HAI/LAGNIAPPE STUDIOS
RANDY ROWLES: MOVING FORWARD continued
it all starts with certification and industry participation,” Rowles continues. “Te industry needs a commonsense approach to pilot development that considers safety and uses good judgment.” Randy is also exploring ways to ensure there are sufficient
DPEs to meet public demand and currently serves on the FAA’s Designated Pilot Examiner Reforms Working Group. An ATP pilot with more than 15,000 flight hours, Randy
is also an FAA Gold Seal flight instructor. (For some tips from Randy on two maneuvers every rotorcraft pilot must master, check out “Randy Rowles on Autorotations and Hovering” on p. 28.) He’s traveled the world, from the North Slope of Alaska to South America, Austria, and China, to train pilots. But he met one of his favorite students back in Florida,
not far from where he grew up. Some years ago, Randy recalls, he was in the lobby of the
In the 2013 Salute to Excellence Awards, Randy, shown here
with Chris Erickson, then-chairman of
HAI, was honored as the W.A. (Dub) Blessing Certified
Flight Instructor of the Year.
in an R44 is unnecessarily expensive because the installation is treated as an IFR upgrade, even though the aircraft can only fly VFR. Te extra expense of the upgrade, while better preparing pilots for the modern cockpit, then increases the cost of training. With an ongoing pilot shortage, pushing flight training
costs to anywhere from $85,000 to $100,000—especially when entry-level pilots may make $25 an hour until they acquire enough hours to qualify for most commercial jobs— doesn’t make sense, Randy explains. Again, this is where HAI and its members can play a role. “HAI has volunteer groups that work on issues on behalf
of the board of directors, allowing HAI staff to propose solutions to the FAA. “We need to get the cost of helicopter training down, and
Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (KFLL), waiting for a checkride applicant. “Someone said hello, and I turned around and there was Harrison Ford!” “I’m Harrison Ford,” the man said. “I know who you are. What are you doing here?” said
Randy. “I’m your applicant today,” Ford replied. Randy remembers that he had to collect himself for a
moment. Ford, the star of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, was one of his childhood heroes—and now Randy would be his examiner. As Randy tells it, Ford next said, “I’ve got kids older than
you.” Te memory still makes Randy laugh. While he’s come a
long way from the front seat of that Delta fuel truck, the spark that drove him then still drives him forward.
rotor.org/firefightingconf 30 ROTOR SEPTEMBER 2021
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