Articles for category Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
28
2009
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Posted by Admin
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The in's and out's of becoming a Firefighting Pilot
So, you're interested in flying fires? You want to know how to go about it, and what to expect, but all the different terms, requirements, and conditions are confusing. This article is meant to help answer your questions. It applies specifically to pilots, but you can find references and requirements for maintenance personnel and fuel truck drivers in the Interagency Call-When-Needed (CWN) Contract reference shown below.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
28
2009
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Posted by Admin
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The Big Fire by Ken Carlton
As you well know this year has been an active and dangerous fire season. Four USFS Fire Fighters were killed in Washington and two CDF pilots killed in California. The only difference in combat helicopter flying and helicopters fighting fire is we're not getting shot at now. We tried to hit them hard and keep them small, and for the most part that worked. We all worked hard, but no summer fire season is really complete until you've had the "Big Fire."
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
15
2009
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Posted by Admin
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OAS Carded Vendor Helicopter Pilot Requirements by OAS Department of Interior
Vendor Pilot-in-Command (PIC) Helicopter. Pilots shall meet the PIC requirements of 14 CFR 135 and the following for helicopter VFR and IFR operations. All PIC time listed below listed below shall be in helicopters.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
15
2009
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Posted by Admin
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MILITARY to Civilian Flying. Advice on making the jump by Anonymous Visitor
At the request of many JH visitors, we have extracted this post from the forum as a resource for those in need of some advice on making the transition from Mlitary to Civilian flying. The post was made anonymously.
...I have a few words for those who are trying to start a civilian flying career.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
14
2009
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Posted by Admin
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Combat Versus Fire Fighting by Ken Carlton
Several people have asked me lately if flying on fires is "pretty tame" after flying a helicopter in combat operations in Viet Nam. I've thought about it a bit, and I have to say, "It's incredibly similar!" Ever present in both is the excitement, the danger, and the adrenaline rushes everything, I suppose, except the shooting. And if you REALLY miss the shooting, you can always amend that by flying "low and slow" over someone's marijuana garden, and someone is bound to fire a few rounds at you just to make sure you don't miss Viet Nam TOO much. The similarities abound, and as I've done both with a helicopter, I thought I'd point out a few of them.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
08
2009
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Posted by Admin
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By Ken Carlton - A Noodle in a Wildcat's Ass
The other day I flew a long line mission. Forest Service smoke jumpers had jumped on one of our fires and had put the fire out. Now they had to hike out six or seven miles to the nearest road. They notified us that we needed a 150-foot line to reach down in the tall trees on the side of a steep hill. They also said they had 650 pounds of equipment that needed to be slung out.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
08
2009
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Posted by Admin
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By Dana Raaz -
A DAY IN THE LIFE.....a deep-water pilot in the Gulf of Mexico
The 4:00 AM beeping of the alarm clock signals the start of another day for Jayne Brodie, a helicopter pilot assigned as an SIC (second-in-command) on a PHI Bell 412SP based in Morgan City, Louisiana. Like most of the 1,000 + Gulf Coast helicopter pilots, Jayne works a 7 day on, 7 day off schedule and stays in company-supplied housing while at work. She makes the weekly commute from her home in Pensacola, Florida on Thursday afternoon and starts her work hitch with a 5:30 AM Friday morning briefing. Since Jayne’s customer wants the first flight to depart the heliport at 6:00 AM she and her PIC (pilot-in-command) have already done the preflight, checked the weather and filed their IFR flight plans before the 5:30 briefing begins.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
02
2009
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Posted by Admin
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By Paul Heuts - A 3 blade rotor chopping 1 meter above your head, a small screaming engine under your seat and rock solid ground 1000 feet below you. Oh, and because it is hot we left the doors off the helicopter so each time we bank the little Schweizer 300CB to the right I get the feeling I’m going to drop out.
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Categories:
Becoming A Pilot
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
02
2009
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Posted by Admin
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By Larry K. Clark - As with all the different missions that helicopters can perform, the ENG segment has many different types of flying for pilots that want to work in this part of our industry. ENG encompasses traffic reporting, covering live breaking news and shooting background video for TV commercials or movies. The common element is a gyro-stabilized camera mounted on a helicopter.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Dec
02
2009
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Posted by Admin
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By Sgt. Steve Lindley - Flying Law Enforcement helicopters can be a very rewarding and exciting career. It is, however, sometimes a tough field to get into. I speak from a standpoint of a pilot in a small/medium sized division with a few unique features and this does not represent the industry as a whole. There are many departments of many sizes and shapes and everyone does things just a little differently. That being said, my viewpoint does not represent every possible situation.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors