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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
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Jul
27
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Not long ago, one of our aircraft mechanics had a close call. While working on a helicopter from an elevated platform ladder, he shifted his weight—and the ladder flipped. He fell inside the frame and struck his head on a side brace, requiring 17 stitches.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Jul
27
2025
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Posted by Admin
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To put me in perspective: I didn’t have a squadron command tour, no beltway time, and I wasn’t a ring knocker. I was just a fleet average major trying to do above average work. I was an XO, a schoolhouse advanced IP, a JTAC, a school-trained ASO, and I even flew Marine One for a bit. So, I thought I had the experience to succeed in the civilian HEMS landscape and that’s what I wanted to do. I had no interest in the airlines, agriculture or utility. With that background on me, here is my take on challenges and wins I realized in my transition to civilian flight and my final recommendations for those making the transition.
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Mil2Civ
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Jul
27
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Vertical lift technology is advancing rapidly, transforming everything from commercial logistics to emergency response. As the skies fill with drones and other advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft, regulations and safety standards must keep pace. The Drone and AAM Policy Symposium, presented by AUVSI, is your opportunity to prepare for—and even design—the industry's future.
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Uncrewed