Top Story Archives - Helicopter Association International

HAI introduces ROTOR Media website

Rotor Media — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 14:00:23 +0000

Photo above: Mark Bennett New microsite offers industry news, videos, magazine, webinars all in one place. With the goal of providing faster, broader, more accessible coverage of the vertical aviation industry, HAI introduces ROTOR Media. The new, image-oriented microsite, launched Jul. 12, features news, videos, and other content from HAI as well as external news outlets. Not only is ROTOR Media the new home of HAI’s flagship magazine, ROTOR; it also serves as the story database for HAI’s ROTOR Daily e-newsletter, which summarizes each weekday’s VTOL news. The microsite will soon host the association’s popular HAI@Work webinar series, too, which currently can be found at rotor.org. Both current and past issues of ROTOR magazine, produced by and for the VTOL industry, are available on ROTOR Media. Readers can access the content online on the website or in a digital edition or save the issue for offline viewing via downloadable PDFs of the quarterly publication. The ROTOR Daily section of ROTOR Media provides original HAI content as well as curated stories from external sources, including regulatory bodies, governments, the media, OEMs, and more. Readers can view articles in chronological order on the ROTOR Daily home page, use the pull-down menu to (more…)

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Registration opens for HAI Connect virtual marketplace

ROTOR Staff — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 12:50:37 +0000

Sep. 8–9 event to bring together leading vertical aviation manufacturers, suppliers to meet individually online with buyers; demo products and services. Attendee registration for the inaugural HAI Connect opens today, Jul. 12, 2021. The event, an all-new, affordable way to help buyers in the rotorcraft industry efficiently evaluate new products and services, takes place virtually Sep. 8–9. The vertical flight industry’s leading manufacturers and suppliers will showcase and demonstrate their latest offerings at HAI Connect. They’ll also meet with potential buyers from around the globe in brief, prescheduled one-on-one appointments. In-depth panel discussions will round out the event. Registration for Attendees Registration for HAI Connect attendees is free for HAI members and $95 for nonmembers. To become an HAI member or renew your current membership, contact HAI Membership at member@rotor.org. Vendor Opportunities Interested companies enjoy three ways to meet buyers from around the world at HAI Connect: As a Connector—use our portal to make prescheduled video appointments with potential customers As an Innovator—in addition to using the portal for video appointments, take the opportunity to conduct a product demonstration or make a company announcement As a Sponsor—optimize your brand’s exposure at HAI Connect while leveraging all the benefits of event (more…)

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HAI@Work webinar, Jul. 8: Fatigue and Maintenance Duty Cycle Management

Jen Boyer — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 10:00:25 +0000

Panelists to share best practices for prevention, ramifications of poor management. Fatigue is a significant issue in the rotorcraft industry, and maintenance personnel face a particular risk for the problem due to nighttime and rotating shift work, long and unregulated duty times, sleep disruption, and cumulative sleep deficits. Fatigued technicians can experience impaired judgment, difficulty focusing, memory lapses, lowered moods and motivation, and other performance limitations. The result can be mistakes and oversights that contribute to devastating accidents. Fortunately, a strong maintenance management mindset paired with good awareness and team communications can combat fatigue and vastly increase overall maintenance safety. Join us for the Jul. 8 HAI@Work webinar as members of the HAI Safety Working Group share their firsthand insight into how maintenance management can take a proactive approach to avoid fatigue within their operations. They’ll discuss the issue from three vantage points: management’s perspective, the technician’s point of view, and the legal consequences of failing to take steps to prevent fatigue. Our panelists for the webinar will be: Tarek Loutfy, Senior Operations and Flight Safety Manager, Flight Test Operation, GE Aviation Duke Puharich, Safety Director, Siller Helicopters Robert Lakind, Aviation Attorney, Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein & Blader In this webinar (more…)

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HAI Member Spotlight: Wilson Construction, Oregon, USA

Jen Boyer — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 12:45:43 +0000

A look at an HAI member up close and personal. Wilson Construction Co. of Canby, Ore., is a full-service utility construction company specializing in the design and construction of electric utility infrastructure for power providers. One of the region’s largest privately held companies of its kind, Wilson’s work includes designing, building, and repairing overhead and underground transmission and distribution transmission infrastructure. Its teams also engineer, drill, and perform grading for substation and switchyard construction. The company has performed extensive work across the United States as well as Canada, American Samoa, and Indonesia. Today, its locations in Canby and Woodburn, Oregon; Spokane, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; and Sacramento and Corona, California, support Wilson Construction’s expansive operations. Wilson’s History Matt O. Wilson founded the company almost 70 years ago in Troutdale, Oregon, installing power lines for the federal Rural Electrification Administration, which first brought electricity to farms in Oregon and Washington. He taught his son, Don Wilson, the current president of the company, that carefully selected and trained personnel, adaptability, and a desire to embrace the best technology for the job are essential building blocks to success. Recognizing helicopters’ vital position as a preferred workhorse in utility operations, the company purchased and today (more…)

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HAI@Work webinar, Jul. 1: Salute to Excellence Humanitarian Service honorees, plus preparing for the 2021 fire season

Jen Boyer — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 10:00:06 +0000

With record high temperatures and a historic drought, the industry is preparing for a fire season like no other. Throughout the night of Sep. 5, 2020, members of the California National Guard (Cal Guard) 40th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) rescued 242 people and numerous pets from the uncontained Creek Fire in the Sierra National Forest northeast of Fresno. In the end, the soldiers described the experience as much worse than flying in combat. Labor Day vacationers that day were cornered by the blaze, huddled on a beach and in the forest’s Mammoth Pool Reservoir, suffering from burns, broken bones, and difficulty breathing due to smoke inhalation. With a UH-60 Black Hawk and a CH-47 Chinook, the 40th CAB flew three harrowing missions each that night to bring the people to safety, earning the team the 2021 HAI Salute to Excellence Humanitarian Service Award. Hear from the team itself at the Jul. 1 HAI@Work webinar, where members of the 40th CAB will tell their heroic story and discuss the growing dire conditions that could increase the need for more such rescues this year. They’ll then join panelists from Erickson and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) to (more…)

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HAI Member Spotlight: Helidosa Aviation Group, Dominican Republic

Jen Boyer — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 10:00:15 +0000

A look at an HAI member up close and personal. In 1992, there were no multiservice helicopter operators in the Dominican Republic. Helidosa Aviation Group’s founders set out to change that situation, envisioning the use of helicopters for a variety of operations previously unavailable in the country, including transportation, entertainment, charter flights, and tourist sightseeing. Now, almost 30 years after it opened, Helidosa is the Dominican Republic’s premier full-service aviation company. Headquartered in Santo Domingo, the operator provides charter, air ambulance, and helicopter tour services using 23 helicopters and 13 fixed-wing aircraft. The former group includes Bell 206, 212, 407, 429, and 430 aircraft as well as Airbus EC135 and Robinson R66 helicopters. Geographic Range Helidosa’s charter and medical transportation services support the Caribbean (including French territories), Central and South America, Europe, and the eastern United States. The company uses helicopters for local and direct service and airplanes for longer-distance transportation. Helicopter charters are popular for quick trips throughout the Dominican Republic, from crowded city centers to the airport and between towns. Airplane charters, meanwhile, are popular throughout the Caribbean and beyond. Air Medical Services Helidosa is the only company in the Dominican Republic with full advanced life support aircraft (more…)

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June Spotlight on Safety: Confront mission mentality and save lives

Chris Hill — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 10:00:55 +0000

Image above: iStock/sesame In our profession, multitasking is out of the question. While many in the vertical flight industry claim multitasking as one of their many extraordinary skills, they, too, suffer from the same human vulnerability to distraction as the rest of us. So how do helicopter pilots routinely juggle a series of highly complex tasks that enable them to maintain a flawless instrument scan or a perfectly steady hover while lives hang in the balance? You practice, of course. Others might offer up lifesaving technical solutions like stability augmentation or autopilot. Training and technology advancements remain critical to our industry, but neither can replace disciplined risk management and aeronautical decision-making (ADM) when it comes to saving lives. Juggling Priorities When our brains switch between demanding tasks, how much cognitive ability remains for us to process new information, particularly if it disrupts our flight, or “important mission”? This is when we’re most vulnerable. The solution many in the industry have discovered is meticulous flight planning with an obsessive focus on risk management. We service our ADM “engine”—our brain—well before takeoff to automate many dynamic risk-based decisions. Then, when we’re necessarily focused on a complex flight task and we encounter a (more…)

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HAI@Work webinar, Jun. 24: How to fly neighborly in your R44

Jen Boyer — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 10:00:18 +0000

HAI Fly Neighborly / Environmental Working Group member shares tips for reducing helicopter noise, maintaining positive community relations. Local, state, and even federal legislation is beginning to limit helicopter operations as a direct result of community noise complaints. When we voluntarily choose routes, power settings, maneuvers, and flying styles to reduce our noise footprint, we can reduce the cause of these complaints. What better group to set an example than those operating one of the world’s most popular helicopters—the Robinson R44? Indeed, R44 pilots and operators have the power today to protect the entire helicopter industry’s ability to fly in the future. HAI Fly Neighborly/Environmental Working Group member Eric Jacobs will explain how at this week’s HAI@Work webinar, on Jun. 24. In addition to covering the basic tenets of the FAA’s Fly Neighborly Noise Abatement Training program, Jacobs will share valuable tips and insights about how to mitigate helicopter noise, including specific guidance on how to apply these tactics when operating the heavily flown R44. In this webinar you’ll learn: What noise abatement is Ways to reduce your noise footprint in an R44 How Fly Neighborly training helps improve community relations The potential fallout when pilots don’t mitigate helicopter noise (more…)

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HAI Member Spotlight: Liquid Measurement Systems, Vermont, USA

Jen Boyer — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 10:00:05 +0000

Photo above: iStock/Lo-So-Ma A look at an HAI member up close and personal. Liquid Measurement Systems (LMS) of Georgia, Vermont, provides fuel-management and -gauging systems for rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft for both the commercial and military sectors. The company designs, certifies, and makes electromechanical systems and components with light weight, safety, accuracy, and value in mind. The manufacturer is also innovating and leveraging its expertise to enter the growing hybrid-electric and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market sectors. Products and Services LMS’s products include carbon composite fuel probes, digital fuel-quantity indicators, signal conditioners, and external-refuel preselect panels. The company also works with its clients to design and manufacture custom solutions for individual customer needs, including supporting prototype designs. Operating from its commitment to safety, quality, accuracy, and innovation, LMS credits its success to its collaborative approach with customers. The company works closely with clients as early as possible in requirements development to produce superior system designs and encourage innovative approaches to complex challenges. The result, LMS says, is high-quality solutions on budget and on schedule. Backed by a team of engineering, assembly, quality assurance, and support experts, LMS serves some of the world’s largest and most innovative OEMs and tier 1 (more…)

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HAI launches virtual event to bring together vertical aviation buyers, sellers

Rotor Media — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 14:01:11 +0000

Leading manufacturers, suppliers to meet individually online with buyers; demo products and services at HAI Connect, Sep. 8–9, 2021. HAI is pleased to announce HAI Connect, an all-new, affordable way to help buyers in the rotorcraft industry efficiently evaluate new products and services—online. At this virtual marketplace, which takes place Sep. 8–9, 2021, the vertical flight industry’s leading manufacturers and suppliers will showcase and demonstrate their latest offerings and meet with potential buyers from around the globe in brief, prescheduled one-on-one appointments. In-depth panel discussions will round out the event. Registration for Attendees Registration for HAI Connect attendees opens Jul. 12 and is free for HAI members and $95 for nonmembers. Look for more details in the coming weeks at the HAI Connect website. To become an HAI member or renew your current membership, contact HAI Membership at member@rotor.org. Vendor Opportunities Interested companies can enjoy three ways to meet buyers from around the world at HAI Connect: As a Connector—use our portal to make prescheduled video appointments with potential customers. As an Innovator—in addition to using the portal for video appointments, take the opportunity to conduct a product demonstration or make a company announcement. As a Sponsor—optimize your brand’s exposure (more…)

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