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Oct
11
2012
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Posted by Admin
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Many helicopter operators ask themselves these questions, and many others, when the conversation with a peer or competitor turns to the subject of an outside audit. Questions are a natural reaction, and each organization needs answers before they embark on an outside safety audit.
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Categories:
Safety
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Oct
05
2012
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Posted by Admin
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Did you wake up today and think to yourself, “I will go to work and crash my helicopter?” Writing it looks absolutely ridiculous and I am sure that it reads equally ridiculous. Although no one plans an accident, I am confident that we can all agree that accidents do happen. Given that several occur each month, we can also agree that they occur on a regular basis.
The problem is that none of us, including me, has an impending feeling that it will actually happen to us.
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Categories:
Career Development
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Sep
28
2012
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Posted by Admin
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It is no secret the civil NVG industry was born from military utilization of night vision technology. The acceptance and eventual proliferation of Night Vision Goggles (“NVG”s) into the civil aviation industry is not without bumps and bruises. The path to acceptance by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and civil industry operators alike, has required education, patience, and compromise. Today, nearly fifteen years after the first civil operator was approved by the FAA to utilize NVGs, the civil industry continues to be plagued with issues related to regulatory oversight. In this article, we will discuss: past efforts to standardize the civil industry; how those efforts support today’s NVG industry; and efforts taking place today to ensure a safe, healthy, and prosperous future for NVG operators and regulators.
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Sep
20
2012
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Posted by Admin
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How’s this for an observation? On a global scale the USA is not a role model for HEMS even though the commercial concept of a helicopter air ambulance began right here in America. Does that shock you? It shouldn’t if you’ve watched over the years as I have the appalling accident rate the industry has suffered over a third of a century.
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Sep
13
2012
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Posted by Admin
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The helicopter pilot works in an amazing, ever-changing environment. The skills necessary to accomplish the task at hand for most commercial or even private helicopter flight operations require a high level of concentration, ability and finesse just to name a few. (social skills excluded)
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Categories:
Safety
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Sep
07
2012
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Posted by Admin
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I’m not sure I remember my first flight, I grew up flying with my father who was a pilot for Ford Motor Company. We flew fast freight out of Detroit in the mid-60’s and early 70’s with one of his friend’s cargo companies, so he was able to share his love of aviation with my brother and me. My first Army helicopter flight in training was an interesting exercise made up of two components. One, how much of a huge field I could try to crash in while, two, at the same time trying to keep the shiny side up.
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Aug
31
2012
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Posted by Admin
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It was getting late in the afternoon and I had just finished a days flying in Key West, Florida. It had been one of those strange, hazy gray, overcast, blustery days, with the wind steady out of the east at 15 – 20 knots. It looked like it wanted to storm any minute, but never really did with the exception of an occasional spit of rain here and there.
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Categories:
Safety
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Aug
24
2012
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Posted by Admin
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My Two Cents Worth - The Importance of AttitudeBy Randy MainsA story highlighting the importance of
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Categories:
Special Announcements
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Aug
17
2012
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Posted by Admin
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Rotorcraft Pro: How did you get your start in helicopters?
In the US Army, I started in 1964 in Vietnam. But my dad was a pilot for Eastern Airlines, and we lived in Connecticut near Bradley field which is where some of the early Sikorsky and Kaman helicopter test facilities were located. I grew up watching those helicopters being tested.
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Categories:
Human Interest
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Aug
10
2012
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Posted by Admin
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“Careful! Easy now!” The voice of the anxious shop foreman called out as he directed the crane operator loading a Bell 222B onto a flatbed trailer for the start of a long journey from Phoenix, Arizona to Johannesburg, South Africa.
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Categories:
Helicopter Sectors