FROM THE DESK OF THE EDITOR


PUBLISHER Brig Bearden


brig@rotorcraftpro.com


EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lyn Burks


lyn.burks@rotorcraftpro.com


CREATIVE DIRECTOR / PHOTOGRAPHER Dana Maxfield


dana@rotorcraftpro.com


MANAGER, ONLINE ACCOUNTS Lynnette Burks


lynnette@rotorcraftpro.com COPY EDITOR


I’M A SUCKER FOR A GOOD STORY


When I was invited to visit MD


Helicopters to fly the MD 902 Explorer, I could not pass up the opportunity. My main goal was to learn more about NOTAR (NO TAil Rotor) technology, and get a feel for its flying characteristics. Over the years, I had heard a variety of opinions that ranged from “it’s great,” to “it’s different,” to “I don’t like it.” The visit to MD did allow me to form


an opinion of the aircraft, but I am sure you recall the old axiom about people with opinions --- everyone’s got one, right? Though not intentional, the main take away from my visit turned out to be less about the physical helicopter, and more about the story of MD. Being a sucker for a good story, I decided to ask the MD team questions about its history and the strug- gles it has worked through since being pur- chased in 2005 by the flamboyant business turn-around artist, Lynn Tilton. Naysayers looking through a chau-


vinistic lens could not pass up the temp- tation to think along these lines: A woman would have to be crazy to come into a male-dominated niche industry, and pur- chase the failing iconic American heli-


copter company started by Howard Hughes. She would need deep pockets, guts of iron, shrewdness, and have to be a savvy businesswoman with vision. At that time, all of these thoughts were amplified because she had no experience in the helicopter industry. As it turns out, Ms. Tilton possessed


to some degree all these characteristics, perhaps in just the right amounts. Inside this issue, we learn how MD Helicopters has slowly clawed its way back into exis- tence since its dark days when it was bought and sold three times in six years from 1999 to 2005. Additionally, author James Careless


explores the business benefits surround- ing the practice of upgrading old, worn- out cockpits, with modern-day avionics suites. We also touch on the need for individual pilot liability insurance, as well as explore the topic of helicopter leasing and how it benefits helicopter operators globally.


Fly Safe!


Lyn Burks, Editor In Chief


MEMBER Rick Weatherford rick@rotorcraftpro.com


CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Pam Fulmer


pam@rotorcraftpro.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS


Steve Goldsworthy Caterina Hessler Matt Johnson Randy Mains


Rotorcraft Pro®


Brad McNally Randy Rowles Scott Skola


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


qualified subscribers. Non-qualified subscription rates are $57.00 per year in the U.S. and Canada and $125.00 per year for foreign subscribers (surface mail). U.S. Postage paid at Birmingham, Alabama and additional mail- ing offices. Publisher is not liable for all content (including editorial


and illustrations provided by advertisers) of advertisements published and does not accept responsibility for any claims made against the publisher. It is the advertiser’s or agency’s responsibility to obtain appropriate 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


Rick Weatherford / CFO Mailing Address


P.O. Box 1505, Pelham, Alabama 35124


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


2 August 2013


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