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Oct
25
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Helicopter training doesn’t necessarily give us the opportunity to live our life as a champion— but it can give us the opportunity to live the rest of our life. I was thinking the other day of all the training that I have received during my 35 years of work life. I have really only had four chapters in my career. U.S. Marine, firefighter, helicopter pilot, and business owner. The first three have required extensive amounts of training. I cannot help but wonder how much of it I took for granted.
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Tags:
Helicopter Training
Rotorcraft Pro SepOct 2021 Issue
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
Opinion-Editorial
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Oct
25
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Pay, location, and job satisfaction are three of the major factors involved in determining the ultimate helicopter pilot position. You can consider yourself pretty lucky to get two out of the three. Fortunately, for retired Marine Pilot Ryan Jacobs, all three is precisely what he got when he landed the enviable position as a contractor simulator instructor at NAS Whiting Field.
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Tags:
Aviation Military to Civilian Transition
Helicopter Military to Civilian Transition
Mechanic Military to Civilian Transition
Military to Civilian Transtion Pilots
Simulator Instructor
Categories:
Career Development
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Oct
18
2021
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Posted by Admin
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The teaming of manned search and rescue (SAR) helicopters with unmanned aerial systems (AKA drones) is an idea whose time has come. Remotely controlled drones can be immediately dispatched to search for victims and identify landing zone hazards while a SAR helicopter is preparing to fly. Once aloft, the SAR helicopter crew can use the drone’s data collected to reduce their flight time to the victims.
“Unmanned systems can reduce exposures and risks to SAR personnel as part of their operations,” said Johnny T. Doo, group leader for NASA Transformative Vertical Flight Working Group-4: Public Services and also president of International Vehicle Research Inc. “It's a combination that is becoming more and more popular because there are tasks in SAR that are not human-friendly,” added Juan Plaza, a UAV/general aviation consultant. “Drones can search for victims at night during fires and other environmental conditions that pose dangers to manned aircraft.”
The big question for SAR operators is just how far the teaming concept can go. Given advances in artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous (self-flying) drones, and the growing computing power onboard manned helicopters, it seems possible that tomorrow’s SAR helicopters could fly out accompanied by swarms of self-coordinating surveillance drones and that these drones could do more than just relay visual data back to their human operators.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Oct
11
2021
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Posted by Admin
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The success of an air ambulance pilot isn’t written on an elusive list of trade secrets buried deep in a frightful dark abyss. Instead, the necessary tenets are generally in plain sight and, unfortunately, an abundance of what we now know comes from the tragedies of those that came before us. But, as the worn-out cliché goes: “We don’t know what we don’t know.” Not learning from others (mentors) who are successful in this unique field is not only unprofessional on the part of the pilot new to the air ambulance arena, but gravely hazardous as well. Awareness of the lack of knowledge and skill sets needed and being able to say “I don’t know” is vital to success. You have to be thirsty for knowledge if you want to physically and mentally survive. Don’t rely on sheer luck.
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10 Tips for Success for the Air Ambulance Pilot
An Air Ambulance Pilot’s Career Survival Guide
Matt Johnson
Categories:
Career Development
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Oct
04
2021
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Posted by Admin
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It was an ordinary day and I was having an ordinary lunch with my friend. Something we do each week to break up the day, share some laughs and conduct some business. Today, it was double patty melt day at our favorite hole in the wall restaurant. It is the hard-to-find, off the beaten path restaurant where everyone knows your name and you know them too. When the server returned with my friend’s patty melt, he quickly surveyed his sandwich and quipped, “Hey, you forgot to add mayo.” In one motion she whirled around and without hesitating she replied, “It’s not my responsibility to manage your sandwich.” He was left speechless, but I could not hold back my laughter.
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Tags:
Aviation Maintenance
Helicopter Maintenance
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
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Sep
27
2021
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am currently a pilot in command flying one of two Firewatch Cobra helicopters belonging to the U.S. Forest Service. The Firewatch Cobras provide aerial supervision and intelligence gathering for large wildland fire incidents throughout the western United States.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight or experience with helicopters.
My first flying experience with helicopters was at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in 1986 as a warrant officer candidate in Army Flight School, operating the venerable TH-55A. By the time I departed Fort Rucker for my first active-duty assignment, I was qualified in TH-55, UH-1H, OH-58 series, and AH-1 series helicopters.
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Tags:
Army Flight School
Scott Beck
USFS Pilot Scott Beck
Categories:
Human Interest
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Sep
20
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Since 1985, North Memorial Health has served the state of Minnesota and the surrounding states, connecting rural communities and the sprawling metropolis of Minneapolis by both air and ground. North Memorial Health Air Care and its fleet of nine helicopters provides more than 4,000 flights a year from seven bases throughout the region. Their focus is clear: Providing the highest level of care in the shortest time possible to save lives.
Upon meeting the team at North Memorial Health Air Care, one thing becomes immediately evident, a sense of pride and teamwork in what they do. From executives to pilots and paramedics, everyone is invested in the mission and doing their part to serve the community.
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Tags:
North Memorial Air Care
Tiger Masks Aviation
Categories:
Company Profiles
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Sep
10
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Flightcell’s founding CEO, John Wyllie, calls from the northern tip of his native town of Nelson, New Zealand, at the northern tip of South Island, perhaps the most majestically picturesque place on Earth. The island has been the location for epic fantasy/adventure movies like The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. What Flightcell does seems magical too. They link and track aircraft around the globe, allowing pilots and their flying machines to communicate with a vast array of terrestrial and satellite systems. The Kiwi company of 21 employees punches far above its size and has built a global reputation as the go-to organization for avionic communication solutions. You may have heard of some of their approx. 4,000 customers: the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines, California Highway Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety, Cal Fire, Royal Flying Doctors, Colombian Air Force, and U.S. Department of State. Yes, they have street—and air—cred.
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Tags:
Flight Tracking
Flightcell
Flightcell DZM satcom
Categories:
Company Profiles
Opinion-Editorial
Human Interest
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Sep
06
2021
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Posted by Admin
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No matter what data set or latest editorial piece you refer to, the one common theme we see reminds us that the professional pilot is in high demand in today’s aviation market. The sculpting of a professional pilot has a myriad of challenges, both for the pilot in development and the educators that pave the way. Coupled with the fact that pilots “don't know what they don’t know” until they are introduced to a specific concept or technique (hopefully correctly), and the mere fact that helicopter operations are frequently operating in environments with numerous unknowns, having a properly equipped pilot with the necessary skill sets is apropos for success.
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Tags:
First Officers
Pilot Mentoring
Pilot Training
Categories:
Training
Opinion-Editorial
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Aug
30
2021
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Posted by Admin
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In February of this year, the United States Helicopter Safety Team, with support from Helicopter Association International, Airbus, and Frasca International produced a short video titled 56 Seconds to Live.
In this chilling video, the viewer is taken on a dramatized journey, which shows a pilot making all the wrong decisions during the process of accepting a flight, which then leads to an IIMC condition, culminating in his death. At the very end his spouse and child stand at his grave.
Given the challenging nature of helicopter air ambulance (HAA) work, IIMC accidents have always been a large part of HAA accident stats over the decades. I often wonder: are we getting better as an industry?
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Tags:
Editors Letter
Rotorcraft Pro Editor Lyn Burks
Categories:
Safety
Opinion-Editorial