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May
20
2019
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Posted by Admin
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String-aligning Bell 206 M/R blades can be a bit tedious. To help see the string better, fabricate a couple stringing mirrors. You can use pieces from a broken mirror or buy a couple small rectangular mirrors that will sit across the top of the M/R blade bolt.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Training
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May
13
2019
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Posted by Admin
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What is your current position?
I am the chief instructor for the Robinson Helicopter Company. We have taught the pilot safety course at the factory since the mid-1980s with over 21,000 pilots completing the training. In addition, I have conducted 120 foreign safety courses, in 57 cities and 30 countries. I am an FAA helicopter designated pilot examiner for private through ATP certificates, not only in Robinson’s three models but also 11 other make & models and in the last 35 years have conducted 8,000 practical tests.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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May
06
2019
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Posted by Admin
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One pictures the CEO of a large international aviation corporation sitting at the conference table in a mahogany boardroom, not at the wheel of a volunteer ambulance racing to give someone in Italy a second chance. After hearing his story, it’s not too surprising to find Mecaer Aviation Group CEO Bruno Spagnolini driving that ambulance. He often speaks in rich Italian tones about the importance of serving one’s community. And the former CEO of AgustaWestland knows firsthand that one does not have to be in the back of an ambulance to appreciate a second chance. Mecaer Aviation Group both took and gave a second chance to Spagnolini. The result: the company and CEO seem to be on a honeymoon flight.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
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Apr
22
2019
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Posted by Admin
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It’s not easy for a power company to chalk up a 99.999 percent electricity reliability rating, but the Tennessee Valley Authority has been doing it for the last 19 years straight. Helicopter pilots and linemen are an integral part of this achievement.
People outside the industry sometimes envision these pilots and linemen as a bit loony, and for good reason. The Tyler benches attached to the outside of helicopters commonly touch 500,000-volt electricity lines while linemen transfer themselves from the benches onto towers that stand as high as 300 feet in the air. While the lines are de-energized, their proximity to the helicopters and their spinning rotor blades is hair-raising to the uninitiated.
Ask TVA Helicopter Operations Manager Adam Hammond whether the pilot or lineman is loonier, and he’ll quickly point to the other guy.
“Definitely the lineman,” Hammond said. “They’re out there operating in all kinds of weather to get the power back on.” When rain grounds the helicopters, the linemen have to climb the towers instead.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
Career Development
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Apr
16
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Over the last four years there has been a significant increase in median pay for most helicopter pilots across the board. Good news right? Interestingly though, the industry is struggling to attract and retain experienced pilots. Why?
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
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Apr
08
2019
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Posted by Admin
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If you’ve ever had the desire to travel further, faster, and higher your time is here. I’ve flown helicopters commercially for 13 years. As a civilian, I attended a small flight school in Florida where I obtained all my training from Private through CFII where I used my GI Bill benefits.
Until recently, most Part 121 air carriers did not count helicopter flight hours towards their hiring minimums. In recent years, this trend is on the decline. If you are an experienced helicopter pilot and have ever wanted to fly for the airlines, opportunity may be on the horizon. With as little as 250 hours of airplane PIC time and a commercial multi-engine land add-on certificate you can be eligible for hire at a regional airline that may provide a stepping stone to the mainline carriers.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Mar
18
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Last year when one of my best friends was preparing to retire from the military, he expressed to me that one of the greatest challenges for him in the transition process was his difficulty imagining civilian employment could ever provide him with the same sense of purpose and fulfillment that he had experienced as a member of the military. For many of us who have served, defending the American way of life and serving in the country’s most trusted profession makes pay and earnings seem like an almost secondary motivation. For my friend, the thought of working at a job where—he imagined—salary and benefits was the sole reason to get up and go to work every day sounded like a rather unhappy way to live life. Fortunately, I had transitioned from the military two years prior and had already found my new purpose, which provided me with a few insights that I was able to pass along to him. Don’t get me wrong: redefining your life’s purpose after so many years of living with “duty, honor, country” as the default is not easy. It’s not easy at all.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
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Mar
11
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Night Flight Concepts (NFC), based out of Waco, Texas, brings night vision training and technology from the military to the civilian masses who need to safely fly when the sun goes down. The company is known for cleverly marketing their night vision products and services under acronyms like L.E.A.S.E (Law Enforcement Air Support Entity) and S.O.A.R. (Special Operations Aviation Resources). With approx. 300 global customers, approx. 1,450 students trained, and approx. 3,500 NVGs inspected and repaired since 2006, another catchy acronym for NFC would be F.L.I.G.H.T. (Forward Looking Industrious Group Has Tenacity).
NFC began as a vision, and early side-hustle, that its co-founder and president, Adam Aldous, had while serving in Iraq as an Army Chinook pilot. (Aldous still hustles; if he doesn’t wake up earlier, his 5-year-old daughter gets him up every morning by 6:00—without fail.) When we caught up with him in early January, he was working on NFC’s 2019 marketing plans, but he graciously found the time to share his fascinating story.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Human Interest
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Mar
02
2019
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I currently work for Air Evac Lifeteam as a base pilot supervisor and flight instructor. Essentially, I'm one of four pilots at an EMS base with the added responsibilities of scheduling and pilot oversight. I also help out the training department with new hires and recurrent flight training as needed.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Human Interest
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Feb
25
2019
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Posted by Admin
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No, despite the above title, I’m not trying to move some product on the street. Rather, when was the last time you looked over your aircraft’s Empty Weight & Balance Record (EWBR) and Equipment List (EL)? My what?
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Categories:
Regulatory