Articles for category Human Interest
May
09
2016
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Posted by Admin
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When talking to Frasca International President and CEO John Frasca, one quickly discerns that not only does F begin his last name, but that letter coincides with other words relevant to who he is and what he does: Family and Flexibility.
It’s telling that the current generation of Frascas do not shine the light of success on themselves. Rather, the company website and brochure only speak of the founding father. Not even John Frasca is profiled. In an age of self-adulation and promotion, that may seem somewhat quaint … and refreshing. However, this lack of limelight is not surprising when you hear the humble way the son’s promotion to leadership in 2011 was announced to Frasca International’s staff—and to John Frasca himself. “We were just having a summer company party out at the airport with all of the employees, and Dad picked up the microphone and said, ‘Oh, by the way everybody, John’s taking over; he’s going to be president,’” says Frasca.
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Categories:
Career Development
Company Profiles
Human Interest
Apr
26
2016
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I currently serve as the director of training and standards for CHI Aviation. In my position I coordinate training, in concert with department heads, for all company employees including pilots, mechanics, fuel truck drivers, etc. On the standards side, I participate in auditing, receiving feedback, and assisting the standardization committee in ensuring standards are created and met. I also perform duties as a captain in both the CH-47D and AS-332L1 aircraft.
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Categories:
Human Interest
Career Development
Mar
21
2016
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Posted by Admin
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What is your current position?
I am the vice president of flight operations at Firehawk Helicopters, Inc. At Firehawk we operate four Sikorsky S-70 commercial Black Hawks and four BHI H60 Hawks (former Army UH-60s) and four Airbus Helicopters AS-350B3s. The aircraft are used for aerial firefighting, research and development flight testing, construction and external lift, and television and film productions. Previously I spent 17 years at Sikorsky Aircraft. The first nine years I was a test engineer and the last eight years I was a test pilot. Concurrent with my time at Sikorsky I was also in the US Army Reserves where I flew UH-60s for a decade.
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Categories:
Human Interest
Career Development
Training
Jan
18
2016
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Posted by Admin
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RP: In your view, what is the greatest challenge for the helicopter industry at this moment in time?
It’s safety versus revenue. Helicopters are very expensive but provide a necessary service to the community. From medical missions to airborne law enforcement to electronic news gathering, helicopters are great tools. Training and maintenance cost bite into the revenue stream, but without proper training and diligent maintenance there won’t be a revenue stream. Maintaining a safety culture is probably the biggest challenge. It takes everyone, from the pilot to the mechanic, and from the director of operations to the director of maintenance, to keep this industry safe.
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Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
Jan
04
2016
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Posted by Admin
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Occasionally fate (sometimes luck) steps in to break a link in an error chain, serving to protect us from ourselves. That’s what happened to me in August 1974 while ferrying a Hughes 300C 300 miles, from McArthur River Cattle Station in the Northern Territory of Australia to Mt. Isa, for the aircraft’s scheduled 100-hour inspection. I’d been flying over parched, featureless landscape for 30 minutes; each minute becoming more and more perplexed because nothing I saw outside fit my woefully inadequate map.
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Categories:
Human Interest
Dec
28
2015
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Posted by Admin
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RP: Have you ever had an “Oh, crap” moment in a helicopter? Can you summarize what happened?
I was flying an EC135 on a checkride when part of the rotor control system came apart. Fortunately, we were less than 500 feet above the ground at Casa Grande Muncipal Airport in Arizona. The check pilot and I controlled the aircraft (sort of) to a crash landing, which destroyed the helicopter. We both walked away with minor injuries. Neither one of us thought we would survive the extreme violent gyrations of the flight/crash.
Getting shot down in the jungle in Vietnam was equally as scary, just different because of the wait for extraction.
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Categories:
Human Interest
Nov
09
2015
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Posted by Admin
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RP: How did you get your start in helicopters?
After returning from Desert Storm, I started taking flight lessons in an R22 and chose a career in law enforcement. I continued serving in the Kansas Army National Guard as a crew chief on Hueys and Blackhawks. In law enforcement, I was a state trooper in the Kansas Highway Patrol, and was eventually selected for a pilot-in-command position in the patrol’s Special Operations Air Unit. That’s how I got my break flying missions every day in helicopters and airplanes. It was just after 9/11 and there were so many security and surveillance flight missions. It was a great time to be a pilot in law enforcement who wanted to fly and build flight time. Best job I ever had!
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Categories:
Career Development
Becoming A Pilot
Training
Company Profiles
Human Interest
Oct
05
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Has anyone ever said to you, “But we’ve always done it this way”? It’s a complacency trap that once held the potential for dire consequences for five of us employed as HEMS pilots for the king of Saudi Arabia.
I was new to the organization, standing on the bridge of the king’s yacht with the chief pilot. We were both looking half a mile away through binoculars as he explained the approach to the hospital helipad. “You’ll fly to the waypoint listed “WALL” in the GPS, which is the wall at the edge of the palace grounds. Once you reach it, you’ll make a left 90-degree dogleg turn, keeping those five construction cranes on your right while staying well clear of that big unlit stadium on your left. See it?”
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Categories:
Training
Safety
Human Interest
Sep
28
2015
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Posted by Admin
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What is your current position?
Being the owner of a small business, I ask myself that question every day! My official title is chief pilot and CEO of Raven Helicopters LLC in San Diego. That means that my responsibilities range from washing the helicopter and scheduling reservations for charters to sitting in the middle of Mexico watching motorcycles and trucks race across the desert, and filling out all the fun paperwork and administrative duties that come with owning a business. I never know what I will be doing on any given day. Obviously my favorite days are when I just get to fly.
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Categories:
Human Interest
Career Development
Sep
01
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Where did you get your start flying commercially?
After the Alaskan summer tour season was over with TEMSCO, I decided to continue my aviation endeavor at Precision Aviation located in Newberg, Oregon, flying a Schweizer 269C. There is where I achieved my additional ratings: fixed-wing add-on to my helicopter private, commercial helicopter, instrument airplane and helicopter, and helicopter CFI. I continued to instruct at Precision for a couple of years to build my hours and then moved straight into the world of flying a heavy helicopter as second in command (SIC) in a copilot position. I quickly concluded that a heavy helicopter is where my heart belongs. Not only do I love flying utility in the “big iron,” I also enjoy the camaraderie that comes out of working with so many different people from such diverse backgrounds. In this industry we have a bond because of our shared goals and experiences. You don’t necessarily have to be best friends with everyone in the group to know you have their support or that you are there to support someone else.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Training
Helicopter Sectors
Human Interest