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Jul
03
2023
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Posted by Admin
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Todd Powers is now the VP of Sales for GPMS, a pioneer in predictive HUMS (health usage and monitoring systems) for aircraft. He’s also an active commercial pilot who flies part-time for a half-dozen of his customers to whom he sold helicopters in his previous sales role at Airbus. Yet despite his long and successful career in aviation, he first rebelled against working in the industry.
He rejected the industry as a career after his father, a recreational fixed-wing pilot and an administrator at Iowa Lakes Community College, created a college curriculum customized to usher his son into an airline pilot seat. “He started it the year that I was a high school senior and it’s still a pretty big program today. The first year of college, you get your private certificate and instrument ratings, and then in your second year, you get your Commercial and CFI. And then it was on to Great Lakes Airlines, (then a feeder for United Express airline) That was the path he had set for me, but it wasn’t my path.”
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Tags:
GPMS
Rotor Pro Executive Watch Todd Powers
Todd Powers
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Jun
27
2023
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Posted by Admin
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Remember the “defund the police” movement that began back in 2020? I remember thinking at the time, “This really seems like a dumb idea.”
I recall learning “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” while taking a college psychology class. It’s a theory comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. I remember that safety/security is the second most important foundational layer.
Where does that security come from in our daily lives? I believe it starts with the individual. However, there are limits on what we can do as individuals. As a society, the rule of law is the foundation for our security, and it’s the law enforcement agencies on the streets—and in the air— who do the actual work of enforcing those laws to protect us.
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Tags:
Defund the Police
Refund the Police
Rotor Pro
Categories:
Opinion-Editorial
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Jun
19
2023
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Posted by Admin
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After a job interview, you should send a formal thank you note to everyone that was involved in that interview, and it wouldn’t hurt to thank the recruiter and those that coordinated the meeting as well. Sending a thank you note after an interview shows that you're a professional—a “pro.”
After your interview, you should send a thank you note to the interviewer immediately. When writing your note, there are a few things to keep in mind:
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Tags:
Career Development
Follow Up Email
Follow Up Interview
Military to Civilian
Networking
Categories:
Career Development
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Jun
13
2023
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Posted by Admin
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Airbus Helicopters offers vertical lift platforms with an eye on the future of technology, efficiencies, and the worldwide helicopter market. They understand their business and stakeholders’ goals. Recently, in France and at Heli-Expo 2023 in Atlanta, they held press briefings for each of their key lines to provide updates on new technologies and features that will engage the industry and buyers. Here are the updates, starting with the most emerging and engaging topics…
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Jun
05
2023
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Posted by Admin
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A key concept in the development of early relationships is finding common ground; elements within each of our lives where we share interest and experience. It is through these shared perspectives that we gain trust and confidence that our communications with each other have meaning and understanding. At times, identifying common ground can seem like an impossible task. As the vertical lift industry becomes more diverse, the people, aircraft, and even operating methodologies look very different; however, the importance of working together has never been more critical than it is today.
[Read More...]
Tags:
aircraft training
Helicopter Training
vertical lift industry
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Jun
05
2023
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Posted by Admin
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FlightSafety International trains pilots for anything, but the truest test of its efficacy is in the cockpit. In one helicopter pilot’s case, that training is the reason he believes he and his crew survived a dangerous situation.
Sgt. David Sizemore had seen a lot in his more than 13,000 flight hours. But during a December 2020 flight in his Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter, he faced the biggest challenge as a pilot.
Encountering inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC) – occurring suddenly after a successful mission assisting law enforcement – required Sizemore to react quickly to the emergency situation. His immediate actions would make the difference in he and his crewmember returning home safely.
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Tags:
flightsafety
Simulator Instructor
Simulator Training
Categories:
Safety
Training
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May
29
2023
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Posted by Admin
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There is no doubt that implementing safety management systems (SMS) leads to safer, more predictable flight operations for helicopter and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) owners/operators. Although larger helicopter operators have had the resources to launch in-house SMS for years, many smaller helicopter operators have found the implementation/maintenance of safety management to be outside their reach. (Note: UAS companies can learn about UAS-specific SMS through the International Civil Aviation’s website.)
[Read More...]
Tags:
helicopter operators
safety management systems
SMS
Categories:
Safety
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May
22
2023
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
My dream job: experimental test pilot and instructor pilot for The Boeing Company in Mesa, Arizona. I primarily fly the AH-64E Apache and AH-6 Little Bird but I get to fly other helicopters and airplanes too, which provides lots of variety. The flight tests we conduct range from benign testing (new radios, software upgrades, etc.) to exciting experimental tests including weapons firing, testing new rotor blades and things of that nature. I work with a great group of pilots and support staff, which truly makes this my dream job. Besides, I do not know many civilian pilots that get to shoot miniguns off helicopters; I consider myself fortunate. On the side, I am also an FAA designated pilot examiner (DPE) in helicopters for private pilot through initial CFI certificates. Arizona’s great weather makes this area perfect for year-round flying so naturally there is a concentration of flight schools. The other FAA authorizations I have allow me to do special medical flight tests, military competency activities, foreign pilot license conversions and a few other things. I am active in local aviation organizations including being an FAA Safety Team representative, I am a co-chair for the annual HAI Heli-Expo Military to Civilian Transition Workshop and I work as an expert witness for aircraft accident lawsuits.
[Read More...]
Tags:
Boeing Helicopters
helicopter experimental test pilot
helicopter instructor pilot
Meet A Rotor Pro
Scott Tinnesand
Categories:
Human Interest
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May
16
2023
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Posted by Admin
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On the side of a busy road on the way to Mount Rushmore in Custer, South Dakota, there’s a sign that reads, “Helicopter Tours, Walk-ins Welcome”. Curiosity and the pull of adventure brings many visitors off the road and into Black Hills Aerial Adventures (BHAA). Outside sits three helicopters with sharp new high contrast paint featuring some of the topography that surrounds the scenic setting. Inside, you’ll be greeted by friendly faces explaining the different tour options that they provide tourists, honeymooners, and families from all over the world. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this is just another tour operator in one of America’s most popular destinations, but behind the scenes there is so much more going on.
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Tags:
Black Hills Aerial Adventures
Helicopter tour Operations
Categories:
Company Profiles
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May
08
2023
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Posted by Admin
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When Todd Tetzlaff Talks… People Listen
“I’m really good at dumbing things down because I’m not that bright,” says the man who is now leading the revival of past-bankrupt Enstrom Helicopter Corporation, based in Menominee, Michigan. In a relaxed interview that spanned over an hour at this year’s recent HAI Expo in Atlanta, one gets the sense that Todd Tetzlaff is completely candid when he confesses his shortcoming. No, not because the aircraft engineering technology graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is “not that bright.” After all, Tetzlaff has held FAA engineering designee privileges with flight analyst and structural authorities for over 20 years and is also a certified private fixed- and commercial rotary-wing pilot. He bilingually and fluently speaks the advanced languages of engineers and pilots. He also was the object of a decades long tug-of-war between Enstrom Helicopter and Gulfstream for his abilities, when he bounced back and forth between helicopters and jets until helicopters won. Of course, he humbly doesn’t see himself as an object of pursuit; he was the pursuer and just grateful to be working in aerospace.
[Read More...]
Tags:
President and CEO of Enstrom Helicopter Corp.
Rotor Pro Executive Watch
Todd Tetzlaff
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest