Articles for category Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
07
2015
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Posted by Admin
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With over 24 years of experience, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity has achieved a strong reputation for delivering the very best pre-hospital emergency care to patients across the Midlands region of the United Kingdom (UK). From just one Bolkow 105 helicopter flying out of a temporary airbase in Shropshire, to three state-of-the-art EC135 helicopters serving the largest air ambulance region in England with a population of in excess of 6 million people, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity certainly has come a long way since 1991.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Company Profiles
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Nov
16
2015
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Posted by Admin
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HAITI
That simple, short two-syllable word immediately brings to mind another two-syllable word—EARTHQUAKE. However, the ramifications and repercussions from that tragic event were not short and simple. Even today, more than five years after the 7.0 MW catastrophic quake ruptured rocks—and lives— the reverberations continue.
Yet, it would be another tragedy to still see Haiti through the images of misery and mayhem that flooded the news media those years ago. For out of that rubble and ruin, forces arose more powerful than past casualties and chaos. Those forces: restored lives and hope. Yes, Haiti is still the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with many problems to solve. However, its proud people are anything but poor in spirit. They are determined to climb to new heights—in new ways.
One new way they are reaching those heights is through Ayiti Air Anbilans (Haiti Air Ambulance), a nonprofit organization that arose out of the 2010 rubble. In North America helicopter air ambulance is often taken for granted. In Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, it is seen as something to fight for and cherish.
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Categories:
Training
Helicopter Sectors
Company Profiles
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Oct
26
2015
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Posted by Admin
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When it comes to training new helicopter pilots, the world’s military organizations are increasingly looking to third-party vendors for help. Choosing an outside organization, rather than doing training in-house, can help cash-strapped militaries exchange the cost of buying and maintaining their own training fleets for predictable fixed fees. Third-party contractors can also provide training in highly specialized areas that are just not cost-effective for militaries to provide for themselves.
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Categories:
Training
Helicopter Sectors
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Oct
20
2015
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Posted by Admin
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It’s known as The Graveyard of the Pacific and the infamous name fits. Since records have been kept, its treacherous waves, winds, fog, and currents have claimed more than 2,000 ships and 700 lives. It is where a river intent on disgorging its contents clashes with a massive ocean determined not to yield to the lesser water. A titanic fight ensues in never-ending combat: The river spews out water and sediments while the ocean lashes back, trying to invade the river with a fury that belies its tranquil name. It’s the Columbia River Bar, and it takes a special breed of not only boat pilots—but also helicopter pilots—to safely navigate through this natural war.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Training
Safety
Helicopter Sectors
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Sep
14
2015
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Posted by Admin
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If you are a helicopter pilot trained by the U.S. military, you have flown a Bell Helicopter. No other helicopter manufacturer played such a crucial, in-depth role in training military helicopter pilots. For nearly 70 years, Bell Helicopter (formerly Bell Aircraft Company) has supported the U.S. vertical-lift warfighter with a safe, efficient, and predictable training fleet. To this day, every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces uses a Bell helicopter as their primary helicopter-training platform.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Training
Helicopter Sectors
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Sep
01
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Where did you get your start flying commercially?
After the Alaskan summer tour season was over with TEMSCO, I decided to continue my aviation endeavor at Precision Aviation located in Newberg, Oregon, flying a Schweizer 269C. There is where I achieved my additional ratings: fixed-wing add-on to my helicopter private, commercial helicopter, instrument airplane and helicopter, and helicopter CFI. I continued to instruct at Precision for a couple of years to build my hours and then moved straight into the world of flying a heavy helicopter as second in command (SIC) in a copilot position. I quickly concluded that a heavy helicopter is where my heart belongs. Not only do I love flying utility in the “big iron,” I also enjoy the camaraderie that comes out of working with so many different people from such diverse backgrounds. In this industry we have a bond because of our shared goals and experiences. You don’t necessarily have to be best friends with everyone in the group to know you have their support or that you are there to support someone else.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Training
Helicopter Sectors
Human Interest
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Aug
24
2015
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Posted by Admin
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If I were to answer the question as to why I love the helicopter industry so much, I would have to say it’s because of the quirky characters I’ve met and worked with over the years. Characters that immediately come to mind are guys like “Lofty” because of his extraordinary height, “Bambi” because of his doe-brown eyes, a Brit we called “Captain Kleenex” because he had a sinus condition that caused him to leave tissues strewn about all over the cockpit, “Too Tall McCall” because he was short, and an Australian we all called “Trackless” because he was even shorter than Two Tall. (In fact, he was much shorter because his legs were so short his butt would drag behind him and wipe out his tracks, hence the name.) There was also Robert “Don’t call me Bob” because that’s how he introduced himself, “Squeaky Cheeks” because he had an odd walk, a New Zealander we called “Sumo” because he resembled a Sumo Wrestler, a Brit we called “Crusher” because he landed on a load handler hooking up an underslung load on a wellhead in the oil field and “slightly” crushed him.
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Categories:
Human Interest
Training
Helicopter Sectors
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Aug
17
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Rotorcraft Pro Editor-in-Chief Lyn Burks recently visited Erickson Aviation’s Oregon operations to learn more about how the company’s recent investments are poising it for future growth.
Imagine you’re a helicopter operator and the phone rings. When you pick it up the conversation goes something like this.
Caller: “Hello, I represent the community of Pangnirtung.”
You: “P-a-n-t-y – what? I’m sorry, what was the name again?”
Caller: “Pangnirtung. Do you know where that is?
You: “I’m sorry, I do not. Should I?”
Caller: “It’s a small village located on Baffin Island in the territory of Nunavut in Northern Canada, just outside the Arctic Circle. It’s one of the most remote and sparsely settled regions in the world.”
You: “Oh, OK. Remote, ice, polar bears … got it! So what can I do for you?”
Caller: “Well our entire village relies on diesel generators for power and we recently had a fire destroy four of them, leaving many residents with no electricity at all. As you can imagine, no power in this area with temps hitting -17° is a problem. We have a line on several new generators, but they are 160 miles away in the town of Iqaluit. We believe the only way to get them to our remote community in a timely manner is to have them lifted in by helicopter. Is this something that you can do?”
You: “Sure, that’s what we do. We specialize in moving heaving things, in very hard-to-reach locations, and in extreme conditions.”
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Jul
06
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Every wildfire is different and every wildfire must be respected. It is another triple-digit afternoon, and the third call-out of the day. The radios are awash in static and layers of non-stop chatter. With each hiss and scratch, a mental picture is drawn of the size and scope of the fire. Each crew member prepares for what is to come, and tries to push down rising adrenaline with an outward façade of calm.
Both S-2 air tankers have already made their initial drops and are heading back to base to reload and return. Directed in by the airtactical plane orbiting the columns of smoke, the gleaming white and red UH-1H ‘Super Huey’ charges in at low-level and banks hard to the left. Eyes inside the rotorcraft thoroughly survey the area through airborne debris and haze for any threats adjacent to their chosen landing zone.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Training
Helicopter Sectors
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Jun
22
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Without reservation, I can say that I have found my passion in life. I love teaching the art of helicopter flight. I don’t know when, where, or why my passion for sharing my love for helicopters developed, I only know that I enjoy it. Equally enjoyable is serving the FAA as a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). Do all instructors share this passion? If not, what motivates instructors in their vital role within our industry?
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Training