Articles for category Career Development
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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
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Aug
03
2020
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Posted by Admin
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On any given day, an Air and Marine Operations pilot with U.S. Customs and Border Protection could be conducting surveillance for narcotics over the waters surrounding Puerto Rico, utilizing an AStar's advanced camera system to help the DEA safely serve a "buy bust" warrant in New Orleans, helping the Border Patrol in Laredo locate people trying to cross the U.S. border illegally, flying over New York City in support of NYPD operations, or patrolling a national security event such as a Super Bowl or U.N. General Assembly gathering.
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Tags:
US CBP Salary Rate
US Custom and Border Protection
US CZBP Air and Marine Operations
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Career Development
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Jul
27
2020
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Posted by Admin
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TracPlus, headquartered in New Zealand, coordinates collaboration and communication between first responders on a shared platform that has now logged 6,500,000 flight hours, which seems to approximate how many academic credit hours the technology company’s CEO, Trevor McIntyre, has accumulated. The executive has a bachelor’s degree and postgraduate degrees from Rhodes University in his native land of South Africa, as well as a further postgraduate degree from the University of Natal, and a Master’s Degree (with first class honors) from the National College of Ireland. Then there are his two professional charters as well. He’s a Chartered Accountant through his fellowship in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. That’s impressive book-cracking. However, you’d be mistaken if you deemed McIntyre an ivory tower student detached from the real business world. Most of those degrees were earned in night classes while he pursued his career in the light of day day with Big Four accounting consulting firms, like KPMG and PWC, helping companies recognize their strengths and find their sometimes hidden flaws. “Studying that way (at night) taught me how to manage my time effectively and that you can fit more into your life than you believe that you can. I believe that education is a key part of constantly striving to improve yourself. My parents were both teachers and really emphasized the importance of lifelong learning to my brothers and I. It is a key part of what I try to embed into my teams.” says McIntyre.
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Tags:
Executive Watch
TracPlus
Categories:
Career Development
Company Profiles
Human Interest
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Jul
13
2020
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Posted by Admin
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Job interviews come in many different flavors. They can range from short, informal conversations during a social event to a virtual meeting with one or two managers to formal, multi-day assessments. Sometimes, being prepared and knowing what to expect is not as easy as it sounds; however, regardless of how the interview is structured, most companies are pretty much looking for the same things. They want to see skill, aptitude, judgement, reputation, and safety from a drama-free, loyal, adaptable, predictable work force.
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Categories:
Career Development
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Jun
29
2020
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am the assistant chief pilot for Southern California and Hawaii for REACH Air Medical Services. I have responsibility for 44 pilots at 11 bases as well as three IFR reserve pilots and two instructor pilots/check airmen; it keeps me fairly busy. I enjoy working with pilots and flying first-rate helicopters in the single-pilot IFR role.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight.
My first helicopter flight was in the U.S. Navy flight school at South Whiting Field near Pensacola, Florida. I was a student naval aviator and had been selected to fly helicopters in the United States Marine Corps. From the moment we lifted off in the TH-57C, I was hooked! I had flown fixed-wing prior: a T-34C at North Whiting Field, and Cessnas at the Don Scott airport affiliated with The Ohio State University when I was a college student there. My actual first flight was in a Cessna 152 at Ohio State.
RPMN: How did you get your start in helicopters?
As a Marine officer pilot at Whiting Field. Upon getting designated as a naval aviator and getting my wings, I was sent on to learn to fly the Sikorsky CH-53D Sea Stallion and eventually the CH-53E Super Stallion.
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Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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May
25
2020
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Posted by Admin
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After listening to Erickson Incorporated’s Vice President and General Manager Hayden Olson for an hour, one is not sure whether he just concluded an executive interview or finished a life coaching session. The momentary confusion is resolved upon reflection that Olson views all facets of his life as interconnected by his faith and calling to coach others. Thus, he can approach family life as building a high performing team as he similarly does on the job at Erickson where his team building is based on interpersonal relationships and caring. Away from family and work, he’s either coaching personal growth and fitness at the non-profit he founded, or he’s being coached by his “Core Four” board of mentoring friends to which he holds himself accountable for personal and professional growth. The interview all comes together when one realizes that Olson is not only an executive at one of the leading global rotorcraft manufacturing and aviation service providers of utility aircraft, but he’s also a determined, uplifting coach who expects himself and his teams to consistently perform. Olson is Nick Saban in a Fred Rogers’ cardigan. Actually, he’s more likely to wear athletic gear and a T-shirt; which is how he inauspiciously started his business career.
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Categories:
Career Development
Company Profiles
Human Interest
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May
18
2020
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Posted by Admin
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When I started planning for my transition from the Coast Guard a few years before my retirement, there was one thing I tried to do in addition to all the normal administration preparations. I researched companies. All sorts of companies, not just helicopter-specific companies: Twitter, Amazon, Tesla, Facebook, Apple, Starbucks, Walmart. Air Methods, REACH, PHI. I read everything I could about them. I looked for companies with aviation departments and I researched companies who had good reputations hiring veterans. I wasn’t sure if I’d find a flying job, so I was also hedging my bets and looking into operations management opportunities.
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Categories:
Career Development