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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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Jan
24
2022
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Posted by Admin
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I’ve found that most if not all new helicopter pilots have been taught to look outside when making turns, at least that’s what they want us to believe by the callouts they’re taught in training. It appears instructors are teaching to verbally state that your clear to the left, center, and right of the aircraft before making turns, but are they really completing the task?
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Dec
27
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Recently, I was conducting an FAA Helicopter Instrument Rating practical test in a Robinson R22 aircraft. To follow along with the applicant during the flight, I often use a commercially available navigation app on my smartphone to follow along for my own situational awareness. The fact this action is so commonplace in our lives can cause momentary complacency on properly securing the device for flight.
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Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Dec
27
2021
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Posted by Admin
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Once I attended the funeral of a man I didn’t know. His name was William, but everyone who knew him well just called him Will. I was there because Will’s son was my friend and at the time was my co-worker. As everyone sat quietly respectful and listened, one friend after another spoke of Will and what he meant to so many people. I remember thinking this man was only four years older than I am and died way too soon.
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Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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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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Tags:
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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“Times change.” I’ve heard that saying all my life. “Improvise, Adapt and Overcome” is the unofficial mantra of the U.S. Marine Corps. When I maintained an S76C+ in a former position, our mantra was, “We’re fluid because flexible is too rigid”. The ability to adapt in any situation is crucial. A paradigm shift can sometimes be the only obstacle between success and failure.
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Tags:
Maintenance Minute
Mark Tyler
Categories:
Maintenance Minute
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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
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Nov
29
2021
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Posted by Admin
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To provide a path for a pilot holding a pilot certificate from another country to operate a U.S. registered aircraft, the FAA publishes Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 61.75. Within this FAR, a pilot can apply for and be issued a private pilot (PPL) certificate from the FAA, based upon their foreign pilot certificate. To receive this certification, no additional testing is required as long as the foreign pilot certificate is valid and the applicant meets minimum English speaking requirements of ICAO Level 4 proficiency.
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
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Oct
25
2021
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Posted by Admin
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As a CRM facilitator it’s rewarding when I receive CRM success stories from folks who have a good story to tell. I have two stories to share in this issue, the first from flight paramedic, Rhett Draehn, who is the program safety manager at Careflight in Dallas and took my CRM instructor’s course several years ago. He wrote:
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Tags:
My Two Cents Worth
Randy Mains
Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
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Oct
25
2021
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Posted by Admin
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The ability to record video and capture awe-inspiring moments to share for many lifetimes to come has never been easier. The desire to capture such video evidence of our life experiences seems more exciting than the actual experience of living life itself. I too have peered through my phone’s screen to view an event that would happen only once in a lifetime thinking if my camera doesn’t capture the moment, it would be lost forever. Here’s a secret…often, the video doesn’t do the moment justice. Since you didn’t see it with your own eyes, the moment is truly lost.
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Tags:
Randy Rowles
Rotorcraft Checkride
Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride