• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
Helicopter Flight Training Sponsors
 Search

Articles for category Opinion-Editorial




Jun
27
2023

Editor's Letter - Pendulum Swings From Defund to Refund the Police

Posted by Admin

Remember the “defund the police” movement that began back in 2020? I remember thinking at the time, “This really seems like a dumb idea.” I recall learning “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” while taking a college psychology class. It’s a theory comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. I remember that safety/security is the second most important foundational layer. Where does that security come from in our daily lives? I believe it starts with the individual. However, there are limits on what we can do as individuals. As a society, the rule of law is the foundation for our security, and it’s the law enforcement agencies on the streets—and in the air— who do the actual work of enforcing those laws to protect us. [Read More...]



Tags: Defund the Police Refund the Police Rotor Pro
Categories: categoryOpinion-Editorial



Jun
05
2023

My Two Cents Worth - Find Common Ground

Posted by Admin

A key concept in the development of early relationships is finding common ground; elements within each of our lives where we share interest and experience. It is through these shared perspectives that we gain trust and confidence that our communications with each other have meaning and understanding. At times, identifying common ground can seem like an impossible task. As the vertical lift industry becomes more diverse, the people, aircraft, and even operating methodologies look very different; however, the importance of working together has never been more critical than it is today. [Read More...]



Tags: aircraft training Helicopter Training vertical lift industry
Categories: categoryCareer Development categoryOpinion-Editorial



Apr
24
2023

Helicopter Industry Surges Past Pre-pandemic Levels

Posted by Admin

Despite a volatile global economy, the vertical lift industry seems to be holding its own. At Heli-Expo 2023 in Atlanta, one of the common themes from the manufacturers was that sales and production was back above pre-pandemic levels. At one Heli-Expo briefing, CEO Bruno Even and President Romain Trapp of Airbus Helicopters provided a market forecast. Even indicated that the helicopter market is strong and over 20 years they expect to deliver 16,200 helicopters worth 120 billion euros (approx. $130 billion). He said the helicopter market is recovering and that private and business aviation is growing, with the civil market exceeding pre-pandemic levels. To learn more, see on page 66 the article titled, “Airbus Helicopters, Fresh News for Spring.” [Read More...]



Tags: Airbus Helicopters Aviation Magazine Aviation News Helicopter Magazine Helicopters News Rotor Pro
Categories: categoryOpinion-Editorial



Feb
27
2023

Editor's Letter - Welcome to Atlanta! Will 2023 Excite Like 2022?

Posted by Admin

Although January 1 starts the calendar new year, I feel like the vertical lift industry’s new year begins on the first day of HAI Heli-Expo, the world’s largest vertical lift industry trade show. 14,000-plus attendees as well as 600-plus companies representing manufacturers and services providers come together to share with our industry what’s new, as well as to connect with customers. In 2022, we saw many new milestones across a variety of sectors. Unmanned, Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL aircraft, which seemed like a pipe dream for several years, moved the needle in a big way with many AAM and eVTOL aircraft flying for the first time, with some achieving certain levels of certification. There was a renewed call for the industry to embrace these new platforms when HAI President Jim Viola strongly said, “Let me be clear: AAM (advanced air mobility unmanned aircraft) and eVTOL (electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing aircraft) operations are complementary to conventional helicopters.” On the unmanned front, on Page 74 Rotor Pro spoke to OEMs and operators to learn who will service Unmanned, Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL aircraft in our industry. [Read More...]



Tags: eVTOL OEM Rotor Pro at HeliExpo 2023
Categories: categoryCareer Development categoryOpinion-Editorial categoryHelicopter Event Coverage



Feb
06
2023

Adieu - Thank for the Terrific Ride - Randy Mains

Posted by Admin

Last March, I informed Lyn Burks, owner and editor-in-chief of this magazine, that this November/December issue would be my last column for Rotor Pro. Before I fade off into the journalistic sunset, I’d like to share with you how I came to write my column, my motivation to do so and discuss how, in my view, the industry has changed since I joined this magazine. The wonderful opportunity to become a columnist for Rotor Pro happened more by unexpected opportunity than by design. In 1982, when I was working full time as chief pilot for UCSD Medical Center’s Life Flight program piloting a Bell 222 single pilot IFR in San Diego, I also attended San Diego State University full time and graduated with a degree in journalism. I could have never imagined I would one day have my own column. My first published article for Rotor and Wing magazine back in 1983 was entitled “Life and Death—an EMS Pilot’s Viewpoint.” In that same year, I was awarded the first Golden Hour Award presented by Helicopter Association International (HAI). The now annual award recognizes a person’s efforts to further the helicopter air ambulance concept in America. [Read More...]



Tags: CRM Golden Hour Helicopter Safety randy mains
Categories: categoryCareer Development categorySafety categoryOpinion-Editorial



Jan
09
2023

Executive Watch - Dale Neubauer, CEO, HeliLadder

Posted by Admin

Dale Neubauer, founder and CEO of Oregon-based HeliLadder is rare among mechanics. That’s too narrow a claim; in fact, he’s rare among people. He noticed a real need as a working mechanic: he and his fellow wrench turners were contorting themselves in risky, uncomfortable, and inefficient working conditions, dangling themselves from old-style ladders that hadn’t made a significant step-up in half a century. “I thought that it was just ridiculous that maintenance ladders had not improved,” he says. “Nothing had changed, except they were now made out of fiberglass, but it was still the same conventional design they’d used in World War II.” [Read More...]



Tags: Dale Neubauer Executive Watch HeliLadder
Categories: categoryOpinion-Editorial categoryHuman Interest categoryCompany Profiles



Nov
21
2022

Meet a Rotor Pro - Matt Johnson, Metro Aviation

Posted by Admin

RPMN: What is your current position? I am a single-pilot IFR HAA Line Pilot, Part 135 check airman, instructor, and FOQA gatekeeper for Metro Aviation, and a designated pilot examiner (DPE) for the FAA. I also remain active as a sworn law enforcement (LE) officer flying on a part-time basis for a sheriff's office. [Read More...]



Tags: Matt Johnson Metro Aviation Meet A Rotor Pro
Categories: categoryCareer Development categoryOpinion-Editorial categoryHuman Interest



Oct
24
2022

Editor's Letter - Change is in the Air

Posted by Admin

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Socrates As you might have seen in my July-August 2022 editor’s letter, we changed our brand from Rotorcraft Pro to Rotor Pro. The word “Rotorcraft” in our old brand served us well for more than a decade, but the industry is rapidly changing and it’s too narrow a focus when considering aircraft advances such as powered-lift, eVTOL, unmanned, and advanced air mobility. [Read More...]



Tags: Helicopter Industry Helicopter Pilots Helicopters and eVTOL Rotor Pro
Categories: categoryOpinion-Editorial



Sep
12
2022

Executive Watch - Vice President Of Aviation Specialties Unlimited, Inc. Kip McDermott

Posted by Admin

“I never really thought I’d have the title “Vice President” in front of my name. Coming out of the Army as basically an A&P mechanic, I never really thought my career would reach this level; it’s a pretty daunting responsibility to be honest,” says Vice President Kip McDermott of night vision leader Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) in Boise, Idaho. His current responsibilities seem daunting for sure: working with government regulators all over the world, writing test plans, certification plans, and wrangling designated engineering representatives (DERs) up for engineering reports, overseeing a Part 145 repair station along with ASU’s Part 135 and Part 141 flight operations groups, as well as being responsible for supplemental type certificate (STC) certification and ASU’s highly regarded night vision goggle (NVG) lab would “daunt” any executive, but McDermott is confident he can handle his lengthy list. If he loses his grip, he says there’s help, “The saving grace of it all is that I’ve got good guys I’m working with; I don’t have to micromanage them (I’ve never been a micromanager and will never be.) They make my job easier; if I drop something, they pick it up.” [Read More...]



Tags: Aviation Specialites Unlimited Executive Watch Kip McDermott ASU RotorPro Executive Watch
Categories: categoryCompany Profiles categoryCareer Development categoryOpinion-Editorial



Aug
22
2022

Bell Attempts U.S. Military Paradigm Shift with V-280 Valor

Posted by Admin

One word is frequently repeated amongst Bell leaders about the V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft they are building for the U.S. Army: transformational. "It is a leap ahead, not a step ahead," said Terry Horner, director of government relations at Bell and a retired Army chief instructor pilot. "We're seeing right now in world events why these new capabilities are important." Bell is competing against a Sikorsky-Boeing team for the right to build the military's next-gen medium helicopter. The Army is the lead branch on the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program to develop that helicopter. While Bell is fielding its V-280 Valor in the competition, Sikorsky-Boeing is offering its compound Defiant X with a coaxial rotor system and pusher propeller. Both competitors say their prototypes can fly twice as fast and far as the UH-60 Black Hawk they are seeking to replace. The Army is likely to choose the winner this year and wants its new aircraft operational by 2030. [Read More...]



Tags: Bell Military Next Gen Helicopter Defiant X Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) Sikorsky-Boeing military next-gen helicopter V-280 Valor
Categories: categoryHelicopter Sectors categoryOpinion-Editorial


1 2 3 4 5 6 7