Articles for category 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
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Jun
08
2015
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Posted by Admin
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This year, we at Rotorcraft Pro decided to take a look at helicopter salaries in the industry. There has not been an industry wide effort in the area of salary surveys for nearly a decade and we felt it would be a point of interest for many in the industry, to include pilots and employers.
How much do helicopter pilots make? How much are you worth?
The first question is fairly easy to answer since all it requires is going through a series of data collection and analysis steps. The second question however is a personal one that requires some introspection and comparative analysis. In other words, everyone wants to know where they stand in relation to their peers in the rest of the industry. Additionally, in order to be competitively attractive, employers want to know whether or not their salary structure is competitive.
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Categories:
Career Development
Helicopter Sectors
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May
26
2015
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What has been your most challenging job in the industry?
The most challenging job in the industry is to find enough technicians of suitable intellect, work ethic, and attitude to train to our demanding standards, and to also find the technicians that will retain these qualities. Many technicians in the helicopter industry find the opportunities for advancement, in both position and pay, to be limiting after a few years.
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Categories:
Human Interest
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
Career Development
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May
18
2015
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Posted by Admin
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The FAA has formally proposed a new Part 107 to the FARs covering unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds. It would allow these microdrones (what the FAA officially calls “small Unmanned Aircraft Systems” or “sUAS”) to be flown for commercial purposes by certificated DRone OPerators (DROPs) as long as they fly below 500 feet AGL within their line of sight, during the daytime, and outside Class A, B, C, and D airspace. DROPs can obtain certification by passing a knowledge test and a security screening, but they need not hold conventional pilots’ licenses, undergo skills testing or have minimum levels of flight experience. The public—obviously including the helicopter community—has until 24 April 2015 to submit comments, which can be done online at www.regulation.gov, by searching for the docket number: FAA-2015-0150-0017.
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Categories:
Career Development
Helicopter Sectors
Regulatory
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May
04
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Leasing — it’s not just for automobiles anymore. As proven by the growth of the helicopter leasing industry, rotorcraft operators are increasingly obtaining leases to boost their capabilities, without adding millions in debt to their balance sheets.
Helicopter leasing company Milestone Aviation Group was founded just five years ago in 2010, but now owns 168 helicopters valued at over $2.8 billion and has leases signed with 26 operators in more than 20 countries. Milestone also has $3 billion of new aircraft on order, including AgustaWestland AW139s, AW169s, and AW189s, Airbus EC175s and EC225s, and Sikorsky S-76Ds and S-92s. In the fall of 2014, the company was acquired by GE Capital Aviation Services for $1.78 billion.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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May
04
2015
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Posted by Admin
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This Mother’s Day, it’s important for us to give thanks to our mothers, but also to a committed group of men and women who provide care to most ill and injured mothers, fathers and children across the country, each and every day. Air medical flight teams, while not the most widely recognized of emergency care providers, deserve an extra pat on the back this Mother’s Day. Think of them as civilian soldiers on a mission for all of us, including our Moms.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Human Interest