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Mar
23
2020
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Posted by Admin
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If asked to describe the present state of the privately operated aerial firefighting industry in the U.S., I would call it robust, thanks in large part to aggressive fleet upgrades prompted by customer requirements and vendor initiatives. Including UH-60 Blackhawks and CH-47Ds, operators have acquired turbine-powered equipment that is at least one generation newer than most of the current fleet of medium and heavy Cold War and Vietnam War-era helicopters. At the same time, some regional airliners have transitioned to new lives as large air tankers.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Mar
09
2020
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Posted by Admin
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When I was transitioning out of the military, my friend, Nico, told me that there are three things that will influence job satisfaction: location, pay, and your boss. “If you are lucky you will get two of the three,” he said. Nico later modified the list to include schedule and equipment bringing the total to five, and you are lucky if you get three out of the five. The advantage we had in the military was that every two to three years we would move, but in civilian industry you may be at the same job for many years, so choose your career wisely.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
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Mar
02
2020
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Posted by Admin
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"Bon domesdi y bën uni da meus tla Dolomites!" This is how you will be greeted and welcomed in the Dolomites in Ladin, a special and unique language spoken only in the region of northeast Italy. Only 40,000 people still speak Ladin and it is a language struggling to survive, but things are looking optimistic as a newly launched newspaper and TV station use the language. So, Ladin has a great chance of staying alive and in full use. But not only is the language in the Dolomites special, so are the people and so is the natural beauty.
The Dolomites are a majestic mountain range declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009. Besides breathtaking views, ski slopes, and infamous hiking trails, they offer an amazing 300 days of sunshine per year. For all sun lovers, this is a must-visit destination. The best part of it is you can visit the Dolomites by foot, with an e-bike, or enjoy the view from a higher, birds-eye perspective.
Since 1998, you can catch a sightseeing flight with Elikos Helicopters owned by two brothers: Gabriel and Marco Kostner.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
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Feb
24
2020
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Posted by Admin
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Health and fitness is one of those topics pilots would prefer not to talk about—specifically if there are problems with their personal health and fitness that could affect their flying status. But not talking about health and fitness poses risks to pilots, the people they fly, and the aircraft they operate. If pilots suffering from serious health/fitness issues manage to stay under the FAA’s radar and keep flying, they could experience a physical crisis in the air.
Addressing pilot health and fitness in a positive, career-saving manner is what Delta P is all about. Based in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Delta P helps pilots and their employees deal with aeromedical safety, aerospace physiology, and other human factors that can compromise pilot performance.
“Ninety percent of all aviation accidents are related to human factors and human performance,” said Dr. Dudley Crosson, who founded Delta P in 1988. “Yet, whenever pilots go for training, the great majority of their training is focussed on system failures. We need to start taking human factors more seriously because they are causing most of the accidents.”
[Read More...]
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Career Development
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Feb
17
2020
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: In your view, what is the greatest challenge for the helicopter industry at this moment in time?
The helicopter industry doesn’t seem to face pilot shortages in the same way as commercial airlines do but we did experience a drop in the number of people coming through during the 2008-9 recession. There was a five-year gap with not much training going on, and because of that there is a massive skills gap and it’s difficult to find pilots with the right level of experience.
Additionally, there is a huge gap in training between PPL to Instructor and single-engine flying charter. It’s difficult for new pilots to build their hours to be considered for employment.
At Castle Air we wouldn’t employ anyone with fewer than 1,000 hours, but how do new pilots go from 185 (CPL level) to 1,000 hours? It’s difficult for us to fund training up to 1,000 hours and furthermore there are not enough smaller helicopters around to build experience. We’re trying to have more two-seater aircraft at Castle Air to help alleviate the issue and provide some training, but without a robust training regime the gap is going to remain.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Feb
10
2020
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Posted by Admin
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It was a no-brainer for Boeing Global Services Senior Manager of Helicopter Operations Ty Genteman to get into the aviation industry—or more accurately—it was a no-brainer for him to get out of the blistering desert heat. He was pulling cable in his telecom construction business when a friend called with a simple proposition. Genteman clearly recalls the 1986 conversation that changed his life. His friend, Eric Witters, made his pitch, “It’s July in Arizona and you’re working in 118 degrees; how would you like to come to Aviall and get out of the heat?”
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
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Feb
03
2020
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Posted by Admin
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The number of pilots in the United States has grown slightly over the last few years. In 2016, there were approximately 584,000 pilots; in 2018, that number reached 633,320. Today, the demand for well-trained pilots is increasing, especially at the regional airport level.
While aviation can be an exciting career path, it carries with it considerable risk, particularly for those pilots flying non-owned aircraft. Whether flying an A-Star helicopter or a Cessna 550 Citation, or training a future aviator, a pilot can be at risk in the event of an accident. It’s interesting to note that private planes have a substantially higher crash rate than that of commercial aviation. That can be attributed to pilot skill, looser regulations for private planes, and lack of safety and backup systems. Financially speaking, however, a general aviation crash or damaging an aircraft can potentially put a huge dent in a pilot’s wallet and career.
[Read More...]
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Jan
24
2020
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Posted by Admin
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With its new high-tech expansion in Mesa, Arizona, Able Aerospace Services is ready and willing to take on a wider variety of component repairs – so more customers can save more money with repaired parts instead of buying new ones.
The motto on its website says it all: “Save money. Save time. Keep flying. That’s the Able way.” Across more than three decades, Able has repaired millions of components without a single in-service failure. And its tradition of success continues to grow.
This year, Able added 60,000 square feet to now boast a 260,000 square-foot campus at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. The $9 million investment includes $3 million in futuristic robots and digital equipment, such as a Hermle C 52 machining center that allows Able to repair larger-scale components at a new level of sophistication and complete the work in hours versus days.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
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Jan
20
2020
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Posted by Admin
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Troubleshooting an intermittent yaw caution light with the autopilot and FCDS installed can be a pain sometimes. Since both the yaw SAS SEMA and the yaw autopilot SEMA are mounted on the same control tube at the Fenestron, the yaw SEMA 1 can influence yaw SEMA 2, or vice versa. The trick is to separate the systems by turning off the autopilot and pulling into hover; if the yaw light indication returns, it should be the yaw SEMA 2. If not, it should be yaw SEMA 1.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Jan
13
2020
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Posted by Admin
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What is now Airbus Helicopters came to life in North America 50 years ago.
Perhaps they didn’t realize how big a deal they would become, because at the time, there were only 17 Airbus helicopters operating on this continent, and the new company had just 43 employees. To put it mildly, the company was not much of a force.
How things have changed: Today, there are over 3,100 Airbus helicopters flying in North America; 2,600 of them are commercial and the rest are military. Airbus Helicopters has also grown to become the predominant player in the North American commercial/utility (65% market share), corporate/VIP (86%), EMS (71%), and parapublic (62%) markets.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles