partnerships, like those we have with the European Helicopter Association and the Australian Helicopter Industry Association,” both of which participate in HAI’s International Partnership Program. Another concern confronting the industry is the integration


of eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft. “Vertical lift technology is rapidly changing. Electric vehicles will have sophisticated avionics, engineering for low noise and low emissions, and advanced batteries,” Jeff notes. “And they’ll operate in the same spaces as legacy aircraft.” Te HAI board has appointed a special advisor – emerging technology to help the industry embrace these new vehicles, he adds. As the incoming chair evaluates the current helicopter


community, he considers safety to remain an issue. Poor flight planning followed by scud running is a recipe for disaster and far too often leads to unintended flight in IMC (UIMC), loss of control in-flight (LOC-I), or striking an object at low altitude (LALT). Unsurprisingly, the US Helicopter Safety Team ranks UIMC, LOC-I, and LALT among the top three causes of fatal helicopter accidents during the past


decade. Jeff argues that too many accidents under these circumstances can be traced to a pilot’s refusal to say no. “We’ve come a long way in changing the safety culture,”


Jeff says. “But we still have a way to go. We need to go beyond ‘Land & LIVE.’ Tere’s a myth in aviation that we’re paid as pilots and mechanics to get the mission done. I would say we’re actually paid to say no.” Other times, hazardous situations may be caused by


inexperienced pilots flying unfamiliar or overequipped aircraft. “More training needs to be done for these pilots,” Jeff adds, such as providing more initial training and annual refresher courses to ensure that pilots use systems properly and spend less time distracted during critical phases of flight.


A VVIP Passenger Jeff has more than 11,500 hours of flight time involving everything from air ambulance operations to flying in a movie production and enough stories to generate hours of great hanger talk. But one memory really stands out—the time Jeff and his copilot were assigned to fly to Kennebunkport,


JUNE 2022 ROTOR 33


An avionics suite like this one (above) reduces a pilot’s workload, provided every function is understood, Jeff says. His top priority (left), even after 11,500 flying hours, remains safety, and nothing is routine— not even performing a preflight.


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