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Sep
16
2024
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Posted by Admin
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When it comes to flight helmets, Steve Mifsud has seen it all.
“I’ve seen helmets that were picked up by tornadoes and thrown a ways away,” Mifsud related. “Dogs have torn them up. They’ve even been used as bowling balls in Antarctica (by bored researchers). And one was burned on one side in a wildfire.”
Mifsud has seen all this damage on various helmets because people chose to repair them. So they sent their headgear to Evolution Helmets in Melbourne, Florida to get them restored to mint condition. “You see some crazy things,” concluded Mifsud, a helmet tech at Evolution Helmets.
Mifsud recalls totally refurbishing a 1990s-era Army helmet for one customer. About six months later, the pilot called Mifsud from the hospital to ask him to restore his helmet again – after he was a passenger in a rotorcraft that spun out and crashed. Luckily he walked away with a concussion and a dented helmet but nothing worse. “The helmet was up to OEM standards...and that definitely could have helped,” Mifsud said. The new styrofoam likely softened the impact when the g-force shoved the passenger’s head against the machine, he added.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Evolution Helmets
Helicopter Helmet Painting
Helicopter Helmet Repair
Helmet Refurbishing
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
Safety
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Sep
09
2024
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Posted by Admin
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It was bound to happen. As the American workforce and aerospace industry becomes more diverse, we now have two consecutive Executive Watch profiles, published last issue on Anthony Rios and this time on Ray Lamas, that feature second-generation Hispanic Americans who make positive contributions to the vertical-lift industry and show how healthy immigration fuels American economic growth and ingenuity. Lamas said, “Everyone is born somewhere and I was very fortunate to be born in the United States.”
[Read More...]
Tags:
Loft Dynamics
Ray Lamas
vertical lift industry
Categories:
Company Profiles
Career Development
Human Interest
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Aug
29
2024
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Posted by Admin
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Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England that encompasses the capital of Massachusetts. Rich in history, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers. The city was named after Boston, Lincolnshire, England. During the American Revolution, Boston was home to several events that proved central to the revolution and subsequent Revolutionary War, including the Boston Massacre (1770), the Boston Tea Party (1773), Paul Revere's poetic midnight ride (1775), the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775), and the Siege of Boston (1775–1776).
Greater Boston is ranked tenth in population among U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, being home to 4,941,632 people. Today, Boston has emerged as the largest biotechnology hub in the world. The city is a national leader in scientific research, medicine, engineering, business, and higher education.
Serving New England
Boston MedFlight (BMF) was created by a consortium of six Boston-area academic medical centers in 1985. The organization was established as New England Life Flight Inc. as an independent, non-profit corporation to provide critical-care transport across eastern Massachusetts and New England; not just to serve the consortium hospitals, but to also be a service to its Commonwealth communities.
[Read More...]
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Aug
26
2024
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Posted by Admin
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Back in 1999, I became an air ambulance pilot at a busy program flying an S76C+. We flew about 900 patients per year, 80% scene calls, and a large portion of our flights were after midnight. I was 32 years old and in the best shape of my life. I was training for and running 10k races, half-marathons, and triathlons for fun.
Specific to our operation, there were several factors that lended themselves to a slow decline in health and energy levels. Pilots and crew members had to bunk together so getting rest when not busy was very difficult. We worked a random rotation of nights and days in a four-on and four-off cycle, which kept the circadian rhythm out of sync. Also, intentional to our operation, as a benefit for the pilots, management kept the pilot pool a pilot or two short, which created overtime shifts for those wishing to earn extra money.
Fast-forward five years to 2004, and after working many extra shifts and busy nights, I found myself in a constant and chronic state of fatigue. I would spend most of my days off recovering, rather than enjoying my family or other activities. In five years, I went from being able to run 26 miles to barely being able to run one.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Editor's Letter
HAA Pilot retention
HAA Pilots
Pilot fatigue
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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Aug
19
2024
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Posted by Admin
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In preparing to transition out of the military to the civilian aviation industry, you have likely done a plethora of research and preparation. After reading articles, attending networking events, assessing job postings and salaries, you encounter a major roadblock: you do not have enough flight hours or relevant flight time to qualify for any of the jobs on the market. So, now what?
This was precisely the position I was in about seven years ago when I left the military. As an officer in the MEDEVAC unit, I was only able to accrue approximately 600 hours during my time of service, which was certainly not enough to allow me to be eligible for most hiring minimums in the civilian sector. The good news is that it is possible to be successful in the rotary-wing industry with the right amount of determination, sacrifice, and patience. There are many programs that allow military trained helicopter pilots to transition into commercial fixed-wing positions. However, navigating the rotary-wing industry is a bit trickier, especially if you are a low-time pilot.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Mil to Civ transition aviation
Military to Civilian Rotor
Military to Civilian Transition
Categories:
Career Development
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Aug
12
2024
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Posted by Admin
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Drones and helicopters seem like a marriage made in heaven for law enforcement agencies. Judging by the experiences of the Alameda County (Calif.) Sheriff's Office and the Fairfax County (Va.) Police Department, it is. Both departments are teaming their crewed and uncrewed aerial assets to great success. Here is what they are doing, and how they are making the most of drones and helicopters working together.
[Read More...]
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Aug
06
2024
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Posted by Admin
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Maximize Your Helicopter Training
Training is foundational to every flight. Incorporating simulators or flight training devices (FTD) into your training regimen can remove the potential risks of in-aircraft training plus bring added effectiveness and lowered costs.
Safer, Smarter Environment
Compared with simulator training, in-aircraft training entails substantial drawbacks such as liability issues, avoidable wear and tear on the aircraft, and the inability to practice various types of critical emergencies.
Properly practicing a scenario in a simulator rather than imagining one in the aircraft could mean the life-saving difference during an actual crisis when the safety of those onboard comes down to split-second decisions. Simulators offer a safe platform for practical and comprehensive training, from performing the very basics to rehearsing the rare and unexpected.
Using state-of-the-art technology, normal and abnormal procedures can be simulated using a wide variety of aircraft, weather and environmental conditions without risk. Adverse and emergency events happen just as they would in the actual aircraft, presenting valuable practice opportunities.
[Read More...]
Tags:
flight training devices
FlightSafety International
Simulation Based Training
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Aug
05
2024
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Posted by Admin
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Last year there was an exuberant atmosphere in Madrid. Thousands of people are flocking to the city center to welcome their football club, Real Madrid, after their victory in the UEFA Champions League final. The Spanish police have mobilized massively to ensure the smooth conduct of this event. Additionally, from the air, a helicopter is vigilantly keeping an eye on potential risks and incidents and relaying information to ground units. This year, the Spanish police will celebrate their 200th anniversary, and the aviation department will mark its 45th birthday. This milestone prompted Martin Scharenborg & Ramon Wenink/Global Aviation Review Press to take a look behind-the-scenes at this busy unit.
[Read More...]
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Jul
29
2024
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Posted by Admin
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In 1997, I was a relatively new FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) in the South Florida FAA District Office. On a beautiful Saturday in December, I was asked to complete an FAA private pilot added-rating exam for an applicant at a helicopter flight school at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE). As I had done many exams for this school, there was nothing unique about this day. At least, that was my thoughts prior to my arrival.
The exam was scheduled for 8:00 a.m., so I arrived about 15 minutes early. I often arrived early so I could stroll next door and visit my friend Terry at CavAir, a helicopter maintenance facility, and have a cup of coffee. We enjoyed a quick chat and off to work I went.
Volar Helicopters, the flight school hosting the exam, was owned, and operated by Tony Hicks. Tony would often be in his office when I arrived, so when I walked through the door of the school and heard someone shuffling papers in the office area, I assumed it was him. At that time, a voice said “Hello”. At that moment: I knew!
[Read More...]
Tags:
FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE)
my two cents worth
Categories:
Career Development
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Jul
22
2024
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Posted by Admin
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In 1836, the Western and Atlantic Railroad companies were trying to connect Chattanooga, Tennessee with Savannah, Georgia. They drove a milepost into the ground in what is now Foundry Street and named the settlement “Terminus.” According to the railroad’s chief engineer, Stephen H. Long, Terminus would be good "for one tavern, a blacksmith shop, a grocery store, and nothing else." A few years later following the building of a small grocery store, the settlement’s name changed to Thrasherville.
By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor Governor Wilson Lumpkin's daughter Martha. Later, John Edgar Thomson, chief engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlanta, as a feminine version of the word "Atlantic,” referring to the Western and Atlantic Railroad. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on 29 December 1847.
During the Civil War, the Union Army invaded Georgia from the north with a plan of capturing Atlanta in order to make it a strategic military hub. On the first of September 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood decided to retreat from Atlanta, and he ordered its destruction by burning of all public buildings and possible assets that could be of use to the Union Army. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, and on September 7, the city's civilian population was ordered to evacuate.
Since then, the Atlanta metropolitan area has become the hub of the Southeast U.S. for many industries, and boasts a population of more than 6 million people.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Atlanta Police Department Aviation Unit
Categories:
Company Profiles