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Aug
06
2018
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Posted by Admin
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A gentleman on my professional Facebook page, claimed a certain unit was “the best aviation unit in the world.” While we pilots often make strong claims, I got to thinking: What criteria would qualify a unit to be considered one of the best in the world?
Naturally, I immediately thought about the unit I served with in Vietnam from October 1968 to October 1969. We were the Black Widows of Charlie Company assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. I was Black Widow 25. When I arrived we were based at LZ Sally, 7 kilometers northwest of Hue. Several months later we moved to the air base at Hue Phu Bai.
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Jul
30
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Periodically, I have the privilege of assisting Part 135 operators with temporary management and training position services. My role may include providing instructor and/or check-pilot services for their Part 135 operating certificate. In many cases, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) inability to support an operator training and checking program is driven by their FAA inspector’s lack of experience and/or currency in the aircraft operated by the Part 135 certificate holder.
A few weeks ago, I was working with an operator to become their Part 135 instructor and check pilot. Following the guidance provided within FAA Order 8900.1, we requested an initial cadre approval and set the process to move forward. That letter was crafted and submitted in October 2017. Once our principal operations inspector (POI) received the request, we were notified that the office did not have adequate staff to conduct pilot proficiency checks in the requested aircraft make and model, so an FAA inspector from another office would conduct the checks.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Regulatory
Training
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Jul
24
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Here’s a tip to help troubleshoot a customer bleed air system. Different manufacturers have their own nomenclatures, but this is the system that takes hot engine bleed air and routes it for cabin heating, cooling turbines, particle separators, and the like.
On occasion, the bleed air problem only manifests itself when the aircraft is running. One way to check this without running an engine is to apply shop air to the aircraft bleed air system. The picture below is a work aid version used for Bell 212/412, MBB BO105, Bell 222/230, or any aircraft with a 209-type bleed air “deck” valve.
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Categories:
Training
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Jul
16
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Since tablet computers first became mainstream products, electronic flight bag (EFB) solutions have developed some critical mass also in the domain of helicopter operations. Multiple helicopter operators all over the world have, to some extent, implemented EFBs, and a decrease in the use of paper-based flight deck documentation is being witnessed.
At CHC, EFB solutions were first introduced in the U.K. in 2014 and have since expanded across its global operations. “Our EFBs include all necessary flight information, including operations manuals, weather information, and helideck data and approach information that is easily accessible at the fingertips of flight crews via iPad”, says Dave Balevic, CHC’s senior vice president of engineering and operations. “They include our operation flight planning system (OFPS), which has been used to plan more than 100,000 flights across our fleet. Our OFPS is made in-house, with extensive input and direction from our pilots and is currently on its fifth generation as we work to constantly improve it and make it a more efficient tool.”
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Categories:
Training
Safety
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Jul
16
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Two years ago I posted an article to LinkedIn entitled, “What We Get Wrong!” At the time I didn’t realize how that it would resonate with many people either transitioning out of the military or those that had. So after two years, I decided to write a follow up to it. Once again I asked a few chief pilots and helicopter industry human resource recruiters for their thoughts on what military pilots get right and what they enjoy about them. The following is an overview, in no specific order, of military veterans’ positive attributes.
When given a task they complete it. Former military members are very mission oriented. They understand what needs to be done to get the job done; when tasks are complete they offer assistance and jump in to help others with others tasks, even if it means sweeping the hangar.
When declining a position, they are very courteous and don’t burn bridges. Taking the extra minute to let someone know you have decided to take another job somewhere else in a gracious manner is well received an appreciated. For example, “Thank you for the opportunity to work for your company, but I have found a position with another company that I think I am a better fit for.” That is better received than “I’m not going to work here and found something else that pays better,” or just blowing them off.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Jul
10
2018
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Posted by Admin
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The aviation industry is constantly changing. If you own a helicopter or fleet of helicopters, and have an interest in capitalizing on the tourism side of the industry, then Patric Douglas, CEO and founder of Big Mountain Heli Tours in Bend, Oregon, can help develop your company no matter your location or equipment.
When Douglas first entered the heli-tourism industry he confidently brought his 30 years’ experience as a tourism developer to the market. With his proven track record in tourism development Douglas is now lending his services to help those entering the heli-tourism industry find success. He is the owner of companies that have pioneered everything from white shark cage diving in Mexico (sharkdiver.com) to building underwater cities in Dubai (reefworlds.com).
In October 2016, Douglas turned his full attention to aviation and emerged with the successful launch of Big Mountain Heli Tours (flycascades.com). Upon securing a partnership with Leading Edge Aviation (flybend.com), one of the largest helicopter training schools in Oregon, Big Mountain Heli Tours exceeded its 2017 forecasts and is poised for continued growth and expansion in 2018. The addition of an instructor-level tour company helps Leading Edge Aviation build hours and offer real world training for those moving on to other careers.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Jul
03
2018
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I’m currently the Eastern United States regional pilot training manager/check airman with Metro Aviation Inc.
An additional duty with Metro is that of maintenance/production test pilot at Paradigm Aerospace Corporation, known as PAC International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Metro Aviation. This responsibility has provided me a great opportunity to fly numerous types of airframes, including: Airbus EC145, EC135 (all variants), AS350 and the BK117 (all variants); Bell 206 series and the 407s,
(both analog) and the GX1000s and the MD900.
I’m also co-owner of Professional Helicopter Services LLC, one of the principles in 4D Aviation Consulting LLC.
I enjoyed a 26-year career with the Pennsylvania State Police retiring from the Aviation Unit in 2010.
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Jun
25
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Jim Hasburgh’s extensive helicopter pilot training at the U.S. Air and Marine Operations’ National Air Training Center coalesced on one cold and rainy winter day near McAllen, Texas five years ago.
AMO’s sister agency, the U.S. Border Patrol, had worked all night in the rain to apprehend a group of undocumented immigrants but couldn’t locate an 8-year-old Central American girl. A helicopter crew consisting of Hasburgh, Border Patrol agent Aron Quintanilla, and an EMT was assigned to look for her.
The crewmembers searched and searched but even with the help of a FLIR thermal camera, they couldn’t locate the child. With visibility conditions nearing AMO minimum requirements, the crew made the call to halt the mission. Then just as Hasburgh banked to the left, Quintanilla spotted the shaking little girl, all covered with mud and soaking wet.
“I remember the girl hugging us both,” Quintanilla recalled. “I just told her, ‘There’s an angel looking after you.’ Even now I get chills thinking about it. I have a lot of experience doing this, and our chances of finding her were maybe five percent…It was a miracle.”
[Read More...]
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
Training
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Jun
12
2018
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Posted by Admin
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8 Ways to Enhance Helicopter Training and Reduce Fatal Accidents
Many fatal helicopter accidents involve causes from actions or non-actions that may have occurred months or years before during initial or recurrent instruction sessions. The U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (www.USHST.org) has determined that these training initiatives could improve safety and potentially save lives.
Promote the Teaching of Threat and Error Management – Traditional decision-making models focus largely on reactive and proactive means of flight crew situation management. Threat and Error Management (TEM), however, focuses on a predictive process to eliminate threats and errors before, during, and after each flight. Since its inception and introduction to airline operations, TEM has, as part of larger safety efforts, drastically reduced total accidents within the worldwide airline community. Although TEM generally is taught in conjunction with Cockpit Resources Management (CRM), TEM is actually the latest evolution/iteration of the CRM concept: It is defined as “the process of detecting and responding to threats and errors to ensure that the ensuing outcome is inconsequential, i.e., the outcome is not an error, further error, or an undesired aircraft state.”
[Read More...]
Categories:
Safety
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Jun
03
2018
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Posted by Admin
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One item that used to perplex me was reinstalling the K-FLEX drive shaft on a Bell 407. It wasn’t too bad on the earlier models. But once the aft T/R driveshaft flywheel was “incorporated” to form the new thicker rotorbrake (R/B) disc up front, it became a little tighter getting the shaft to drop in.
However, when Bell increased the size of the transmission drive flange it became downright impossible without some persuasion. That was until a fellow wrench, Kevin H., showed me the light. This tip is directed at the latter K-FLEX installation. While it’s a bit hard to explain, it’s even harder to draw a diagram. But it works. You just need to hold your mouth right.
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Categories:
Training