Articles for tag My 2 Cents Worth
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Feb
28
2025
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Posted by Admin
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During a recent visit to Wing, a leading drone operator in Dallas, Texas, I was captivated by the precision, efficiency, and innovation behind their eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) operations. Wing’s mission to revolutionize urban delivery aligns surprisingly well with the goals of my companies: Helicopter Institute and Longhorn Helicopters. What became clear during my visit was the shared challenges and opportunities between our industries, emphasizing the potential for collaboration rather than competition.
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Tags:
eVTOL
M2C
My 2 Cents Worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Dec
23
2024
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Posted by Admin
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A few weeks ago, a longtime friend and fellow flight instructor reached out to me regarding a regulatory issue surrounding logging night vision goggles (NVG) and night flight time consecutively. Many in the NVG industry, including FAA staff, believe they are to be logged independently. However, this is not correct. It is indeed permissible to log NVG and night flight time consecutively, but don’t take my word for it. Please follow this link and scroll down the pages to Section #29. You’ll find the answer around the third paragraph of that section: [https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2009/08/21/E9-19353/pilot-flight-instructor-and-pilot-school-certification]
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Tags:
My 2 Cents Worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Oct
25
2024
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Posted by Admin
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The aviation industry has consistently been a beacon of technological innovation that leads to greater safety, efficiency, and capabilities in air travel. Helicopter aviation, a crucial branch of this industry, is now experiencing a profound transformation thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). From predictive maintenance to autonomous navigation, AI is revolutionizing operations in ways that would have been considered science fiction only a decade ago.
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Tags:
My 2 Cents Worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Dec
18
2023
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Posted by Admin
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Have you ever noticed an airship hovering over a sporting venue near a major airport? There is no chaos or mayhem to the orderly flow of aircraft, all operate safely while following prescribed procedures to allow such activities to take place. In previous years, these sporting venues would have had countless aircraft safely operating in and around each other simply due to the vigilance in procedural development exercised by the aviation industry in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The system worked!
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Tags:
My 2 Cents Worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Oct
27
2023
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Posted by Admin
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As an industry, we fall victim to the questionable behavior of our brethren pilots and their sometimes-misguided follies. Not directly, but in the form of increased regulatory oversight, increased insurance premiums, and a sense by the public that helicopters are just unsafe! The evidence for such a belief is derived from the countless hours of helicopter crash videos found online. Not to mention the movies that often use a helicopter crash as the go-to ending for a high energy chase finale.
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Tags:
My 2 Cents Worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Apr
20
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.
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Tags:
My 2 Cents Worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Sep
26
2022
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Posted by Admin
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I very nearly lost my life in a training accident while serving as a combat helicopter pilot in Vietnam but my training to expect the unexpected saved my life and the instructor flying with me. I’d been ‘in country’ for three months when my instructor nearly killed us. I was taking my check ride to become an aircraft commander in the Bell 205 Huey. Imagine the irony of losing your life while training to save your life in an emergency only to die training for it. It seemed nuts. It also sounds like a line out of the book Catch-22.
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Tags:
My 2 Cents Worth
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth