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Dec
15
2010

Reminiscing About Rotorcraft Pioneers with Sergei Sikorsky

Posted by Admin

Interview by Brad McNally, Contributing Editor - As we wrap up the Rotorcraft Pioneers Series I was lucky enough to have a chance to talk with one of the few people who have been involved with helicopters in North America from the beginning, Mr. Sergei Sikorsky. He’s crossed paths with more than few of the people profiled in the Pioneers Series and I had the chance to ask him about helicopters, his father’s legacy and his encounters with some of the people I profiled. [Read More...]

Categories: categoryHuman Interest



Dec
08
2010

Rotorcraft Pioneers - Part X: Igor Sikorsky

Posted by Admin

One name more than any other is synonymous with helicopter development, Igor Sikorsky. Often regarded as the father of the helicopter, Sikorsky was actually an incredibly talented aeronautical engineer who twice established himself as one of the world’s greatest designers of fixed wing aircraft before he built a successful helicopter. After designing, building and flying the first successful North American helicopter, Igor Sikorsky led the company which still bears his name through over forty years of helicopter innovation. [Read More...]

Categories: categoryHuman Interest



Nov
29
2010

GOMER: Working in the Gulf of Mexico - Part 2

Posted by Admin

GOMER: Working in the Gulf of Mexico - Part 2 Article, Photos, & Video by Lyn Burks In my experience, if you would like to see how serious a helicopter operator is about safety, then look no further than its new hire or recurrent pilot training programs. On one hand, there are programs which barely meet the FAA minimums, with their training program loosely packaged between the covers of Part 135 Operations Specifications. On the other, there are operators who go beyond the OpSpecs and fill the training “tool box” with innovative techniques and dedicated people. [Read More...]

Categories: categoryCareer Development categoryBecoming A Pilot categorySafety categoryHelicopter Sectors



Nov
23
2010

Rotorcraft Pioneers: Wes Lematta - Founder of Columbia Helicopters

Posted by Admin

By Brad McNally - In 1957, Columbia Helicopters started with one helicopter flying primarily in Oregon. That first year the company grossed $20,000. Forty years later the company grossed $100 million (Bernstein, 2009). Today Columbia Helicopters employs 700 people and has over 20 helicopters operating around the world. The story of how Columbia Helicopters grew to be one of the premier heavy lift and heli-logging companies, operating the world’s only commercial tandem rotor helicopter fleet starts with its founder Wes Lematta. [Read More...]

Categories: categoryHuman Interest



Nov
09
2010

To have or not to have …. That is the question

Posted by Admin

Having been invited in to conduct a week’s worth of program evaluation and EVS training by Wojciech Wozniczka, the LPR Deputy Technical Director. I had the sincere pleasure to work with this tremendously professional EMS group based out of Warsaw, Poland which had been founded in 2000. The LPR was a result of the consolidation of several independent EMS units to form a single state (country) medical service with the ability to coordinate all care from one single location. [Read More...]

Categories: categorySafety



Nov
03
2010

FAA Proposes New Safety Rules for EMS

Posted by Admin

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Oct 7, 2010, via a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), sweeping new equipment and regulation changes in an effort to enhance the safety of all helicopter operations. While this action has been expected for many months, there will no doubt be a great deal of debate and political wrangling before any changes are actually put into place. [Read More...]

Categories: categoryRegulatory



Oct
26
2010

The Helicopter Mechanic- Humor by Klank

Posted by Admin

Humor by Klank - One pilot skill that should be taught is dealing with the mechanic. This is some how neglected in the basic flight skills textbook. There was a great text going around a while back on “How to operate a helicopter mechanic”, but I feel that information was for the advanced pilot. Therefore I shall remedy the situation and write a basic piece that I feel should be inserted in your Pilot Operating Handbook. DEFINITIONS Mechanic: Worker skilled in using tools, repairing machines, etc, Source - Webster. Mechanic: Worker skilled in using tools, text, voodoo, threats, intimidation, profanity, pagers, cell phones, and determination, Source - Klank. [Read More...]

Categories: categoryHumor & Poetry



Oct
19
2010

Rotorcraft Pioneers - The Autogiro

Posted by Admin

By Brad McNally - In the 1920’s the Autogiro was the cutting edge of aviation technology. A Spanish engineer by the name of Juan de la Cierva got the Autogiro into the air by solving several fundamental rotary wing flight problems. An American businessman by the name of Harold Pitcairn partnered with Cierva to bring the Autogiro to the United States and further developed it. Their work was sometimes collaboration and sometimes competition but it directly led to the development and rapid advance of the helicopter in the late 1930’s and 1940’s. [Read More...]

Categories: categoryHuman Interest



Oct
12
2010

American Heroes Airshow Coming to a city near you!

Posted by Admin

Steve Goldsworthy talks with Jim Paules, founder of the American Heroes Airshow. Late in July the skies over Los Angeles were filled with helicopters. That’s not so unusual with all the ENG and police ships that can show up at the rumor of a pursuit, but what was unusual was the type of helicopters in the air. First in were two Pavehawks, a DEA Astar, a Vietnam era Huey, wow, this is not your average event. But for the American Heroes Airshow, it’s just the morning of fly in. [Read More...]

Categories: categoryHelicopter Event Coverage



Oct
05
2010

US Army & Air Force Rotorcraft Pioneers

Posted by Admin

By Brad McNally - Hollingsworth Franklin Gregory was born in Rockwell, TX in 1906. Frank Gregory as most people knew him, graduated from high school in Shelby, MS in 1923. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi in 1926, Gregory worked for several years as a Mississippi high school principal (Official Air Force Biography, 1956). [Read More...]

Categories: categoryHuman Interest


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