Articles for category Human Interest
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May
09
2022
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Posted by Admin
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“Timing is everything,” says Marek Polcak, CEO and co-founder of the Czech Republic-based technology company that he hopes is timed to transform rotary- and fixed-wing aviation training. That company, Vrgineers Inc., has a unique spelling that reflects its unique combination of technology it is introducing to aviation. The first two letters are pronounced as individual letters: V-R-gineers. That captures what Polcak and his team do—they are virtual reality (VR) engineers creating realistic training scenarios in virtual- and mixed-reality systems that put civilian and military pilots into certain scenarios that allow the training of more tactics or missions than a normal simulator.
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Marek Polcak
Rotorcraft Pro Executive Watch
Vrgineers Inc
Categories:
Company Profiles
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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Mar
28
2022
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Posted by Admin
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The first impression is that Larry Alexandre seems not properly placed to lead United Rotorcraft, a well-known maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) leader that specializes in customizing helicopter medevac interiors one aircraft at a time. Alexandre is passionate about Lean, the practice of creating a more effective business by eliminating wasteful practices and focusing on value creation for customers. “Very few MROs in our industry believe that Lean principles apply in our world, often because they believe it is only for high volume manufacturing. I’m a big believer in and practitioner of Lean principles to rally an entire team around making your business better (through efficiency) and creating value for your customers.” Earlier in his career when he worked in Operations at Turbomeca, Alexandre says, “I enjoyed taking inefficient practices, often rampant in fragmented industries like the helicopter industry, and making them more efficient and process-oriented. I started each day with the belief that anyone in the team, with the right focus, could find waste in their processes, eliminate it, and improve efficiency.”
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Larry Alexandre
Larry Alexandre President
United Rotorcraft
Categories:
Company Profiles
Human Interest
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Mar
14
2022
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
My wife, Alison and I own Jerry Trimble Helicopter Inc. We started the company in 2007 with one helicopter and one airplane. We provide primary and advanced flight training in both helicopters and airplanes. Our school is located in McMinnville, Oregon.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight or experience with helicopters?
I flew with my dad, Robert Trimble, in one of his Bell 47s back in the ‘50s. He worked for Etna Helicopters along with his two partners – Bill Mathews and Erling Hertager.
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Jerry Trimble Helicopters
Meet A Rotorcraft Pro
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Human Interest
Opinion-Editorial
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Jan
24
2022
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am chief flight instructor at the University of North Dakota (UND) and a designated pilot examiner for the FAA. UND Aerospace has been training pilots since 1968 and currently has over one thousand active flight students in fixed-wing, helicopter, and UAS degree programs. As chief flight instructor, I have many responsibilities including the day-to-day operations of the helicopter department, hiring and standardizing instructors, conducting evaluations, and teaching academic classes. We flew a record 126,000 flight hours last year making our home airport of Grand Forks routinely one of the busiest in the country. We’ve operated a number of helicopters over the decades from MD500s to Bell 206s and have transitioned exclusively to the Robinson R44 Cadet this past year.
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University of North Dakota Aviation
Wes Van Dell
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Career Development
Human Interest
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Jan
17
2022
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Posted by Admin
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The American Helicopter Museum & Education Center (AHMEC) in West Chester, Pennsylvania, recently unveiled the crown jewel of its collection: the United States Coast Guard (USCG) HOS-1 that played a leading role in one of the most famous rescues in helicopter history. Also known as a Sikorsky R-6, AHMEC’s HOS-1 (#43-45531) and her crew received accolades for saving survivors of a downed Sabena Airlines DC-4 airliner near Gander, Newfoundland, in 1946, earning her the nickname, “The Gander Express.”
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AHMEC’s HOS-1 (#43-45531)
Gander Express
Sikorsky R-6
United States Coast Guard (USCG) HOS-1
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Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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Jan
10
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Best of 2021 - Best of People Remembered
Brian Lacks
Harold Summers
Harry Robertson
Shawn Coyle
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Brian Lacks
Harold Summers
Harry Robertson
Rotorcraft Pro Best of 2021 People Remembered
Shawn Coyle
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Human Interest
Opinion-Editorial
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Nov
22
2021
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am currently wearing two hats. I am the owner and president of Black Hills Aerial Adventures, primarily an aerial tourism operator based in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and I am serving as Chief Pilot for Redding Air Service, a utility operator with a primary base of operations in northern California. All of this has transpired within the last year. Over the last 12 years I have served as the chief pilot in Southern Nevada with Papillon and chief pilot and subsequently director of operations for Sundance Helicopters in Las Vegas.
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Black Hills Aerial Adventures
Chief Pilot for Redding Air Service
MARK SCHLAEFLI
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Nov
08
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Dwayne Charette has a surprising affinity for the president of a major OEM in Canada: he likes problems (and he even views failures as “learns”). Early in his operations career—an area prone to problems, a leader once told him, “Dwayne, if we didn’t have problems to deal with, there would be no need for our jobs.” Charette considers that perhaps the best business wisdom he’s received. “It sounds simplistic, but it’s true,” says Charette. “Problems and challenges are part of the job; once you accept them and view them as opportunities, the stress level kind of goes away.”
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Airbus Helicopters Canada
Airbus Helicopters North America
Dwayne Charette
Romain Trapp
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Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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Oct
25
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Helicopter training doesn’t necessarily give us the opportunity to live our life as a champion— but it can give us the opportunity to live the rest of our life. I was thinking the other day of all the training that I have received during my 35 years of work life. I have really only had four chapters in my career. U.S. Marine, firefighter, helicopter pilot, and business owner. The first three have required extensive amounts of training. I cannot help but wonder how much of it I took for granted.
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Helicopter Training
Rotorcraft Pro SepOct 2021 Issue
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
Opinion-Editorial
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Sep
27
2021
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am currently a pilot in command flying one of two Firewatch Cobra helicopters belonging to the U.S. Forest Service. The Firewatch Cobras provide aerial supervision and intelligence gathering for large wildland fire incidents throughout the western United States.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight or experience with helicopters.
My first flying experience with helicopters was at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in 1986 as a warrant officer candidate in Army Flight School, operating the venerable TH-55A. By the time I departed Fort Rucker for my first active-duty assignment, I was qualified in TH-55, UH-1H, OH-58 series, and AH-1 series helicopters.
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Army Flight School
Scott Beck
USFS Pilot Scott Beck
Categories:
Human Interest