Articles for category Career Development
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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
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
07
2020
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Posted by Admin
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The regulation is officially titled “Military pilots or former military pilots: Special rules,” but it’s best known by the acronym “MilComp,” short for military competency. It outlines the eligibility and requirements for a military pilot to obtain FAA pilot certifications based on their flight and ground training with the armed forces. Simply put, if you have graduated from a military flight school and haven’t been removed from flying status because of lack of proficiency or disciplinary action, you are eligible for an FAA commercial pilot certificate, instrument rating, flight instructor certificate (for those who were instructor pilots or examiners) and maybe even a type rating.
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Tags:
14 CFR 61.73
Military Competence Instructor (MCI
Military Competence Non-Category (MCN)
Categories:
Career Development
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Nov
30
2020
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Posted by Admin
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In an era when so much aviation industry news and training focuses on new technology and keeping up with so-called proficiency as proverbial boxes are checked, one often overlooked important aspect of being a pilot is being neglected—professionalism.
Recently, a colleague reached out for assistance on a new project; his company wanted to create an advisory board to offer advice on their aviation services. I was humbled he sought my advice. He garnered my full attention when he said the company was writing a quick bio on me, and then he asked me, “How long have you been flying as a professional pilot?” I had an easy and ready answer: “Since. Day. One.”
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Tags:
commercial pilot certificate
professional pilot
Categories:
Career Development
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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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Oct
19
2020
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Posted by Admin
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This true ordeal occurred on 14 April 2000, and was written by Chris Kruse, a retired U.S. Army and civilian medevac pilot:
St. Paul, MN
14 April 2000, 16:12 hrs.
Bell 222UT, N225LL
NTSB: CHI-000FA111
Sometimes life comes at you in small drips. At other times, like a fire hose stream. And still at other times, it resembles a water tower collapse.
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Tags:
Helicopter Crashes
Helicopter Emergency Procedures
Helicopter Safety
Categories:
Career Development
Safety
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Oct
05
2020
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Posted by Admin
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Looking back, I recall the time just after separating from active duty with the U.S. Air Force. I was attending Alabama Aviation Technical College to obtain my Airframe and Powerplant certificate. It was during this time that I was hired at Fort Rucker by the helicopter maintenance contractor that supported U.S. military helicopter pilot training. One of the first requirements of this contractor was to have a minimum tools list. As a young man just out of the military, I did not own many tools nor could I afford to buy a lot. Taking my tools list, I drove to Sears to comply with the minimum, never dreaming that in the ensuing 39 years I would collect so many thousands of dollars in hand tools, special tools, precision tools and high-end toolboxes.
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Tags:
Airframe and Powerplant certificate
Alabama Aviation Technical College
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
U.S. military helicopter pilot training
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Sep
16
2020
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Posted by Admin
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It was 20 years ago that I reported to Fort Rucker, Alabama, as a newly minted instructor pilot, and little did I know that would be the fork in the road that changed the way I would forever see, communicate, and train pilots and people over my lifetime. Many of us took Psychology 101 in college where we received rudimentary information on personality types and cognitive functions. I was unaware at the time how theory would turn into concrete reality, and how observable and quantifiable that theory would be.
The Fort Rucker syllabus was typical of any flight training, and the schoolhouse provided a constant flow of students in an environment akin to a laboratory, replete with controls and structure. I had the opportunity to observe multiple students completing the same actions in a controlled environment; it took less than six months before I began to see the patterns. At first, I had no idea what I stumbled upon, it’s significance, and how it would change my teaching. Furthermore, it would solidify in my mind the scientific nature of personality type.
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Tags:
Flight Training
Personality Type
Categories:
Career Development
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Sep
16
2020
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Posted by Admin
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His commanding officer asked Travis Coil, a 4-year air defense artillery Army veteran, what he needed to do in order to convince him to re-enlist. Travis answered, “A $2 million re-enlistment bonus and a two week vacation in Hawaii.” Fourteen years of civilian life later, Travis is now an outstanding and highly qualified A&P mechanic who has worked in a variety of fields within the helicopter industry.
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Tags:
AMT to A&P
Heidi McBride
military aviation maintenance training
Categories:
Career Development
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Aug
17
2020
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Posted by Admin
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COVID-19 has proven to be tremendously challenging for the helicopter industry. The demands of social distancing, sourcing/wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), and working from home don’t exactly align with the lives of pilots, technicians, and air medical personnel. In fact, their jobs are all about being up-close-and-personal in small spaces!
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Tags:
Helicopter and COVID
Helicopter Industry Impacts from COVID
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial