Archive: November 2025
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Nov
13
2025
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Posted by Admin
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Slick paint jobs. Bubble windows. Long lines. Tan flight suits and maybe a T-shirt. Best of all—facial hair is no longer a career-ending offense. Welcome to the utility world of aviation. It was foreign territory for me, but after more than 20 years in the Army, I knew I wanted to work in the utility sector. I’d gone from enlisted to warrant officer, checked all the boxes, collected all the quals, and finally hung up the uniform this past summer. Then came the big leap into my new civilian career. Here’s how I pulled it off.
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Tags:
Mil2Civ
Zac Hartmann
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Nov
13
2025
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Posted by Admin
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On a pleasant morning in March 1991, I was transiting back to my Intercoastal City, Louisiana base to pick up some newspapers for my offshore energy crew. I was alone in my mighty Bell 206B Jet Ranger and did not realize just how tired I was. You know that feeling you sometimes get in a long, not-so-interesting lecture, when you catch your head bobbing a bit. That’s what I had. It just took one head tilt, then I let go of the cyclic. Predictably, it fell forward as I entered a brief but alarmingly steep dive.
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Tags:
Safety SITREP
Categories:
Safety First
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Nov
13
2025
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Posted by Admin
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The FAA’s proposed Part 108 rule marks a turning point for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations. Moving away from today’s patchwork of waivers, the proposal introduces a standardized framework intended to scale routine BVLOS missions safely and predictably.
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Uncrewed
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Nov
13
2025
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Posted by Admin
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In the helicopter industry, every flight depends on precision—and that precision begins long before the rotors ever turn. It begins in the hangar, in the hands of skilled mechanics who rely on the tools that make their craft possible. Behind those tools stands an often-overlooked partner in aviation safety: the tool truck.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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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
Categories:
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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Tags:
My Two Cents Worth
Randy Rowles
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth