Pro RP: What is your current position?


I am the director of safety at Winco Powerline Services. We perform aerial power-line work which includes new constructions, maintenance, inspections and emergency response. I also serve on the board of directors for Vertical Aviation International.


RP: Tell me about your first experience with helicopters.


As a passenger in a CH-47, I was tired, cold and wet, and the Royal Air Force was three hours late. I think they were on their coffee break!


After that, my first-ever lesson was in 2005. I was on leave in Australia and I took an intro. flight from a company called Chopper Line just outside Brisbane. It was fantastic and I got hooked. Then I started flight training at the Bristow Academy in Florida at the end of 2009.


RP: How did you get your start in the helicopter industry?


After flight training, I was employed as a pipeline patrol pilot. I planned on visiting the area, and an instructor at the flight school I was at put me in touch with a pilot working at Chesapeake Bay Helicopters. During my visit, I only anticipated saying hello, but it turned into an interview then and there. I remember getting my CFI on Thursday and I had a job offer on Friday. The following Wednesday I was a working pilot flying a Schweizer. I was familiar with the aircraft as I used it for training, and we also flew two pilots. One would take the role as an observer while the other


10 Jan/Feb 2025


Meet a otor


David McColl


flew. I quickly transitioned to the MD 500, flying power-line patrol, and from there I moved on to performing external load on power lines.


RPMN: When and how did you choose the


helicopter choose you?


I initially thought all helicopter pilots came from the military, which I did try. While serving in the Parachute Regiment, we would work a lot with the RAF and I would always talk to the pilots.


I started looking at flight schools in 2004 and visited flight schools in Australia, Canada, Scotland and the USA. I picked Florida in the U.S.; the weather was fantastic.


I was, at the time, in a high-paying job doing security, and my initial plan was to start flight training in 2006. I kept putting it off because of the money in my then-job that I didn’t want to give up. I was also enjoying the job. I had one close call too many; this one resulted in actual medical treatment, and I could see my mother and friends were really upset about it. So, I decided to make the plan happen in 2009. I did not return to security work.


RP: Where did you get your start flying or maintaining professionally?


I started at Chesapeake Bay Helicopters flying pipeline patrols, and then moving on to power-line patrols in the MD 500 and Bell 206. From there I moved to Air2, which is where I cut my teeth at external loads. I had a fantastic time there, and had some great people around me from


industry? Or did it


all different aspects of power-line aviation. After Air2, I worked at a few great places. I helped others with training, and I have settled in at Winco Powerline Services and am still enjoying it.


RP: If you were not in the helicopter industry, what else would you see yourself doing?


Probably still working in the security industry, but I really can’t imagine not flying.


RP: What do you enjoy doing on your days off?


When I get days off at work I like to hike, ski, snowboard, kayak, explore a new city by taking a double-decker bus tour if available. When I am at home, I like spending time with my family, cooking a good meal, going for a run, and helping the kids with homework.


RP: What is your greatest career accomplishment to date?


Successfully vectoring in two helicopter air ambulances that were direly needed and had the wrong coordinates. In January 2024, we were on a job in Florida; myself and the crew witnessed a crane falling with two linemen in the basket above. I believe they fell just over 100 feet. We treated them as best as we could, but they were in really bad shape. One of the crew members was tracking the helicopter air ambulances, and we could tell they were going in the wrong direction. I managed to convince the incident commander from the fire department to give me his radio, and I gave them a vector to our location.


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