Categories:
Human Interest
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Jan
23
2023
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Posted by Admin
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RP: What is your current position?
I am the assistant director of operations for Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters. We are the world’s largest and longest-operating helicopter tour company with 57 years of experience. Papillon currently operates a fleet of 47 helicopters, including Bell 206Ls, Airbus AS350B3es and EC130B4/T2s, and an MD 900. We employ over 60 pilots in seven locations across Nevada and Arizona. In addition to tours, we also have a robust utility division with helicopters working on contracts anywhere from Alaska to Florida.
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Meet A Rotor Pro
Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters
Tyler Carver
Categories:
Career Development
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Nov
21
2022
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am a single-pilot IFR HAA Line Pilot, Part 135 check airman, instructor, and FOQA gatekeeper for Metro Aviation, and a designated pilot examiner (DPE) for the FAA. I also remain active as a sworn law enforcement (LE) officer flying on a part-time basis for a sheriff's office.
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Matt Johnson Metro Aviation
Meet A Rotor Pro
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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Sep
26
2022
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I recently retired as the Aviation Section captain for the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Orlando, Florida. The Section has four helicopters, one fixed-wing aircraft, and 24 full-time personnel consisting of pilots, flight observers and mechanics. There are additional part-time personnel available on an as-needed basis.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight or experience with helicopters.
My first flight in a helicopter was when I was assigned as an A-4 plane captain with VMA-131 in the U.S. Marine Corps. We flew on a CH-53 from Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Pennsylvania to Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. It was a fantastic experience. The pilots were Vietnam veterans who truly enjoyed their work and took time to explain what they were doing as well as how the systems operated on the aircraft. From that point on I was hooked on becoming a pilot.
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Tags:
Meet A Rotor Pro
Orange County Sheriffs Aviation Unit
Tony Minnis
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest