FROM THE DESK OF THE EDITOR “I hate every minute of training.”
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” - Muhammad Ali
Helicopter training doesn’t necessarily give us the opportunity to live our life as a champion — but it does give us the opportunity to live the rest of our life. I was thinking the other day about all the training I have received during my 35 years of work life. I have really had only four chapters in my career: U.S. Marine, firefighter, helicopter pilot, and business owner. The first three have required extensive amounts of training. I cannot help but wonder how much of it I took for granted.
Being a trainer in any profession is such a noble endeavor. Doing it in the helicopter industry is next-level, given the narrow margins for error in our work. Taking the time to pour yourself and all that you know into teaching others takes a very special person. I don’t do it often enough, but I
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must give a shout-out to our long-running columnists, Randy Rowles (see his “Stupid Is as Stupid Does” Checkride column in this issue) and Randy Mains. They share their personal experiences in the industry to not only broaden our horizons, but elevate the knowledge of everyone. They both have a teacher’s heart and we at Rotorcraft Pro really appreciate them.
I’ve always preached that our industry does not train enough. I know from first-hand experience that when you are training, in most cases, it’s not the most pleasant experience. Pilots can have egos, but training pushes us to the edges of our limitations so that we make mistakes. Those mistakes force us to learn and change our behavior, and that can humble us. In our industry, whether flying or maintenance, it’s a performance-based business. Either you can do the work, or you cannot. If you cannot, there’s no hiding from it and everyone knows it. Although training can be painful while you’re doing it, it feels amazing and pays off when you
Editor-In-Chief Lyn Burks
lyn.burks@rotorcraftpro.com Account Executive
Teri Rivas
teri.rivas@rotorcraftpro.com Brad Shubargo
brad@rotorcraftpro.com Circulation Manager
Laura Lentz Layout Design
Bryan Matuskey
production@rotorcraftpro.com
need it the most and you safely return home with the helicopter and crew intact.
In this issue I share my experience training at the new Leonardo Helicopters U.S. Training Academy, where I completed an AW169 recurrent training course. Leonardo has taken its training to the next level with a new $80 million, state-of-the- art, 63,000-square-foot facility. You can read the article and watch the video on page 56.
Speaking of career enhancement training, if you are a student pilot, flight instructor, military-to-civilian transitioner, or a pilot transitioning from one sector to another, we invite you to join our free three- day HeliSuccess Career Development Webinar and Virtual Job Fair on Nov. 9-11, 2021. Trust me, this is not training that you will hate! To learn more, visit
https://bit.ly/ HeliSuccess_2021
Lyn Burks, Editor-In-Chief
Online Accounts Manager Lynnette Burks
lynnette.burks@rotorcraftpro.com Copy Editors
Rick Weatherford
Joanna Nellans Social Media Guru Laura Lentz
Conributing Writers James Careless Randy Mains Joanna Nellans Brad McNally Rick Weatherford Tim Pruitt
Randy Rowles Sharon Desfor Matt Johnson Scott Skola
Corporate Officer Lyn Burks, CEO
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Sept/Oct 2021
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