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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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Apr
25
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Growing up in the Deep South often meant when you turned 16 years old you went to work in the cotton mill, which was true for me. My mom, dad and sister all worked for the local cotton mill in one capacity or another. That wasn’t a bad thing. The mill provided dependable jobs for our community and had other benefits as well…company paid retirement and a company provided vacation destination with housing if desired.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Apr
25
2022
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Posted by Admin
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As I’m writing this column, I’m sitting in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. Today is the last day of HAI Heli-Expo 2022, and what a great show it was. The energy of Heli-Expo 2022 was amazing as people from around the globe descended upon Dallas to share experiences and gain insight into the new and exciting opportunities and equipment available in the industry today.
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Mar
28
2022
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Posted by Admin
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A few weeks ago, I conducted an Initial Flight Instructor practical exam for an applicant that was less than proficient. When I say less than proficient, I mean well below the minimum standard of proficiency for this certificate and rating. Having been a designated pilot examiner for a couple decades now, this is far from my first applicant that didn’t meet the minimum standard for a certificate, but this exam did make me ask “how did this applicant make it this far in the FAA certification process?”.
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Mar
28
2022
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Posted by Admin
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My dad recently celebrated his 90th birthday. We had a wonderful day reminiscing about all the good times we shared hunting, fishing, and playing ball together. When I was around ten years old, he taught me one profound lesson during a walk on a ridge line. Dad noticed that I was looking at the ground under my feet rather than surveying the landscape. He turned, and said, “Son, you’re not gonna to find a deer under your feet.” His lesson continued as he told me to always look out in front of me, scanning the horizon for minute details such as an ear flickering or the swoosh of a white tail. He stressed the importance of taking notice of things that were horizontal. Since everything in the woods grew vertically something horizontal might just be a deer’s back.
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Tags:
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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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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Tags:
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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Balance is critical. It doesn’t matter if it’s the helicopters we fly and maintain, a person on a tightrope or just managing our everyday life. Maintaining balance is required if we are to continue to progress and minimize our limiting factors. We can take anything to the excess and quickly get out of balance. That’s why it is a good idea to have an accountability partner to help you see things that you may miss seeing yourself. The saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees” is accurate and sometimes briefly stepping away will clear one’s focus.
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Tags:
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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Feb
21
2022
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Posted by Admin
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Too often we hear of a family on a helicopter departing with a loved one at the controls. Somewhere along the route, they encounter poor weather conditions. A decision to press on into the deteriorating weather conditions is made. The flight ends with a family perishing in what has become a predictable outcome.
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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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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Tags:
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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The year 2021 was a tough year but we made it. Covid diagnosis and recovery, family health issues, a crazy economy, and low staff due to a myriad of reasons are just a few of the challenges we faced. It appears adversity was the only constant during this past year. It was that way for most of us but as a people, a family, a team we just leaned forward and kept marching.
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Tags:
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute