Articles for category Helicopter Sectors
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Sep
23
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Siller Helicopters Inc. based in Yuba City, California, performs lift jobs and aerial construction support across the USA flying two Sikorsky S-64 Skycranes, two CH-54 Tarhes, and two S-61s. The company has been doing lift work since the 1970s and is extremely experienced in all aspects of this demanding and very specialized work. Siller Helicopters is also well known for providing high quality and very well maintained firefighting aircraft on both contract and call when needed.
Rotorcraft Pro observed a recent lift job in the northern California city of Roseville at a large mall. The job entailed lifting eight 6,500-pound air conditioners, more than a Sikorsky S-58T can lift but well below the maximum 11,000 pounds their S-61 can lift. For jobs up to 10,000 pounds nothing can do it better than a light S-61. In addition to removing the old air conditioners, a few loads of support scrap metal from the air conditioning base plates were taken away. Precision flying is typical of such jobs, so this one was not particularly challenging for the flight crews. The mall was near sea level and it was a cool morning, so the S-61 had plenty of excess performance. This gave the flight crew many options to complete the job safely and efficiently.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Sep
02
2019
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Posted by Admin
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There are some helicopter search and rescue (SAR) missions that are just impossible.
A prime example of this was the crash of a Dehavilland DHC-2 ‘Beaver’ on Alaska’s Thunder Mountain on 4 August 2018. Flown by Rust’s Flying Service, the sightseeing plane had one pilot and four tourists onboard when it accidentally turned into a high-hanging glacier in Denali National Park.
At 1,800 hours, the pilot managed to get a satellite call to Rust’s Flying Service; asking for help before contact was lost. After many reconnection attempts, the pilot was reached once more. He reported being trapped in the wreckage with two possible fatalities onboard. Then contact was lost.
The National Park Service (NPS) dispatched its AS-350 B3e high-altitude rescue helicopter from its base in Talkeetna to the crash location reported by the Beaver’s emergency transmitter. “We had no ability to get to the site at that time, since snowy, windy weather had settled onto the mountain,” said Nic Strohmeyer, an NPS aviation helicopter specialist. “So our SAR helicopter had to return to base.”
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Jul
29
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Given all the attention being paid to drones these days, one might think that they are all that is happening in law enforcement rotorcraft aviation.
This isn’t the case. Yes, drones are a big trend in law enforcement aviation, but they aren’t the only trend. Here’s what else is going on, based on what law enforcement aviation officers, and equipment suppliers are telling us.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Jun
24
2019
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Posted by Admin
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It’s no surprise that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is involved in protecting our nation’s borders and rescuing people from natural disasters. Probably fewer people know that CBP’s varied duties also include enforcing Temporary Flight Restrictions at NFL Super Bowls and other major events.
While TFR enforcement duties are similar no matter what the national security special event – from a Republican National Convention to a NATO Conference – there’s nothing quite like the annual Super Bowl that attracts more than one million people to the game and related events throughout the week.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Jun
14
2019
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Posted by Admin
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"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." - George S. Patton
I served in the U.S. Marines. Additionally, I did 15 years in fire-rescue and flew EMS long before it was HAA (helicopter air ambulance). In the last five years, I have done several mission trips to countries like Haiti and Costa Rica in the service of others. Honestly, it’s not a conscious philosophy I chose. I didn’t plan it. Service just seems to be something I gravitate toward.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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May
27
2019
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Posted by Admin
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MUM-T: Helicopter pilots need to get familiar with this acronym, because it represents the future of the industry and their potential career paths.
MUM-T stands for “Manned/Unmanned Teaming.” It is what you get when mission planners team a manned helicopter with one or more unmanned rotorcraft; the latter is controlled either from the manned platform or from the ground.
The MUM-T concept is currently being explored by Airbus, Bell, Leonardo, and Sikorsky. We’ll tell you all about it, in the sections below.
The good news for pilots: MUM-T does not mean the diminishment of manned helicopter flight and unemployment for humans. Not at all. With a team of drones at their disposal, helicopter pilots can vastly ramp up their search-and-rescue surveillance over a target area, their ability to locate and report hot spots in fire zones, and the ability to detect leaks during pipeline maintenance flights. In a sense, a pilot will be like a queen bee directing a hive of worker bees. He or she will be vastly more capable than when flying a manned helicopter on its own and will truly multitask.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Apr
22
2019
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Posted by Admin
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It’s not easy for a power company to chalk up a 99.999 percent electricity reliability rating, but the Tennessee Valley Authority has been doing it for the last 19 years straight. Helicopter pilots and linemen are an integral part of this achievement.
People outside the industry sometimes envision these pilots and linemen as a bit loony, and for good reason. The Tyler benches attached to the outside of helicopters commonly touch 500,000-volt electricity lines while linemen transfer themselves from the benches onto towers that stand as high as 300 feet in the air. While the lines are de-energized, their proximity to the helicopters and their spinning rotor blades is hair-raising to the uninitiated.
Ask TVA Helicopter Operations Manager Adam Hammond whether the pilot or lineman is loonier, and he’ll quickly point to the other guy.
“Definitely the lineman,” Hammond said. “They’re out there operating in all kinds of weather to get the power back on.” When rain grounds the helicopters, the linemen have to climb the towers instead.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
Career Development
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Feb
04
2019
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Posted by Admin
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SCREWED!
Stuck screws. What a pain! But before you drill the screw head off, here are a few tips to try.
This is mainly for Phillips style screws, but can be adapted to other types.
First, clean out the “cross” recess area. Use an awl or pick if necessary. Any debris like paint, dirt, or rust will prevent the driver tip from fully seating into the cross. If the tip is not seated correctly, it will damage the recess drive areas on the first attempt. If the screw is buried under a layer of paint, remove the paint from the entire screw head area.
Be sure to select the correct driver bit or screwdriver. A Reed & Prince #2 bit will strip out a Phillips #2 screw head and vice versa. Ensure the bit or driver tip is not worn smooth. If possible, use bits with serrations on the drive flanges.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Training
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Nov
05
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Military helicopters are always advancing in the range of missions served and the technology being developed to support them. Here is what five of the world’s top military helicopter manufacturers are doing to keep up.
Airbus Helicopters Pushes Ahead With Lakota Trainer Deliveries
Airbus Helicopters’ U.S. factory in Columbus, Mississippi, is manufacturing for deployment at the U.S. Army’s helicopter training centers 35 UH-72A Lakotas, which are the military version of Airbus Helicopter’s H145. They are being built under a $273 million U.S. Army contract signed with Airbus in March 2018. Seventeen of the UH-72As will be sent to Fort Rucker, Alabama, for training entry-level helicopter pilots. Eighteen more will be deployed to the Army’s Combat Training Centers, for training observers/controllers.
This purchase comes after the U.S. Army had already bought 155 UH-72As to replace its 181 TH-67 Creek training helicopters, which are based on the Bell 206B-3. (At present, both helicopters are being used as trainers.) The Army also has more than 412 UH-72As in its fleet serving as light utility helicopters.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Sep
17
2018
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Posted by Admin
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You’re about to be that guy—that guy that gets his first civilian flying job and can’t stop talking about how he used to do things in the military. Look, we get it; your military flying is the only gauge you have to measure your new civilian flying job. I’m here to tell you—it’s grating to hear the new guy prattle on about how he used to do things in the military.
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Categories:
Career Development
Helicopter Sectors