Articles for category Human Interest
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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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Mar
01
2021
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Posted by Admin
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I find it curious that the first flight on the surface of another planet will be attempted via a helicopter.
As I write this article (February 2021), we are only days away from NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover landing on the surface of Mars. This new Mars rover is on the cusp of plunging into the Martian atmosphere to land on the Red Planet and is equipped with panoramic cameras, subsurface radar, laser micro imager, x-ray spectrometers, and a weather station. But there’s one more innovative piece of equipment that will be dropped from the belly of the Mars rover onto the planet’s surface: Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter!
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Tags:
Airbus Helicopters
H135
Ingenuity
Mars Helicopter
the Mars helicopter!
Categories:
Human Interest
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Jan
18
2021
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am a fire pilot for Heliqwest. I fly a B205 on a local fire contract in Southern California (Heaps Peak) for the U.S. Forest Service.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight.
My first flight was in an R22 out of Torrance, California. I remember walking up to the helicopter wondering, Wow, is this small helicopter going to fly? I had never seen one up close and only knew that helicopters were typically much larger. Once in the helicopter and in a hover I was certain now this was what I would do for living. I was astounded by how it felt to just float above the earth's surface like that. My flight took me over the coast and back to the airport. I was hooked.
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Tags:
Desiree Horton
Forestry Helicopter Pilot
Heliqwest Fire Pilot
Meet A Rotorcraft Pro
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Jan
11
2021
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Posted by Admin
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“To paint a picture of how remote some of the people are that we serve, it takes the inhabitants who live in areas of the Zambezi Delta three days to reach civilization by dugout canoe. The helicopter can reach those areas in 20 minutes.” - Matthias Reuter, Mercy Air helicopter program director
THE MISSION
From 1977 to 1992, the Mozambican Civil War was a bloody battle to control the African nation. The war was fought between Mozambique's ruling Marxist Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), anti-communist insurgent forces of the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO), and a number of smaller factions.
The Mozambican Civil War destroyed much of Mozambique's critical rural infrastructure, including hospitals, rail lines, roads, and schools. Additionally, according to estimates, over one million Mozambicans were killed in the fighting or starved due to interrupted food supplies; an additional 5 million were displaced across the region.
In 1990, Mercy Air was born out of this conflict as a Christian initiative operating as a fixed-wing missionary program. The airplanes were initially used to provide relief and support to refugees fleeing Mozambique along the border of South Africa. Due to rebels and the poor security situation in the region, moving people and supplies via ground vehicles was too risky.
In 2004, Mercy Air decided to add helicopters to their operations. Rotorcraft not only enhanced the aviation operation’s capability, but significantly expanded the geographic locations it could serve.
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Tags:
Humanitarian Relief Helicopters
Mercy Air
Categories:
Human Interest
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Dec
28
2020
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Posted by Admin
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Matthew Zuccaro was a quintessential leader for the Helicopter Association International (HAI), serving first on the board of directors in 1987, then as board chair in 1991, then as president in 2005. He retired in January, only about a month before his passing on Feb. 25, 2020 at the age of 70.
“Matt was one of a kind in our industry,” current HAI President and CEO James Viola said. “Helicopters were part of his life, beginning with his U.S. Army service in Vietnam. Throughout his career, he made safe helicopter operations his priority, and we are a better, stronger, and safer industry today because of his efforts on behalf of rotorcraft.”
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Tags:
Helicopter Association International Matt Zuccaro
Matt Zuccaro
Categories:
Human Interest
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Dec
28
2020
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Posted by Admin
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Former Helicopter Association International (HAI) Board of Directors chair James Wisecup never stopped learning. When he retired as assistant chief pilot for Air Methods in 2019, he had just earned a bachelor’s in aviation science from Southern Utah University.
“Jim was a highly respected member of the rotorcraft community, and we will miss his knowledge and leadership,” HAI president and CEO James Viola said. “He was an advocate for safe flying, training, and mentorship, and he was always willing to share his experience and passion for flying.”
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Tags:
Helicopter Association Internation Jim Wisecup
Jim Wisecup
Categories:
Human Interest
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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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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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Sep
28
2020
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Posted by Admin
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There are wildfires in the woods, and then there are crazy-strange wildfires such as a recent one in Florida that was fueled by hundreds of cars. When you battle that kind of conflagration, you’re bound to learn a few new lessons. We certainly did.
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Tags:
Car lot aerial fire
Charlotte County Aviation Unit
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
Training