as we were coming into ground effect, and using the added performance we were able to make a getaway without hurting the helicopter—and more importantly ourselves. After returning to base, the student and I spent the afternoon coming to terms with our stupidity before proceeding to review all the things we should have done before making an attempt at the approach.


RPMN: If you could give only one piece of advice to a new helicopter pilot, what would it be?


Be humble. Understand that you are human. You will make mistakes … and some of them will be horrible. I’ve worked with guys who have an “I’ve got this” attitude. They seem to develop bad habits that they never break, even when critiqued by more experienced pilots. I believe they are mistaking confidence with machoism.


What I’ve learned to appreciate is a pilot who has the confidence to do the job combined with the humility to believe they can always improve. There is a best way to do something; a humble pilot will continually try to find it. The pilot who believes they’re awesome will believe the way they’re doing something is the best way, and not realize they’re flying beyond their limits.


PEOPLE MAKE IT POSSIBLE


RPMN: In your view, what is the greatest challenge for the helicopter industry at this moment?


I think the greatest challenge facing the helicopter industry is a lack of early training in decision-making. We seem to concentrate on stick skills when training new pilots. I can say when I was an instructor that I was guilty of this as much as anyone. Everyone wants to nail that autorotation. I get it.


But looking back on my career, I know I would have been much better prepared for my first 135 gig if I had incorporated more scenarios,


“Seeing our solutions make a difference for the folks who defend our freedom, that’s what I get excited about. There is no better feeling then knowing we’re helping our soldiers come home safe.”


Paul Leach, Director of Military Maintenance


Read Paul’s full story and others at colheli.com/ ourstory/faces.


Experience to fly, Knowledge to Maintain. rotorcraftpro.com 11


stories from experienced pilots, and researched accidents and incidents. At 1,000 hours, I was very good flying in a nice pre-planned known situation, but just OK when new things came into the picture. Now I can deal with changes more comfortably as a result of several thousand more hours of experience. I know you can never give the pilot-in-


training all the knowledge possessed by a pilot with years of experience, but you can at least give them a head start in how to approach new situations. If a pilot can learn to skillfully adapt to changes while flying earlier in their training, I believe it greatly decreases the chances of a horrible event later on in their career.


Do you know someone who would be a good subject for Meet a Rotorcraft Pro? Email your suggestion to the editor-in-chief:


lyn.burks@rotorcraftpro.com.


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