Articles for category Opinion-Editorial
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Jul
20
2026
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Posted by Admin
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“Preparedness is not about predicting tragedy. It is about respecting the moment when it arrives.”
The phone rang while I was driving my children home from school. Like many people in aviation leadership roles, I answered instinctively. The phone is always on. Calls can mean weather delays, maintenance concerns, crew changes, operational updates, or shifting schedules. In utility helicopter operations, problems rarely wait for convenient moments.
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Tags:
Aviation Accident Response
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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Jul
13
2026
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Posted by Admin
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Greg Edmonds is Kiwi to the core. The CEO of Salus Aviation, which has four locations in New Zealand, and operations in Boulder City, Nevada, and Pretoria, South Africa, proudly proclaims himself a “Kiwi” in the first few seconds of our interview in his native New Zealand accent. And why shouldn’t he? After all, he grew up in his nation’s capital city of Wellington, resides in its largest city, Auckland, and has a passion for its national sport of rugby, which he played in the past and still participates in on both amateur and professional levels.
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Tags:
Executive Watch
Greg Edmonds Salus Aviation
Categories:
Company Profiles
Opinion-Editorial
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Jun
29
2026
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Posted by Admin
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For decades, the rhythmic, thumping heartbeat of a helicopter rotor has been a sound of hope. Whether tracking a suspect through a darkened suburb, hoisting a stranded hiker from a crumbling cliffside, or rushing a critical patient to a trauma center, public safety aviation has relied on a singular, indispensable component: the human pilot.
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Editor Lyn Burks
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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Jun
22
2026
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Posted by Admin
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There is a hard truth in life and business that most people learn the slow way: some people are only close to you when they need something from you. The moment the need is gone, so are they.
The helicopter industry has more than its fair share of this type of person. Ours is an industry that likes to talk about relationships, trust, mentorship, and reputation. We describe it as a small community. We speak of loyalty, professionalism, and looking out for one another. We shake hands at events, share stories in convention halls, and talk as though this business is built on something deeper than opportunity. But if you stay in it long enough, you start to see another layer beneath all of that.
You begin to notice the people who call only when they need help, access, knowledge, influence, support or a favor. They know exactly where to find you when you can solve a problem, open a door, make an introduction, lend credibility, or help carry their load. In those moments, they act like you matter. They speak warmly. They remind you of your value. They praise your experience and your insight. They want your time, your energy, your reputation, and sometimes even your name next to theirs.
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Tags:
my two cents worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Apr
27
2026
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Posted by Admin
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As we move through 2026, the aviation industry continues to grapple with a complex workforce landscape. While fixed-wing airline pilot shortages often dominate headlines, the rotary-wing (helicopter) sector faces a unique set of challenges. Leading up to now, several converging factors created a "perfect storm" that has redefined the career path for helicopter pilots, leading to significant shifts in compensation and recruitment strategies.
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Tags:
2025-2026 Pilot Salary and Benefits Report
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Opinion-Editorial
Career Development
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Apr
20
2026
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Posted by Admin
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It is a familiar scene for me as a DPE: the well-prepared (hopefully, overprepared) applicant has all of their items out on the table and is anxiously ready to begin the practical test; their well-plotted cross-country is stowed away in their EFB, and when that portion of the oral exam begins, they are so proudly ready to show every painstaking detail that they have made in planning their cross-country. They have planned every detail down to the highest obstacle along the route, all of the classes of airspace or special-use airspace that they may transit during their cross-country, and then—BOOM—the discussion about weather comes up. I can't speak for all of my DPE colleagues across the country, but for me, this is particularly where I see a lot of deer in the headlights and a lot of word-salads.
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Tags:
DPE
EFB
rotorcraft checkride
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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Apr
06
2026
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Posted by Admin
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Helicopter manufacturers continue to post strong sales across multiple sectors. Emergency medical services, public safety, military training, offshore energy, utility operations, and corporate transport all rely on rotorcraft to solve problems that no other platform can. Yet while helicopter sales remain steady, the infrastructure required to operate them safely and efficiently is steadily disappearing. Across the United States, heliports, vertiports and established transition routes are being closed, restricted or sidelined, often under the stated justification of safety. In practice, noise complaints, land value, redevelopment pressure, and institutional risk aversion frequently play a far larger role.
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Tags:
Helicopter Infrastructure
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Opinion-Editorial
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Feb
23
2026
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Posted by Admin
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For decades, the helicopter industry was defined by incrementalism—marginal gains in lift, slightly quieter rotors, and traditional turbines. But as we settle into 2026, we are witnessing a fundamental decoupling from the past. This year marks the moment when "future tech" graduated from the laboratory to the flight line and is fundamentally altering how we view vertical lift.
The most visible shift is the electrification of the rotorcraft. This year, the first flight of the battery-electric Robinson R66 demonstrator has signaled that zero-emission flight is no longer a niche pursuit for startups, but a priority for the world’s most prolific manufacturers. Coupled with the expansion of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)—now reaching a critical mass in supply chains—the industry is finally addressing its carbon footprint with "drop-in" solutions that require no hardware overhauls.
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Editor Lyn Burks
Editors Letter
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Opinion-Editorial
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Feb
02
2026
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Posted by Admin
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The helicopter training community has long been built on mentorship, credibility, and shared experience. For generations, knowledge has been passed from one aviator to the next through hard-earned expertise and honest, practical instruction. Today, that tradition is threatened by a growing issue: false narratives, manufactured authority, and AI-generated content presented as fact. With a camera or an internet connection, anyone can publish training commentary, and because online platforms reward attention rather than accuracy, the newest and most impressionable members of our industry are increasingly exposed to misinformation with real-world consequences.
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Tags:
helicopter training ai generated content
Helicopter training social media
Categories:
Career Development
Safety
Opinion-Editorial
Training
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Dec
22
2025
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Posted by Admin
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The year 2025 marked a pivotal moment in vertical flight that was characterized by the traditional helicopter sector experiencing booming demand against severe supply constraints, while the nascent electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) sector pushed aggressively toward commercialization while navigating crucial home-stretch regulatory hurdles. The two segments are not yet competitors, but are instead complementary forces driving the entire vertical-mobility ecosystem forward.
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Tags:
Rotor Pro Editor's Letter
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial