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Apr
27
2010
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Posted by Admin
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By Jenna Shepard - There are two main threats to EMS helicopter pilots – weather and darkness, but this really shouldn’t come as a surprise. In 1988, the National Transportation Safety Board investigated 59 helicopter emergency medical services accidents and concluded that low visibility, often caused by poor weather conditions accounted for 61% of all crashes. Since then, little has changed.Although the commercial aviation industry requires that an aircraft be outfitted with everything from weather tracking technologies like onboard radar and GPS to collision avoidance tools, these same requirements are not made of the medical helicopter industry. Furthermore, at a time when air medical companies are being scrutinized due to the sheer number of EMS helicopter crashes and a lack of critical onboard technologies not yet mandated by the FAA, one company is making big strides in the right direction by focusing on weather safety.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Company Profiles
Safety
Helicopter Sectors
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Apr
20
2010
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Posted by Admin
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By Kerry Sullivan - The article by Susan Parson in the March issue titled “Personal Minimums: A Development Guide” provides a systematic way for pilots to determine realistic safety margins for weather. The EMS operator I fly for requires its pilots to develop their own personal weather minimums which are to be more restrictive than those contained in the Operations Specifications. I have found more restrictive minimums necessary because I do not believe the generally used weather minimums are adequate to keep me out of Inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IIMC). Despite strict weather minimums, detailed weather products and annual training in weather and pilot decision making we still have all too-frequent incidents of IIMC. As we are all painfully aware, some of these IIMC occurrences result in fatal accidents.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
Safety
Helicopter Sectors
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Apr
13
2010
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Posted by Admin
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Written &Video Feature:Advanced Helicopter Training with FlightSafety International
By Lyn Burks - Having been in the helicopter industry for a little while, I have been fortunate enough to experience many levels of training. While recently attending an S76C++ transition course at FlightSafety International (FlightSafety), I am reminded of the stark differences between the "haves" and the "have nots."
My reference to "haves" and "have nots" is not meant to be deprecating to those who offer or attend helicopter training at traditional facilities. It’s really more of an analogy which notes the difference in the level of training provided by FlightSafety as compared to other training providers I have experienced. The present model of our training industry is what it is, and this article will not change it.
[VIEWVIDEOANDARTICLENOW]
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
Company Profiles
Training
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Apr
06
2010
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Posted by Admin
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I used to laugh at the chopper jockeys
And those things they travel in
I joked about how slow they are
And the way they pound the wind.
Some o' the guys got hoppin' mad
Guess it hit a sour note
Especially one called "Shorty"
Man, I always got his goat.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Humor & Poetry
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Apr
06
2010
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Posted by Admin
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By Lyn Burks - In previous career development articles we left off with the importance of the resume, along with several tips for “spooling up” your resume to a higher level of professionalism. Assuming you did everything right and your resume has convinced the hiring authority that you may be the person for the job; you may now be facing a new hurdle. The phone interview.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Career Development
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Mar
30
2010
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Posted by Admin
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By Brad McNally - Frank Nicolas Piasecki was born in Philadelphia on October 24, 1919.From a young age he was fascinated with aviation and spent his spare time building models and reading aviation magazines.When he was seven years old his father paid for him to go flying with a barnstormer and he got his first ride in an airplane.In high school he was president of his school’s aero club and was able to gain an introduction into the Philadelphia aviation industry that few people his age could acquire.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Human Interest
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Mar
23
2010
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Posted by Admin
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By Ron Whitney - Have you ever witnessed something so extraordinary, so surprising, and so incredible that you just had to sit back and ask yourself, “Did I really just see that?”Have you ever been around when a normal, routine flight operation went bad, nearly tragically bad?Have you ever had the opportunity to see a side of a coworker that you really did not expect to?Well, I have.The subject of this Pilot Profile piece, somewhat reluctantly, is a man I met many, many years ago while we were Instructor Pilots at Ft. Rucker, Paul Richtmyer.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Human Interest
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Mar
16
2010
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Posted by Admin
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By Brad McNally - Contributing Editor - In the late 1930’s and early 1940’s few people could see the helicopter as much more than an overly complex novelty incapable of being of any real value. It took a small group of enthusiastic and determined men to make helicopter flight possible and another small group of men with an equal amount of determination and enthusiasm to make helicopter flight practical. Leading this second group was a Coast Guard officer named Frank Erickson. His vision and resolve were born out of one of the darkest days in American history; after which he made developing the helicopter into a practical tool for search and rescue his lifelong goal. His foresight and perseverance in the face of many seemingly insurmountable obstacles and persistent naysayers left an indelible mark on the history of the helicopter.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Human Interest
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Feb
23
2010
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Posted by Admin
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While a number of members of the National EMS Pilots Association have been involved and have made contributions to NEMSPA’s activities through years, the strength of numbers continues to be a challenge for this EMS pilot’s professional organization.Regardless of the number of awards obtained, initiatives launched and regulatory actions influenced, we believe we that our effectiveness will not rise to the level that we all need and desire so long as there are so many EMS pilots who choose not to be involved, in some way or another, with the workings of the association that represents them on a daily basis.
[Read More...]
Categories:
Helicopter Sectors
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Feb
16
2010
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Posted by Admin
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As a broker of used Robinson Helicopters, I receive two or three calls a day from prospective sellers and buyers inquiring as to the state of the market. My response is always the same: the market is active but depressed. While this may seem like a contradiction, it means that while there are still many buyers out there with the funds and desire to buy, they expect to pay much less than they would have paid just nine or ten months ago. Where a helicopter would have sold quickly for $375,000 last summer, the highest offer I might receive on the same ship today is $315,000. The result is that there are a lot of ships for sale, a lot of buyers making very low offers, and very few sales taking place.
[Read More...]