being a DPE, I’ve found myself in an EC145, R22, R44 and a S300 all in one week’s time; and I enjoy each and every one of them!
RPMN: Have you ever had an “Oh, crap” moment in a helicopter? Can you summarize what happened?
Yes, it happened several years ago while ferrying an R44 back to an owner after maintenance. It was winter - extremely cold. I did a weather check for the short 50-mile fl ight. The weather was forecast clear for my route of fl ight, the temperature was ridiculous, like -20 C, ceilings 3-5K, and 10-plus miles of visibility. Shortly after takeoff , I fl ew through an inverse layer with warmer air above which kicked out freezing rain. In a matter of seconds the entire windscreen of the R44 was covered. It was surreal; I couldn’t believe what was happening! The only emotion I had was being pissed off beyond belief. I couldn’t believe I had encountered freezing rain in those temperatures. I concentrated on aircraft control and made a turn back to the departure point that I knew was clear. I ended up shooting a localizer sideways into the airport; the only unobstructed windows were the two sides of the aircraft. After landing, the radar replay showed what I had encountered. The area I’d fl own into was about the diameter of one to two small dots from a pencil. Great luck I have, huh?
RPMN: If you could give only ONE piece of advice to a new helicopter pilot, what would it be?
Do everything you can to stay sharp! Training doesn’t end with wet ink on a pilot certifi cate at any level, private or ATP. Do this by
reading everything you can get your hands on, fl y with diff erent instructors, fl y as many diff erent makes and models of helicopters that you can. In essence, never stop being a student!
RPMN: In your view, what is the greatest challenge for the helicopter industry at this moment in time?
I think the biggest challenge is changing the way helicopter
pilots are being brought up and into the working helicopter industry. Much time is being spent on stick-wiggling skills, but much more needs to be spent on “soft” skills like decision- making based on real-world practical applications. We have a lot of good resources in our industry at the “professional” level. Unfortunately, so many pilots don’t learn about a lot of these great tools until they hit 1,000-2,000 hours. Why wait? Anyone that has been a CFI knows all about the law of primacy: what is learned initially sticks best. Why are we waiting until a pilot hits at least 1,000 hours until we teach them how to utilize a risk-assessment system, work cohesively with other crewmembers, utilize enroute weather trigger points or even how to use the HEMS weather tool? Any pilot can use the HEMS tool! I’ve seen more than a few “professional” pilots struggle with soft skills because all they were ever taught was the fl ying portion of the industry. This needs to change.
rotorcraftpro.com
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