Articles for category Opinion-Editorial
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Mar
08
2021
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Posted by Admin
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You likely know Randy Rowles from his training commentary, “Checkride,” in every Rotorcraft Pro issue. However, you may not know that when Rowles takes off his ‘press’ hat, there are more distinguished hats in his closet: he is president and owner of Helicopter Institute Inc., the vice chairman of the Helicopter Association Board of Directors, an FAA designated pilot examiner, and a regular teacher at the annual HeliSuccess career conference. Yes, just as Forest Gump wore “lots of shoes” Rowles wears, and has worn, lots of hats. The difference between them is that Forest was mostly just a witness to history, whereas Rowles has actively participated in and contributed to the rotorcraft industry, especially in the helicopter training sector. “I love the training space,” he says.
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Tags:
Helicopter Institute
Randy Rowles
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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Feb
22
2021
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Posted by Admin
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The “singularity,” according to Wikipedia, is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization.
Only on two other occasions have I confessed publicly that I am a helicopter geek to the degree that I actually own a 75-year-old copy of the first helicopter magazine ever printed. The year was 1945 and the month was December when the first issue of American Helicopter magazine rolled off the printing press.
The 1945 cover read, “Man’s Newest Conquest” as the ads and editorial pointed to the helicopter as having the potential to be used for such lofty missions as “suburban air ambulance, commuter service, forest fire control, pipeline patrol, and Coast Guard rescue.”
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Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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Feb
08
2021
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Posted by Admin
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My first exposure to aviation began in the U.S. Air Force. When training in my chosen field was postponed, I was asked to crosstrain to a secondary career field. “We really need aircraft mechanics,” I was told. I readily agreed, and so the adventure began. Later, as a crew chief for the F16 Fighting Falcon, I quickly learned the importance of marshaling aircraft and the use of hand signals…flight controls-check, speed brake-check, stop, go, chock, and the aircraft salute. Little did I know at the time that these simple hand signals would become part of an especially important essential tool that we must use every day. We have already discussed the tool of integrity: doing the right thing, and the tool of commitment: the fuel for action. Let us now look at the essential tool of communication.
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Tags:
aircraft mechanics
Aviation Maintenance
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Career Development
Safety
Opinion-Editorial
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Jan
25
2021
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Posted by Admin
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If you look up the word ‘multi-mission’ in the dictionary, chances are that you won’t see a helicopter alongside it. But you should, because there are few transportation platforms as multi-mission capable. In the real world, the words ‘helicopter’ and ‘multi-mission’ are synonymous.
“I’ve heard people describe helicopters as ‘the SUVs of the air’,” said James Viola, president/CEO of Helicopter Association International (HAI). “The industry’s constant drive to create platforms that are as light as possible while using the most powerful engines available has resulted in highly flexible aircraft that can be adapted to multiple tasks and carry all kinds of loads internally and externally, and perform so many functions so well.”
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Tags:
Aerial Firefighting
Forestry and Stream Restoration Helicopters
Multi Mission Helicopters
Search and Rescue Helicopters
Sikorsky YR-4B helicopters
Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 rotorcraft
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Opinion-Editorial
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Jan
04
2021
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Posted by Admin
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I was stationed in DC in February 2014 and traveled to Denton, Texas, with two military buddies to get our helicopter ATPs. While in Denton, we went to dinner with my friend, Nico, who had transitioned a year or two before and was flying air ambulance in the DFW metroplex. At dinner the three of us eagerly asked Nico a lot of questions about his transition, finding a job, and his experiences in the civilian helicopter industry. One of the many tidbits of knowledge Nico was sharing really stuck with me; it’s very simple, but genius at the same time.
When it comes to any job, there are always three things: equipment, pay, or boss. If you are lucky, you’ll get two out of three! In later conversations, Nico added two more: location and schedule.
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Tags:
Military Helicopter Mechanics
Military Helicopter Pilots
Military to Civilian
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Dec
28
2020
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Posted by Admin
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Rudy Frasca was a true pioneer in the world of flight simulation. He was first inspired by his older brother’s model airplane that motivated him to learn to fly at the tender age of 14. “From then on, he was just hooked,” said his daughter Peggy Prichard, marketing manager for Frasca International. Frasca joined the Navy in 1949, teaching pilots at the Glenview Naval Air Station on early Link Trainers. After the Korean War, he attended the University of Illinois Aviation Research Laboratory at Urbana-Champaign, where he honed his flight simulation skills and conducted research in aviation psychology.
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Tags:
Frasca Simulation
Rudy Frasca
Categories:
Human Interest
Opinion-Editorial
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Dec
21
2020
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Posted by Admin
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The Airbus Helicopters Inc. president and head of the North America region for helicopters was once so shy he was afraid to phone anyone he didn’t know. Romain Trapp says, “I was really super shy. I had to write down in advance every word I planned to say in a call.” So, the college accounting and finance student got fed up with his handicap and devised a strategy to overcome it. “I came to the point where enough was enough and I began to force myself out of my shyness,” he says. “For example, I volunteered to organize a conference at my college; it forced me to interact with people. Eventually, I worked my way out of my shyness, so that I now have no problem speaking to an audience of 200 people.” That’s a good thing, because presiding over a global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) like Airbus Helicopters is not a cubicle-in-the-bowels-of-a-building position for the super shy. It requires someone who can get out into the rotorcraft world, see how it’s changing, and react. When pressed to talk about his personal strengths as a top corporate executive , the humble leader says, “My strength, I think, is my ability to grasp the big picture and develop strategy from that view. Also, I develop a sense of belonging to the team as soon as I start a new job. You’ll notice that when I talk, I use the word ‘we’ and never ‘them’ nor ‘I.’ Finally, I have developed an ability to adapt to changing circumstances because I’ve had different responsibilities in different countries.”
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Tags:
Airbus Helicopters president
Romain Trapp
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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Dec
14
2020
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Posted by Admin
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I think that most people would agree that our holiday card pretty much sums up how many of us feel about 2020.
Not really helicopter themed as our previous cards have been, but if it causes a bit of a chuckle and captures the lighter side of the human spirit, then we achieved our goal.
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Tags:
Editor Lyn Burks
Helicopter Magazines
Helicopter Publications
Rotorcraft Pro Editor
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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Nov
23
2020
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Posted by Admin
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What is your current position?
I’m the owner and operator of Helicopter Air Specialty Service, owner and operator of AMP/HASS LLC a Robinson Service Center, owner and operator of the Maple Grove Heliport (E66), and manager of the Maple Grove Airport (65G) at Fowlerville, Michigan.
Tell me about your first flight?
I had a chain of 126 retail stores and needed to get to one of them fast. I hired a pilot that turned out to be a CFI to get me there. He let me fly! Most expensive flight I ever took. It was a thrill. Five lessons later, I was buying my first helicopter: a Robinson R22. I had no license, but I owned a helicopter, which forced me to get my license. Failure was not an option.
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Tags:
Dennis Bowdoin
Helicopter Air Specialty Service
Meet A Rotorcraft Pro
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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Nov
16
2020
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Posted by Admin
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I clearly remember that life-changing day in April 1990. It was my first day working as a helicopter mechanic at Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The radio call dispatched the helicopter, the pilot brought the machine to life and the medical crew strapped in as the Bell LongRanger took to the air. It seemed like only minutes later the aircraft returned, and the patient was rolled past me to the Level I trauma center. From that moment on, life was different as the purpose for my work became clearer in that instant.
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Tags:
Helicopter Maintenance Tools
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial