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Sep
26
2022
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I recently retired as the Aviation Section captain for the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Orlando, Florida. The Section has four helicopters, one fixed-wing aircraft, and 24 full-time personnel consisting of pilots, flight observers and mechanics. There are additional part-time personnel available on an as-needed basis.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight or experience with helicopters.
My first flight in a helicopter was when I was assigned as an A-4 plane captain with VMA-131 in the U.S. Marine Corps. We flew on a CH-53 from Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Pennsylvania to Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. It was a fantastic experience. The pilots were Vietnam veterans who truly enjoyed their work and took time to explain what they were doing as well as how the systems operated on the aircraft. From that point on I was hooked on becoming a pilot.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Meet A Rotor Pro
Orange County Sheriffs Aviation Unit
Tony Minnis
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Sep
19
2022
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Posted by Admin
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The village of Zermatt, Switzerland, is nestled at the base of the majestic Matterhorn in the midst of a renowned hiking and ski region. These amazing attributes combine to create one of the world’s most iconic vacation resorts.
The region is legendary amongst mountaineers. The Haute (High) Route, a challenging international hiking and ski route that takes several days to complete, runs from the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. More than 400 kilometers of hiking trails wind through and out of the Matterhorn Valley, drawing year-round visitors. However, this alpine paradise also harbors potential dangers. Rockfalls, avalanches, invisible crevasses and suddenly changing weather can rapidly transform this dreamy region into a nightmare.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Agusta Bell 206A
Air Zermatt Aviation Rescue
Alouette III
Categories:
Company Profiles
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Sep
12
2022
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Posted by Admin
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“I never really thought I’d have the title “Vice President” in front of my name. Coming out of the Army as basically an A&P mechanic, I never really thought my career would reach this level; it’s a pretty daunting responsibility to be honest,” says Vice President Kip McDermott of night vision leader Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) in Boise, Idaho. His current responsibilities seem daunting for sure: working with government regulators all over the world, writing test plans, certification plans, and wrangling designated engineering representatives (DERs) up for engineering reports, overseeing a Part 145 repair station along with ASU’s Part 135 and Part 141 flight operations groups, as well as being responsible for supplemental type certificate (STC) certification and ASU’s highly regarded night vision goggle (NVG) lab would “daunt” any executive, but McDermott is confident he can handle his lengthy list. If he loses his grip, he says there’s help, “The saving grace of it all is that I’ve got good guys I’m working with; I don’t have to micromanage them (I’ve never been a micromanager and will never be.) They make my job easier; if I drop something, they pick it up.”
[Read More...]
Tags:
Aviation Specialites Unlimited
Executive Watch
Kip McDermott ASU
RotorPro Executive Watch
Categories:
Company Profiles
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Sep
08
2022
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Posted by Admin
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The Mesa, Arizona helicopter manufacturer, emerges from bankruptcy ready to stabilize and support customers with an eye on future growth.
Brad Pedersen, the newly announced president of MD Helicopters LLC, is no-nonsense regarding the company's future. After three years of working through a bankruptcy process with a compilation of companies, Pedersen said that MD Helicopters is ready to focus on its core business – the customers and after-market support. The 35-year aerospace veteran said that the company is financially strong, and the bankruptcy was a collateralized loan fund that included ownership of several companies. It wasn't a bankruptcy borne of poor financial management.
By Jennifer Ferrero
[Read More...]
Tags:
Brad Pedersen
MD 500
MD 530F
MD Helicopter New Ownership
MD Helicopters New Leadership
MD Helicopters President Brad Pedersen
Categories:
Helicopter Event Coverage
Company Profiles
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Sep
05
2022
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Posted by Admin
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More than 10 million people viewed Phoenix TV station footage of an injured hiker spinning uncontrollably in a helicopter rescue basket three years ago, after one of the two stabilization ropes broke and the helicopter's rotor wash wildly rotated the litter for more than a minute.
While the rotations didn't injure the woman and the viral video spawned countless humorous memes, the woman didn't think it was too funny. She sued the City of Phoenix and won a $450,000 settlement.
Such violent spinning can lead to much, much worse outcomes. Caleb Carr knows this all too well.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Search and Rescue Baskets
Vita Inclinita Rescue System
Vita Rescue System
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Aug
29
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Beginning with this issue, our vertical lift industry media company Rotorcraft Pro, will rebrand itself to be Rotor Pro in order to broaden its horizons in an evolving industry.
The word “Rotorcraft” in our current brand has served us well for more than a decade, but the industry is rapidly changing and it’s too narrow a focus when considering aircraft advances such as powered-lift, eVTOL, unmanned, and urban air mobility.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Editor Lyn Burks
Rotorcraft Pro
RotorPro
Categories:
Company Profiles
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Aug
22
2022
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Posted by Admin
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One word is frequently repeated amongst Bell leaders about the V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft they are building for the U.S. Army: transformational.
"It is a leap ahead, not a step ahead," said Terry Horner, director of government relations at Bell and a retired Army chief instructor pilot. "We're seeing right now in world events why these new capabilities are important."
Bell is competing against a Sikorsky-Boeing team for the right to build the military's next-gen medium helicopter. The Army is the lead branch on the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program to develop that helicopter. While Bell is fielding its V-280 Valor in the competition, Sikorsky-Boeing is offering its compound Defiant X with a coaxial rotor system and pusher propeller. Both competitors say their prototypes can fly twice as fast and far as the UH-60 Black Hawk they are seeking to replace. The Army is likely to choose the winner this year and wants its new aircraft operational by 2030.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Bell Military Next Gen Helicopter
Defiant X
Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA)
Sikorsky-Boeing military next-gen helicopter
V-280 Valor
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Opinion-Editorial
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Aug
16
2022
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Posted by Admin
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As helicopter owners, pilots, and mechanics we must consistently be advocates for safety and always meet or exceed the standards. Personal safety and prevention of equipment damage are of utmost importance. The number one concern in the aviation business today is the rising cost of insurance. The rapid rise in insurance is directly due to injuries and equipment damaged.
So, how do we mitigate the risk thereby decreasing premiums? Here are some simple and basic measures that will aid your flight and maintenance operations in keeping safety as the top priority.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Aviation Maintenance
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Aug
08
2022
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Posted by Admin
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We’ve all been there: an urgent mission to rescue wounded or dying personnel, or have undergone surge operations in a lengthy campaign against high value that taxes personnel and machines. These scenarios place military aircrews and maintenance personnel in potentially hazardous positions of increased risk and challenging conditions. In these cases, the risk is often assumed by our superiors; sometimes they waive the rules altogether. Teams vow to never leave a fallen comrade and fly until the job is finished, or they operate in hazardous conditions because lives are at stake. Maintainers work extended hours with little rest to keep the machines flying. The actual or perceived pressures to complete these missions are very real. In combat, it may be OK to risk an aircraft and crew to save one life. Organizations have mottos such as “So others may live” or use terms such as “no-fail mission.”
[Read More...]
Tags:
Military to Civilian Helicopters
Military to Civilian Transition
Categories:
Career Development
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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.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Lee County Mosquito Control Aviation Unit
Thurbie Botterill
Categories:
Human Interest