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Nov
10
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Looking back over the last 44 years in aircraft maintenance, I am filled with gratitude. I’ve had the privilege of working for great companies and, more importantly, with people who invested generously in me. Their guidance, encouragement, and example shaped my career in lasting ways. Because of that, I do my best to pay it forward—helping others become the best they can be.
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Maintenance Minute
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Nov
10
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Like the fabled turtle, slow and steady will help you “win” when it comes to successful hovering! What is successful hovering? In my view, it’s precision hovering, and it’s an absolute must-have skill that often degrades for various reasons throughout a student's training and even throughout a professional pilot's career.
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Matt Johnson
Rotocraft Checkride
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Rotorcraft Checkride
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Nov
10
2025
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Posted by Admin
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When a pilot applies for or renews an FAA medical certificate, he or she must complete FAA Form 8500-8, also known as MedXPress, certifying that all responses are true and complete. Under 14 C.F.R. § 61.59, any fraud, intentional falsification, or material omission in this application can serve as grounds for suspending or revoking any airman certificate. One of the most consequential areas of disclosure relates to question 18.y; it asks whether the applicant has ever received medical disability benefits. Although the form does not explicitly say “VA benefits,” omission of Veterans Affairs disability benefits—or the underlying conditions tied to them—has triggered numerous FAA enforcement actions. If the agency determines that the omission was material, it can be treated as intentional falsification and lead to certificate revocation, even in cases where the pilot maintains the omission was inadvertent.
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My Two Cents Worth
Randy Rowles
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My Two Cents Worth
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Sep
25
2025
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Posted by Admin
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From the tarmac to the tower, it’s clear: the rotorcraft world is entering a new phase of evolution, defined by shared airspace, integrated systems, and rapidly advancing uncrewed capabilities.
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Uncrewed
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Sep
25
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Imagine a twisted world where reporting a mistake doesn’t lead to a lesson learned, but to a lesson avoided—because no one felt safe enough to speak up. That's not just a missed opportunity, it’s a hidden risk waiting to become a headline.
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Safety First
Safety SITREP
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Sep
25
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Many times, while flying a UH-60 Blackhawk while stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, I thought about how great this job is! There were also many times I thought about potential job prospects that would be available to me as a helicopter pilot in the civilian world if I decided to leave the military. To be honest, I overvalued my military experience and how it would transfer to the civilian aviation market. I thought: What company wouldn’t want to hire me? I flew one of the most advanced military helicopters at the time and I was well trained. I flew VIP’s, conducted many sling-load, firefighting, disaster relief, IFR and NVG operations. I was a catch! I would easily walk into one of those corporate aviation departments I heard so much about, and walk out with a job offer. I was wrong.
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Mil2Civ
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Sep
25
2025
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Posted by Admin
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As the years click by on this journey we call aircraft maintenance, I find that some things bother me more now than they used to. At the top of that list? A bad attitude. I consider myself patient, but when someone displays an attitude of not caring, that’s when I have to step in and try to correct the ship.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Aug
27
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Don’t tell my AME, but I love sausage (OK, actually I love bacon, but bacon doesn’t fit my analogy. Don’t fret, my column isn’t going to be about breakfast meats, nor my diet for that matter. Instead, I want to talk about how things are made or derived behind the scenes as it relates to electronic aviation applications (apps). Just like breakfast meats, which are tasty and a breakfast staple for many of us, we don’t always know how that food was processed behind the scenes, and frankly, I don’t care to see how sausage is made! However, I do care about how various aviation apps derive their calculations, as you should care as an applicant for any practical test. Let me explain! I’ll warn you, this month's column is packed full of questions, and if you don’t know the answers, I suggest you figure them out before your next practical exam.
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Matt Johnson
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Rotorcraft Checkride
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Aug
27
2025
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Posted by Admin
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There’s an old saying in leadership circles: “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.” Nowhere is that more true than in helicopter maintenance.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Aug
27
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Becoming a helicopter pilot has always required dedication, discipline, and no small amount of financial sacrifice. However in 2025, the costs associated with helicopter training reached a critical tipping point. With total training expenses easily surpassing $100,000, a strained job market, rising insurance rates, exorbitant FAA testing fees, and outdated regulatory constraints, we’re now at a breaking point.
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My 2 Cents Worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth