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Aug
01
2022
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Posted by Admin
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What is your current position?
I am chief pilot at the Lee County Mosquito Control District (LCMCD). Our team of pilots operate a fleet of both fixed-wing and helicopters that currently consists of two DC-3TPs, two King Air 200s and six Airbus H-125 helicopters. LCMCD is the largest single-county mosquito control agency in the country and we fly a variety of missions from daytime liquid and granular treatments to nighttime ultra-low volume treatments with the use of NVGs.
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Tags:
Lee County Mosquito Control Aviation Unit
Thurbie Botterill
Categories:
Human Interest
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Jul
25
2022
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Posted by Admin
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When it comes to developing cleaner, greener propulsion systems for helicopters, the industry’s original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are going green. “Helicopters account for less than 1% of global CO2 emissions but there are still ways that we can reduce that figure,” said Luca Cossetti, an innovative power solutions specialist with Airbus Helicopters. “We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint to get closer to the end goal of net-zero CO2 emissions.”
“Aviation, including the helicopter market, is under substantial pressure to progress its sustainability initiatives with more efficient engines and airframes,” added Nicolas Chabée, vice president of Sales & Marketing (Helicopter) with Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC). “Our priorities include designing more efficient engines with reduced fuel consumption and ensuring our customers know that their P&WC engines can fly on up to 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from sources such as used cooking oil and algae.”
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Regulatory
Helicopter Sectors
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Jul
18
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Another aviation team that bolsters the city and its surroundings is the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) Air Support/Search and Rescue Section. Director Steve Morris, says that the unit’s mission is clear: Provide air support to all sections of the department and any concurrent jurisdictions within Clark County. Their law enforcement helicopter operations date back to 1969 when the City of Las Vegas Police purchased and operated a Hughes 300. In 1973, the Las Vegas PD and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office merged and became the unit it is today. In the decades since then the program has flown Hughes 300, MD 500 (C,D,E), and two retired Air Force Bell HH-1H Hueys. Today, the unit flies one Airbus H145 in search and rescue configuration and three MD 530FFs in LE configuration.
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Tags:
Airbus H145 SAR
Churchill ARS 700 georeferenced moving map system
Goodrich hoisting
Helionix
inserting tactical teams
L3 Wescam MX-10 camera/sensor
Las Vegas Metro Police Air Support
law enforcement helicopter operations
MD530 FF LE Configuration
sling loading
synthetic vision cockpit technology
the aircraft and tactical flight officer (TFO)
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Company Profiles
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Jul
11
2022
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Posted by Admin
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“The helicopter industry is a comparatively small industry that almost has a family feel,” says Markus Schmitz. It’s a family that the managing director of Axnes Inc. has wanted to belong to much of his life. Upon graduating from the University of Applied Science at Aachen in his native Germany with an aerospace engineering degree , the 1998 graduate had to make a choice. One road led to his designing fixed-wing airframes. The other road led to Eurocopter in Donauwörth where Schmitz was offered his way to helicopters. Schmitz took the wanderlust path. “I chose Eurocopter because I wanted to work in the helicopter industry and with its customers and see the world,” he says.
Actually, that decision was pretty predetermined since Schmitz was a young boy growing up in the town of Vellmar, near the city of Kassel. His father sold fertilizer and salt internationally and his mother was a homemaker for her family. “My background was a stable one from a small town,” he says. “My interests growing up were in medicine and aviation. Helicopters always fascinated me from seeing them fly overhead as a small boy and I later understood their capabilities in medical emergencies.”
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Markus Schmitz Axnes
Rotorcraft Pro
Rotorcraft Pro Executive Watch
Categories:
Human Interest
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Jul
03
2022
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Posted by Admin
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There is a unique city in the heart of Europe that is nicknamed the “City of a Hundred Spires.” This magical city allows one to get lostin the labyrinth of its narrow streets in the inspiring old city center and enjoy the breathtaking views while standing on its beloved Charles Bridge. Prague is a romantic, ancient city, but it’s also vibrant, successful, and cosmopolitan.
Yet, the skies of Prague don't just display its amazing church spires, but also contain a great deal of aircraft flying in and out of the airport as Prague is where Bell Textron has offices in Europe located at the Prague Vaclav Havel International Airport (LKPR). It’s where the only Bell owned service facility in Europe is located.
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Tags:
Bell 429 approved facility in Europe
Bell Amsterdam Distribution Center
Bell Helicopter
Bell Helicopter Maintenance Facility Prague
Bell Textron Prague
Rotor Blade UK
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Company Profiles
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Jun
27
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Frank Sonnenberg, the author of the book, Listen to Your Conscience: That's Why You Have One wrote, “Exceptional people don't shun tests of their strength and determination -- they relish them.”
It almost seems there’s a cultural movement in some parts of society who want to diminish the idea of exceptionalism. Personally, I hope the movement is not successful because in our industry, we are blessed with many exceptional people and companies that keep driving us all collectively to new heights with respect to safety, technology, and performance.
Without the existence of these exceptional people and companies, we would be relegated to hand flying underpowered helicopters in only VFR conditions using only basic instrumentation . . . and training in them too! Instead, we are seeing exponential technological advancements in vertical lift aircraft that will relegate many old platforms to obsolescence. It’s both a scary and interesting time for those of us living it.
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Tags:
Rotorcraft Pro
Rotorcraft Pro Editor Lyn Burks
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Helicopter Sectors
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Jun
20
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Helicopter pilot flight training can be hazardous for reasons I will highlight in this article. I’ve been a flight instructor in the military, a senior instructor for Bell Helicopter in Iran teaching pilots how to be instructor pilots, an instructor and a flight examiner for 13 years while working for the Royal Police Air Wing in the Sultanate of Oman, and a type-rating instructor and type-rating examiner in the Bell 412EP and Bell 212 while working for Abu Dhabi Aviation. While in Abu Dhabi, I trained and examined airline transport pilots hailing from more than 20 countries. In my 13,000-hour flying career, I have developed habits I use while training that I pass along to you to, hopefully, keep you safe.
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Tags:
aviation safety
aviation training
Helicopter Safety
Helicopter Training
my two cents worth
randy mains
Rotorcraft Pro
Categories:
Safety
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Jun
14
2022
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Posted by Admin
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The Military to Civilian Transition Workshop at HAI’s Heli-Expo 2022 was a great success! The workshop was held on the first day of the world’s largest vertical aviation conference and trade show.
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Tags:
Military to Civilian Aviation
Military to Civilian Helicopters
Rotorcraft Pro
Categories:
Career Development
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Jun
06
2022
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Posted by Admin
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If anyone ever doubted that smaller helicopter operators want to deploy fully featured, voluntary Safety Management Systems (SMS) in their companies, that doubt was dispelled in 2021. This was when Helicopter Association International (HAI) surveyed its members and found that a significant number of them wanted access to turnkey SMS support programs designed for small helicopter operators.
In response to this desire for comprehensive voluntary safety management, HAI sought bids from 14 SMS software providers to help the association launch an affordable, members-only turnkey solution called the HAI SMS Program. Although all 14 bids passed muster, three were so well suited to HAI members’ needs that the association chose them as HAI SMS providers. For the record, these SMS providers are Air Charter Safety Foundation, Baldwin Safety and Compliance, and WYVERN Ltd.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Air Charter Safety Foundation
Baldwin Safety and Compliance
Helicopter Safety Management Systems (SMS)
WYVERN Ltd.
Categories:
Safety
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May
30
2022
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am an owner, chief pilot, and instructor at Rogue Aviation. We operate Robinson models R22 Beta II, R44 Raven II, and R66 for helicopter flight training, scenic tours, photo flights, and aerial cinematography. I also had the privilege of serving the Robinson Helicopter Company as one of their safety course instructor pilots. Like many in this industry, I wear many hats!
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Tags:
James Baker Rogue Aviation
Meet A Rotorcraft Pro