Articles for category Rotorcraft Checkride
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May
24
2021
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Posted by Admin
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The premise of aviation safety is an expectation that all pilots, maintainers, or other persons associated with the operation of an aircraft are trained and checked to a standard. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides their expectation of a minimum standard for certification of pilots with the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) or Practical Test Standards (PTS). These references are the FAA’s minimum acceptable standard by which an individual is measured for airman related tasking and often have worldwide acceptance. Quite impressive really.
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Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Apr
26
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Lately, I am seeing an increased number of videos voluntarily posted to social media sites that clearly show pilots conducting flights contrary to FAA regulations. For this article, I am going to focus my examples within the business of helicopter hog hunting.
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Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Mar
22
2021
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Posted by Admin
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As a young person, I was intrigued by the mere fact of an aircraft in flight. I had no knowledge of aviation as no one in my immediate family had ever flown. When I was about 10 years of age, we moved next to an airport. I would often ride my bike to the airport and watch planes takeoff and land, meet pilots, and eventually engaged in aviation by washing aircraft. Lots and lots of aircraft!
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Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Feb
22
2021
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Posted by Admin
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In all my years of pilot training, I have never taken a position on a particular piece of training equipment—until now.
Several months ago, I was introduced to a young pilot flying in the National Guard. He is both a pilot and engineer with a healthy passion for helicopter safety, and he introduced me to a new world of technology related to training pilots on inadvertent/unintended instrument meteorological conditions (I/UIMC).
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ICARUS
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Jan
22
2021
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Posted by Admin
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One maneuver that offers many variations in the methods by which flight instructors teach is Confined Area Operations. Over the years, helicopter pilot applicants have approached this topic with a wide variety of acronyms and procedures. Passed down from instructor to instructor, this is often more tribal knowledge than fact.
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Dec
28
2020
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Posted by Admin
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A commercial pilot student transferring to our pilot school provided training records that included a cross-country flight that met the requirements of 14 CFR 61.129(c)(3)(iii). It was a 2-hour cross country flight in a helicopter in nighttime conditions that consists of a total straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure. However, it was conducted prior to his private pilot check ride. My initial response was that the flight time was unacceptable because it was pre-private and would not count toward commercial pilot requirements.
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Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Nov
17
2020
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Posted by Admin
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After many years of administering FAA Instrument Rating examinations, a consistent trend remains the cause of Unsatisfactory check rides. Having seen this trend develop, we as Pilot Examiners will mentor and train flight instructors to ensure their students not only know the material, but more importantly know how to apply the material in given situations.
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Oct
19
2020
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Posted by Admin
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A few weeks ago, I conducted a Private Pilot exam in a Robinson R22 helicopter. My helicopter systems questions often begin with correlative level questions requiring the student to understand many aspects of the system to provide a comprehensive answer. This level of questioning provides a path for the applicant to demonstrate higher order of thinking skills or HOTS as the FAA refers to this in the FAA instructors handbook.
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Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Sep
18
2020
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Posted by Admin
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The FAA Practical Test Standards require each applicant completing a helicopter specific flight evaluation to conduct a Power Failure at a Hover (aka Hovering Autorotation) maneuver. The maneuver is a combination of throttle manipulation reducing engine speed with the required flight control inputs to safely land the helicopter. When conducted correctly, the maneuver is rather benign. During the learning process, the maneuver is anything but benign and is the cause to many hard landings during flight training.
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Aug
24
2020
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Posted by Admin
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Each Friday, a group of the greatest helicopter pilots on the planet meet for lunch in Fort Worth, Texas. They discuss past, present, and future happenings within the helicopter industry, enjoy a great meal, and then it happens: oral history lessons for those who listen.
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride