Articles for category My Two Cents Worth
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Aug
26
2022
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Posted by Admin
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A friend of mine recently sent me a copy of a letter addressed to all copilots at American Airways dated 25 October 1930.
When I read it, I realized how far we’ve come in 92 years in the crew resource management world. In fact, quite a lot of what I read, I found shamelessly politically incorrect when compared to today’s thinking in our aviation world.
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My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
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My Two Cents Worth
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Jul
24
2022
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Posted by Admin
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The title of this blog should be “Know your autopilot.” As an ATP examiner having tested and examined pilots from over twenty countries, I have seen my share of pilots miss-handle the autopilot both in the aircraft and in the Level-D flight simulator and get themselves into trouble. What I observed in most cases was the pilot flying would ‘punch off’ the autopilot just when they needed it most, mainly because they were not certain what the autopilot was doing. Whenever they hit the autopilot disconnect button, I called it the “I’m going to kill myself switch” and watch the fun begin.
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My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Jun
26
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Let me pass along to you an important tip: Listen to a pilot you are replacing; if a pilot quits a job you’ve just accepted and tells you, “Hey man, the machine’s unsafe,” or “This is an unsafe operation.” Believe them.
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Tags:
My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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May
19
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Hello Randy, quick question if I may. I’m formerly the Director of Safety at MercyFlight in Central NY (Rochester/Syracuse), now I’m doing my Multi-Commercial fixed wing and CFI’s in Daytona Beach. My old program is going to be replacing 4 legacy BK-117's with new single engine IFR Leonardo 119's. They will be phasing in the 4 new ships over a year to 18 months. Is there a standard for when new platform training should occur so it isn't too far away from delivery ? The concern is having crew take the training and have too much time pass. It's common sense to do it close to delivery, just curious if there were any best practice documents, thesis, etc. that may have addressed the question.
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My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
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My Two Cents Worth
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Apr
25
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Helicopter pilot flight training can be hazardous for reasons I will highlight in this article. I’ve been a flight instructor in the military, a senior instructor for Bell Helicopter in Iran teaching pilots how to be instructor pilots, an instructor and a flight examiner for 13 years while working for the Royal Police Air Wing in the Sultanate of Oman, and a type-rating instructor and type-rating examiner in the Bell 412EP and Bell 212 while working for Abu Dhabi Aviation. While in Abu Dhabi, I trained and examined airline transport pilots hailing from more than 20 countries. In my 13,000-hour flying career, I have developed habits I use while training that I pass along to you to, hopefully, keep you safe.
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Tags:
My Two Cents
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Mar
28
2022
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Posted by Admin
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As an EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) certified CRM instructor, I am required to attend an 8-hour class every three years to learn what is new or changed in the thinking of crew resource management. During my last recertification that I attended at Global Air Training in Cheshire, England with 12 other CRM instructors who were similarly recertifying we were told the ‘hot topic’ in the industry was something called Surprise, Startle Effect and Resilience. This topic was brought to our attention because there have been a series of accidents where this phenomenon was determined to be a major factor in the fatal crashes and something we should cover in any future CRM classes we were facilitating.
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My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Feb
21
2022
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Posted by Admin
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All parents reach a point where they eventually have to trust they have done all they can in teaching their kids right and wrong and what’s safe and unsafe. In the 10-plus years I have been writing this column for Rotorcraft Pro magazine, I have felt like a parent offering advice, guidance, and tools I gained from over a half-century of aviation experience to help my readers bring themselves and their passengers home safely at the end of each flight.
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My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Jan
24
2022
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Posted by Admin
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I often wish a bell would ring when an accident or incident is prevented when crew resource management, CRM, is practiced. On occasion, however, a bell does ring for me when people send me a personal CRM story or recall an incident they heard about. They usually let me know via email or Linkedin or in this recent case my friend, Joe Mattern, sent me a direct message on Facebook informing me of an event where CRM most likely saved the lives of all on board their air medical helicopter that night.
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Tags:
My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Dec
27
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Have you ever been so tired flying at night or early morning that, thinking back on it, you could not remember the takeoff? As an air medical pilot in the early days in Houston and San Diego, I can raise my hand and say, “I have.” And why was that? The answer: Fatigue.
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My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Nov
29
2021
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Posted by Admin
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File this month’s blog as ‘nice to know’ information but not necessarily critical to flight safety. I think I’m correct in assuming that most of us in aviation have heard of Professor James Reason’s Swiss Cheese model of accident causation sometimes called the "cumulative act effect.” But have you ever heard of the SHELL model developed much earlier? I hadn’t heard of the SHELL model until I attended a 5-day CRM Instructor’s training course at Global Air Training in Cheshire, England. Global Air Training is an institution that has been training airline flight, cabin and all manner of aviation personnel for over 25 years to become certified CRM Instructors.
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Tags:
My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth