FROM THE DESK OF THE EDITOR I will never forget my 18th birth-


day in the summer of 1985. There was no cake, no party, no presents, and no happy birthday song. There was not even a single acknowledgement that it was my birthday. The present that I gave to myself that day was to put ten out of ten 5.56 mm rounds from an M16 rifle into the black of a target at 500 yards. I had my 18th birthday while at U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot (boot camp) in the swamps of Parris Island, South Carolina. While training to become a U.S.


Marine, I was subjected not only to extreme physical conditioning, but arduous mental conditioning as well. One of the maxims drilled into our minds was “improvise, adapt, and overcome.” Translation - when faced with situation or challenge with limit- ed resources, the team will use all of its collective knowledge, skills, and energy to create and affect a solution. The alternative is failure, or worse - death.


What I love and appreciate about


the helicopter industry, is that to a large degree, it has become a master at “improvising, overcoming, and adapt- ing.” Generally speaking, the big parts that make a helicopter fly have not changed much in the last half century. Fuselage, power plant, main rotor, tail rotor, and landing gear……..these are still the staples that make vertical flight possible. What has changed is the technol-


ogy used to build the helicopters. Technology improvements have made them faster, safer, and more useful than ever. It’s this area of “usefulness” where we really shine. Although we are a relatively small industry, it’s our amazing ability to “overcome and adapt” to new demands in the world, which has not only kept us growing, but defines our very existence. Consider the diverse sectors in


our industry: EMS, oil-support, news gathering, utility, logging, firefight-


2 June 2012


ing, law enforcement, training, and the list goes on. When the economy tanks, as a whole, the helicopter industry keeps chugging along. When the airlines are laying off our fixed-wing counterparts by the thou- sands, to where do they come run- ning back? Most often, they come running back to jobs in the stable hel- icopter industry. In this issue, we highlight the


Georgia State Patrol Aviation Division as well as the primary helicopter flight training market. Both embody the spirit of “improvise, adapt, and over- come.” The same exact spirit that per- meates our entire industry . We only survive because we are useful to soci- ety in a very diverse number of ways.


Fly Safe!


PUBLISHER Brig Bearden


brig@rotorcraftpro.com


EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lyn Burks


lyn.burks@rotorcraftpro.com


ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Allen Henderson


allen@rotorcraftpro.co


CREATIVE DIRECTOR / PHOTOGRAPHER Dana Maxfield


dana@rotorcraftpro.com


MANAGER, ONLINE ACCOUNTS Lynnette Burks


lynnette@rotorcraftpro.com COPY EDITOR


Rick Weatherford rick@rotorcraftpro.com


CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Pam Fulmer


pam@rotorcraftpro.com Rotorcraft Pro® is published twelve times a year and


mailed out on or around the 5th of the month being covered by Oak Mountain Media, LLC, P.O. Box 1505, Pelham, Alabama 35124. Rotorcraft Pro®


is distributed free to qual-


ified subscribers. Non-qualified subscription rates are $57.00 per year in the U.S. and Canada and $84.00 per year for foreign subscribers (surface mail). U.S. Postage paid at Birmingham, Alabama and additional mailing offices. Rotorcraft Pro®


is distributed to qualified readers in the


helicopter industry. Publisher is not liable for all content (including editorial and illustrations provided by advertis- ers) of advertisements published and does not accept re- sponsibility for any claims made against the publisher. It is the advertiser’s or agency’s responsibility to obtain ap- propriate releases on any item or individuals pictured in an advertisement. Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part is prohibited without prior written permission from the publisher.


POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Oak Mountain Media, LLC, P.O. Box 1505, Pelham, Alabama 35124


CORPORATE OFFICERS Brig Bearden / COO Lyn Burks / CEO


Lyn Burks, Editor In Chief


Rick Weatherford / CFO Mailing Address


P.O. Box 1505, Pelham, Alabama 35124


Toll Free: 877.768.5550 Fax: 561.424.8036 www.rotorcraftpro.com


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