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Oct
12
2015
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Posted by Admin
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In October 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released new regulations related to the use of Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) in the US National Airspace System. Inclusive of these newly minted FARs was guidance on NVG pilot training and certification contained within FAR Part 61. Additionally, specific criteria was established to be an NVG Instructor. Although the regulation is clear as to the specific eligibility requirements to be an NVG Instructor, the guidance to provide an NVG instructor the required endorsement per FAR 61.195(k)(7) is non-existent. Since the release of these new regulations in 2009, FAA personnel have struggled to find unity among their colleagues on this issue.
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Categories:
Career Development
Training
Regulatory
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Oct
05
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Has anyone ever said to you, “But we’ve always done it this way”? It’s a complacency trap that once held the potential for dire consequences for five of us employed as HEMS pilots for the king of Saudi Arabia.
I was new to the organization, standing on the bridge of the king’s yacht with the chief pilot. We were both looking half a mile away through binoculars as he explained the approach to the hospital helipad. “You’ll fly to the waypoint listed “WALL” in the GPS, which is the wall at the edge of the palace grounds. Once you reach it, you’ll make a left 90-degree dogleg turn, keeping those five construction cranes on your right while staying well clear of that big unlit stadium on your left. See it?”
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Categories:
Training
Safety
Human Interest
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Sep
28
2015
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Posted by Admin
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What is your current position?
Being the owner of a small business, I ask myself that question every day! My official title is chief pilot and CEO of Raven Helicopters LLC in San Diego. That means that my responsibilities range from washing the helicopter and scheduling reservations for charters to sitting in the middle of Mexico watching motorcycles and trucks race across the desert, and filling out all the fun paperwork and administrative duties that come with owning a business. I never know what I will be doing on any given day. Obviously my favorite days are when I just get to fly.
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Categories:
Human Interest
Career Development
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Sep
21
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Myth 1: Enhanced vision systems (EVS) have only one application.
Many aircraft owners or operators believe that EVS only applies to operations during periods of darkness. However, enhanced vision systems provide increased situational awareness during day, night, NVG, IFR, firefighting, aerial application, EMS, SAR, ALE, and ISR flight operations. Most flight operations occur during periods of reduced visibility that are associated with obscurations such as fog, smoke, haze, dust, snow, precipitation, or low levels of illumination. All of these can be contributing factors when it comes to possible IIMC or CFIT incidents. EVS helps in mitigating these factors by allowing pilots to see clearly.
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Categories:
Career Development
Training
Safety
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Sep
14
2015
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Posted by Admin
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If you are a helicopter pilot trained by the U.S. military, you have flown a Bell Helicopter. No other helicopter manufacturer played such a crucial, in-depth role in training military helicopter pilots. For nearly 70 years, Bell Helicopter (formerly Bell Aircraft Company) has supported the U.S. vertical-lift warfighter with a safe, efficient, and predictable training fleet. To this day, every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces uses a Bell helicopter as their primary helicopter-training platform.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Training
Helicopter Sectors
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Sep
07
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Throughout the training life cycle of a student pilot, the instructor will be required to provide endorsements in the student’s training record. These endorsements will include confirmation of citizenship, preparedness to take a knowledge exam, and most importantly, the final confirmation that a student is prepared to sit before the FAA for a practical examination toward airman certification. It sounds simple enough, however endorsements remain a weak link among many flight instructors.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
Training
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Sep
01
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Where did you get your start flying commercially?
After the Alaskan summer tour season was over with TEMSCO, I decided to continue my aviation endeavor at Precision Aviation located in Newberg, Oregon, flying a Schweizer 269C. There is where I achieved my additional ratings: fixed-wing add-on to my helicopter private, commercial helicopter, instrument airplane and helicopter, and helicopter CFI. I continued to instruct at Precision for a couple of years to build my hours and then moved straight into the world of flying a heavy helicopter as second in command (SIC) in a copilot position. I quickly concluded that a heavy helicopter is where my heart belongs. Not only do I love flying utility in the “big iron,” I also enjoy the camaraderie that comes out of working with so many different people from such diverse backgrounds. In this industry we have a bond because of our shared goals and experiences. You don’t necessarily have to be best friends with everyone in the group to know you have their support or that you are there to support someone else.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
Training
Helicopter Sectors
Human Interest
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Aug
24
2015
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Posted by Admin
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If I were to answer the question as to why I love the helicopter industry so much, I would have to say it’s because of the quirky characters I’ve met and worked with over the years. Characters that immediately come to mind are guys like “Lofty” because of his extraordinary height, “Bambi” because of his doe-brown eyes, a Brit we called “Captain Kleenex” because he had a sinus condition that caused him to leave tissues strewn about all over the cockpit, “Too Tall McCall” because he was short, and an Australian we all called “Trackless” because he was even shorter than Two Tall. (In fact, he was much shorter because his legs were so short his butt would drag behind him and wipe out his tracks, hence the name.) There was also Robert “Don’t call me Bob” because that’s how he introduced himself, “Squeaky Cheeks” because he had an odd walk, a New Zealander we called “Sumo” because he resembled a Sumo Wrestler, a Brit we called “Crusher” because he landed on a load handler hooking up an underslung load on a wellhead in the oil field and “slightly” crushed him.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Human Interest
Training
Helicopter Sectors
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Aug
17
2015
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Posted by Admin
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Rotorcraft Pro Editor-in-Chief Lyn Burks recently visited Erickson Aviation’s Oregon operations to learn more about how the company’s recent investments are poising it for future growth.
Imagine you’re a helicopter operator and the phone rings. When you pick it up the conversation goes something like this.
Caller: “Hello, I represent the community of Pangnirtung.”
You: “P-a-n-t-y – what? I’m sorry, what was the name again?”
Caller: “Pangnirtung. Do you know where that is?
You: “I’m sorry, I do not. Should I?”
Caller: “It’s a small village located on Baffin Island in the territory of Nunavut in Northern Canada, just outside the Arctic Circle. It’s one of the most remote and sparsely settled regions in the world.”
You: “Oh, OK. Remote, ice, polar bears … got it! So what can I do for you?”
Caller: “Well our entire village relies on diesel generators for power and we recently had a fire destroy four of them, leaving many residents with no electricity at all. As you can imagine, no power in this area with temps hitting -17° is a problem. We have a line on several new generators, but they are 160 miles away in the town of Iqaluit. We believe the only way to get them to our remote community in a timely manner is to have them lifted in by helicopter. Is this something that you can do?”
You: “Sure, that’s what we do. We specialize in moving heaving things, in very hard-to-reach locations, and in extreme conditions.”
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
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Aug
08
2015
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: When and how did you choose to fly helicopters? Or did they choose you?
I found out about the R-22 and civilian helicopter flight training completely by accident, I saw a helicopter on display at a recreational vehicle show and talked to the pilots and read a brochure. I knew absolutely nothing about it or what questions to ask, but it was a great discovery and it’s been a great career. I’m glad I was ignorant of the business at the time, because if I had known about flight hour requirements for different jobs or turbine time etc. I might not have ever gotten started.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
Training
Human Interest