…First though, some other fun stuff. Just some random examples.
3) Classic statement
Nurse says:
(firmly, pointedly, lips pursed, no-nonsense tone of voice) (arms folded) (foot probably tapping, but I didn’t dare look)
“I want you to understand I know just as much about flying this helicopter as you do. I’ve been flying on these machines for five years, and I’ve seen it all. You understand me?”
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Categories:
Moggy's Musings
April’s tips:
ATA 53
Airbus EC135 series: Avionics Deck vent openings in fuselage side panels. Much to a mechanic’s displeasure, this simple venting system has been the root of many electrical issues. Main problem is when water applied with force (e.g. hose while washing aircraft, etc.) at either vent grill will allow plenty of water to cover components on the avionics deck and even the master electrical boxes. One fix adopted by numerous operators is to fabricate and install a simple “hat” or deflector to the interior top section of the fiberglass vent tubes.
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Categories:
ROTORwrench
In the 1989 movie Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner hears ghostly voices coming from his Iowa cornfield telling him, “If you build it they will come,” meaning he should build a baseball diamond and former members from the Chicago Black Sox would come. Each day for the two months that I worked building a crew resource management instructor’s course, a similar line kept replaying in my head: What if I build it and no one comes?
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
Within the flight training industry, a key component to mitigating risk is standardization. Providing the student and instructor with repeatable tools to aid in the decision-making process provides a predictable environment in which flight training can occur safely. However, this may be a double-edged sword. On one side you have a highly standardized method of operating that is repeatable, predictable, and offers very little in the form of operational risk. On the other side, the student pilot is offered very little opportunity to make operational decisions. The key to becoming a safe, competent helicopter pilot is the ability to make good decisions.
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Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
March’s tips:
ATA 52
Sikorsky S-76A: Ever had cabin/cockpit doors rattle a little or give a “door light” even though fully closed? Look at plastic part on fuselage door striker post. If worn, loosen up post and reposition plastic tube to non-worn area. If unable and no spares in stock, pick up some white plastic water line of the appropriate ID/OD at your local hardware store and replace as needed. [Submitted by Buckeye Ted]
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Categories:
ROTORwrench
The FAA requires all initial pilot certificate applicants (except ATP) to demonstrate cross-country proficiency during a practical test. The Practical Test Standard (PTS) Area of Operation identifying the proficiency to be demonstrated is titled “Navigation.” Tasks included within this section of the PTS are pilotage and dead reckoning, radio navigation and radar services, diversion, and lost procedures. This portion of the exam is intended to verify that the student has sufficient knowledge to fly a helicopter safely outside of his or her local flying area.
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Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride
“The doctor told me I’d never walk again,” former Utah flight nurse Stein Rosqvist told the group with obvious emotion. “I saw that wheelchair being pushed towards me down the corridor and said, ‘That’s definitely not for me.’”
Through months of physical therapy by a nurse that would not permit him to say, “I can’t,” Stein walks today. His is just one of the stories I heard during the three-day digital story workshop I attended recently in Denver, Colorado.
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
Many years ago, a time period measured in more than a decade in fact, Ancient History, I was flying EMS Air Ambulance elsewhere, somewhere, on this Pale Blue Dot, and for a different employer than my present one. It was, as I look back on it, an almost surreal experience. Absurdity, tinged with amusement. The memories to this day make me feel a trifle weary. A need to shake the head, sadly. I don’t get it. I know I’m not terribly bright, and I guess my tiny spirit must just hum (or bumble along, the best it can) on an entirely different level. Better? Worse? That’s for others to assess. I think… I mean well. I KNOW… it seems to get me into endless trouble. As you will see.
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Categories:
Moggy's Musings
Last year, HAI President Matt Zuccaro pushed his safety message, “Land the Damn Helicopter,” reminding us that as a last resort when we’ve run out of options, we have the power to break a potential link in an error chain by simply landing.
Research into why helicopters crash isn’t statistically different than other segments of aviation. It is pretty much agreed worldwide that 80 percent of all aviation accidents have an element of human error. Crew resource management (CRM) training can save the day before we need to resort to landing the damn helicopter. CRM, if practiced religiously, will keep your good hands from taking you somewhere your mind hasn’t been.
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Categories:
My Two Cents Worth
Within the FAA’s practical test standard (PTS) for helicopters, the proficiency requirements to successfully demonstrate a running/roll-on landing are identified. They are seemingly simple: establish and maintain: a shallow approach angle, a proper rate of closure, and proper flight control technique after surface contact. The PTS wants us to talk about surface texture, height/velocity diagram, and factors affecting performance data, all really good topics. However, I’ve found a question that few applicants can answer: Why are we here?
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Categories:
Rotorcraft Checkride