Articles for category Human Interest
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Mar
30
2020
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Posted by Admin
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John Talmadge, director of worldwide sales for avionics company, Avidyne, says he didn’t choose to work in the helicopter industry; instead, he was born into it. “My dad was a Vietnam War pilot, doing what he called his (high school) ‘senior trip’ to Southeast Asia in 1970,” Talmadge says. “They had nose art on their aircraft back then. The lady painted on his helicopter had a baby bump. That bump was me.”
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Human Interest
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Feb
17
2020
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: In your view, what is the greatest challenge for the helicopter industry at this moment in time?
The helicopter industry doesn’t seem to face pilot shortages in the same way as commercial airlines do but we did experience a drop in the number of people coming through during the 2008-9 recession. There was a five-year gap with not much training going on, and because of that there is a massive skills gap and it’s difficult to find pilots with the right level of experience.
Additionally, there is a huge gap in training between PPL to Instructor and single-engine flying charter. It’s difficult for new pilots to build their hours to be considered for employment.
At Castle Air we wouldn’t employ anyone with fewer than 1,000 hours, but how do new pilots go from 185 (CPL level) to 1,000 hours? It’s difficult for us to fund training up to 1,000 hours and furthermore there are not enough smaller helicopters around to build experience. We’re trying to have more two-seater aircraft at Castle Air to help alleviate the issue and provide some training, but without a robust training regime the gap is going to remain.
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Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Dec
30
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Rotorcraft Pro highlights industry leaders who have contributed to help better the helicopter community in 2019 in our Best of Safety, Best of Education, Best of People and the Best of Legacy series.
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Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Jul
22
2019
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Posted by Admin
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“Screw Plan B!” exclaims HAA pilot Markus Siebert.
Those are not words commonly uttered by a pilot who must have backup contingencies in mind for the unexpected. But Siebert is no common pilot. In addition to being an HAA pilot in Berlin, he’s also the managing director and founder of HeliEFB, a 21st century technology startup that helps helicopter pilots and operators cut through 20th century paperwork, by using an intuitive iPad app as an electronic flight bag.
First, let’s quickly put his ‘screwy’ quote in context before one gets the mistaken impression that the thoughtful German entrepreneur is an aggressive “Red Baron” von Richthofen. Siebert wasn’t referring to flying, but rather giving sound advice. “If I was going to give someone career advice, it would be that you should find your passion and try to work in that area. Your chance of succeeding will be much greater if you’re doing something that you’re passionate about. It should be your sole focus. Arnold Schwarzenegger once said that when you start developing a Plan B for when you don’t succeed, you’re losing focus on your first priority. You should not do that. It’s costing you time and energy. Screw Plan B! Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have a Plan B, if something goes wrong in the cockpit, but when you’re trying to find a career, then go for it! Don’t say, “Well, I can also become this or that. No, you can’t; you’ll lose focus. If you want to become a pilot, then focus on being a pilot.”
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Human Interest
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May
13
2019
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Posted by Admin
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What is your current position?
I am the chief instructor for the Robinson Helicopter Company. We have taught the pilot safety course at the factory since the mid-1980s with over 21,000 pilots completing the training. In addition, I have conducted 120 foreign safety courses, in 57 cities and 30 countries. I am an FAA helicopter designated pilot examiner for private through ATP certificates, not only in Robinson’s three models but also 11 other make & models and in the last 35 years have conducted 8,000 practical tests.
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Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Apr
08
2019
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Posted by Admin
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If you’ve ever had the desire to travel further, faster, and higher your time is here. I’ve flown helicopters commercially for 13 years. As a civilian, I attended a small flight school in Florida where I obtained all my training from Private through CFII where I used my GI Bill benefits.
Until recently, most Part 121 air carriers did not count helicopter flight hours towards their hiring minimums. In recent years, this trend is on the decline. If you are an experienced helicopter pilot and have ever wanted to fly for the airlines, opportunity may be on the horizon. With as little as 250 hours of airplane PIC time and a commercial multi-engine land add-on certificate you can be eligible for hire at a regional airline that may provide a stepping stone to the mainline carriers.
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Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Mar
11
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Night Flight Concepts (NFC), based out of Waco, Texas, brings night vision training and technology from the military to the civilian masses who need to safely fly when the sun goes down. The company is known for cleverly marketing their night vision products and services under acronyms like L.E.A.S.E (Law Enforcement Air Support Entity) and S.O.A.R. (Special Operations Aviation Resources). With approx. 300 global customers, approx. 1,450 students trained, and approx. 3,500 NVGs inspected and repaired since 2006, another catchy acronym for NFC would be F.L.I.G.H.T. (Forward Looking Industrious Group Has Tenacity).
NFC began as a vision, and early side-hustle, that its co-founder and president, Adam Aldous, had while serving in Iraq as an Army Chinook pilot. (Aldous still hustles; if he doesn’t wake up earlier, his 5-year-old daughter gets him up every morning by 6:00—without fail.) When we caught up with him in early January, he was working on NFC’s 2019 marketing plans, but he graciously found the time to share his fascinating story.
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Mar
02
2019
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I currently work for Air Evac Lifeteam as a base pilot supervisor and flight instructor. Essentially, I'm one of four pilots at an EMS base with the added responsibilities of scheduling and pilot oversight. I also help out the training department with new hires and recurrent flight training as needed.
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Jan
15
2019
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Posted by Admin
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HeliTrak President Chris Nehls starts our interview with words that no writer wants to hear. “I’m afraid this is going to be a hard profile for you, as I’m a boring person.” Fortunately, the former farm boy from the Illinois corn belt was just letting his small-town Midwest modesty get the best of him. Nehls is a compelling risk-taker who leads a startup that is at the heart of bringing cutting-edge aviation autonomous technology to underserved aviators. After all, many pilots fly Robinson helicopters in the same airspace as those in avionic-laden aircraft. Shouldn’t Robinson pilots, and those who fly other smaller ‘common’ aircraft, also have access to collective pull down and autopilot technology?
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Dec
31
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Chief Warrant Officer 3 Taylor Galvin in Baghdad, Iraq, died earlier this year as a result of injuries sustained when his helicopter crashed in Sinjar, in Iraq’s Nineveh Province. Galvin’s helicopter crashed while conducting a partnered counterterrorism mission in support of the Operation Inherent Resolve coalition to defeat the Islamic State, according to a U.S. Central Command statement.
A decorated Vietnam veteran died earlier this year while piloting his personal helicopter. Schwarz was a commercial pilot, who had a love of flying.
Henry E. Schwarz was the president of the Virginia Helicopter Association prior to his passing. In his earlier years Schwarz was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot who served in the Vietnam War. He led more than 100 combat air assaults and received 29 medals for performance and service to the country. He was also a member of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society and a member of the Wilbur Wright Chapter, National Capital Region.
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Categories:
Human Interest