the beach and enjoy the beautiful scenery that Florida has to offer.
RP: What is your greatest career accomplishment to date?
Passing my CFI students and watching them work for me to get their hours, and then they go off to their dream jobs. Being able to see someone go from a green CFI to pursue their passion is a great achievement. As instructors, we have a lot more influence on our students than we realize. It is a huge responsibility to pass on the knowledge to younger generations on how to fly safely. Our students take after us more than we might think, so being safety conscious and professional is extremely important.
RP: Have you ever had an “oh, crap” moment in helicopters? Can you summarize what happened?
I had a flight in central Florida and it was dark, overcast and lightly raining. I departed from an off-airport location and immediately lost all reference. Thankfully my training kicked in and I was able to rely on my instruments, but that was my first encounter outside of training flying solely on instruments, I was not in the clouds, but it was IFR, and that was eye-opening for me. Even though the weather doesn’t say it’s IFR, it still can be very dangerous depending on your conditions.
RP: If you could give only one piece of advice to new pilots, mechanics, or support personnel, what would it be?
Keep flying the helicopter! With all the technology
being introduced into the Pivot Systems
3 Drawer pivot base module
Pivot plate and top deck assembly approved for the Bell 429
SPECTRUM-AEROMED.COM Heli-Expo Booth #8502
rotorpro.com 11
AW119 Base assembly with heated drawer
cockpits these days, I see pilots forget to fly the aircraft or fail to rely on their training. They are too busy looking down at their iPad or looking at the GPS unit that they forget to use their eyes to look outside the aircraft. Technology is great, don’t get me wrong, but it should never replace our skill as a pilot. Technology should only enhance our skill.
RP: In your view, what is the greatest challenge for the helicopter industry at this moment in time?
I think the greatest challenge for the industry is us helicopter pilots. Yes, there
is automation, drones, salaries, and those all play a role, but I think getting pilots into a safe mindset is still one of our greatest challenges. Every year we have so many helicopter fatalities, and while hindsight is always 20/20, a lot of these accidents could have been prevented if the pilot just said no to the flight. There is a feeling (that I’ve often felt) of needing to get the job done. We as pilots have a hard time saying no. We want to complete the mission, and unfortunately that can get us into trouble.
Do you know someone who would be a good subject for Meet a Rotor Pro? Email your suggestion to the editor-in-chief:
lyn.burks@rotorpro.com
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