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Aug
01
2016
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Posted by Admin
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The United States Helicopter Safety Team (www.ushst.org) will focus major attention during the next four years on reducing fatal accidents within the U.S. civil helicopter community.
The industry-government partnership is targeting a reduction to 0.61 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours, which is 20 percent less than the average since 2009. For a baseline comparison, the USHST is using a fatal accident rate of 0.76. This is the average fatal accident rate for the prior five years that have final and reliable data (2009-10 and 2012-14) derived from the FAA General Aviation Survey.
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Categories:
Safety
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Aug
01
2016
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Posted by Admin
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Modern airborne video surveillance systems enable mission teams to search for objects of interest and observe unfolding events (either overtly or covertly) while recording and reporting what’s being observed. Improvements to a helicopter’s video surveillance system can significantly improve mission effectiveness. Ways to improve the system include:
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Categories:
Training
Safety
Regulatory
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Jul
24
2016
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Posted by Admin
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Beginning last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released several training-related guidance updates. These releases included advisory circulars, a national policy notice, and most recently, the Flight Instructor Helicopter Practical Test Standards (PTS). In several of my previous training articles, I referred to subject matter affected by the release of this new guidance. I would now like to review a few of the specific documents released by the FAA and provide an overview of how changes may affect you.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Training
Regulatory
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Jul
18
2016
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Posted by Admin
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In the 1960s and ‘70s a disease seemed to strike the airline industry that caused airliners to crash for no known reason. NASA called a “Resource Management on the Flight Deck” workshop that identified human error as the main cause of several high-profile accidents. NASA’s research uncovered that from 1968 to 1976 there were 60 airliners that crashed due to elements of human error. Researching back further through the Boeing archives to 1940, NASA discovered that four out of five accidents—80 percent—had an element of human error. Since that workshop, six generations of CRM have emerged.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Safety
Training
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Jul
04
2016
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Posted by Admin
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Congratulations! You’ve graduated from owning a 30 year old, second-hand, twin-engine helicopter to a spanking new Airbus Helicopters H175, AgustaWestland AW189, Sikorsky S-76D, or some other next-generation rotorcraft equipped with the latest systems. Now that you own this machine, where are you going to have it serviced? Is the MRO that kept your aging helicopter flying able to do the same for your shiny new helicopter? If not, how can you find service before it’s too late?
[Read More...]
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Jul
04
2016
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I’ve just recently accepted the position of chief pilot at Sundance Helicopters in Las Vegas. This means I’m now responsible for the hiring, training, and scheduling of pilots under CFR part 135. We have anywhere between 35 and 60 pilots, depending on the time of year, which makes it a major challenge to balance the needs of the operation versus the needs of the human operating the helicopter. I work with a bunch of good people though, so I’m looking forward to leading the troops for the foreseeable future.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Human Interest
Training
Helicopter Sectors
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Jun
28
2016
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Posted by Admin
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If your answer to that question is “Yes,” but you are concerned about funding, or if the answer is “No,” but you want to turn that no into a yes, then this is the article for you.
Ever since helicopters first entered law enforcement in the 1940s, agencies have been facing the fiscal challenge of how to fund such capital-intensive assets. Agencies have historically—and in many cases, automatically—assumed that purchasing an aviation unit is the only way have one. This approach relies heavily upon a significant capital budget allocation that may only be available during periods characterized by: (1) a sound economy, (2) a growing population, and (3) a generally prosperous citizenship to absorb the requisite increase in taxes. Unfortunately, the timing that dictates the need for an air asset may not coincide with all of these conditions being met.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Jun
21
2016
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Posted by Admin
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For several decades now, illegal immigration and security along the Mexican border has been a political hot potato for citizens and legislators alike. Politicians have thrown it back and forth, hoping the potato would cool. Well, thanks to a certain 2016 U.S. presidential candidate turning up the heat, it seems the illegal immigration issue is hotter than ever. The fall of 2015 found Donald J. Trump making statements like, “Not only will we (the U.S.) build a wall on the Mexican border, but Mexico will pay for it.” That, and many other soundbites, turned a political potato into a political fireball, and the issue is once again on the American public’s front burner.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Jun
13
2016
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Posted by Admin
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Being the president of Airbus Helicopters is one of the great responsibilities in the rotorcraft world. Over 23,000 employees generate over $6 billion in revenue while manufacturing and delivering some of the top flagship aircraft in the industry. The leader of this global OEM must be driven, yet calm and calculating. So one wonders: Would Chris Emerson be the president of Airbus Helicopters had he not seen a photo of a naked man wearing a résumé to cover his front and backside?
Admittedly, that’s quite a question, and one that requires travelling to find the answer. Which is exactly what that newspaper photo inspired young Emerson, then a student at the University of Alabama in the early 1990s, to do. He recalls, “Unemployment at that time was rather high. This guy in San Francisco had posted his résumé on two billboards that covered his front and rear. I thought: Wow, is it that desperate? What am I going to do to stand out?”
[Read More...]
Categories:
Human Interest
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Jun
13
2016
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Posted by Admin
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Last month, the Professional Helicopters Pilots Association put out a statement regarding the Los Angeles Area Helicopter Noise Coalition (LAAHNC) Ongoing Efforts to Solicit Complaints Against Helicopter Noise which read:
The Professional Helicopter Pilots Association is troubled with the LAAHNC’s ongoing efforts to solicit helicopter complaints from Los Angeles residents. Although we encourage people to utilize the Federal Aviation Administration’s automated helicopter noise complaint system when they are bothered by helicopter noise, it appears the LAAHNC may be encouraging people to “game” the system and make multiple complaints on single incidents or simply complain about any sort of noise and attribute that noise to helicopters. The LAAHNC also continues to proclaim that no progress with regard to helicopter noise has been made.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Regulatory
Helicopter Sectors