Salute to Excellence Archives - Helicopter Association International

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: Hampton Roads Helicopters, Virginia, USA

Jen Boyer — Tue, 25 May 2021 10:00:50 +0000

A look at an HAI member up close and personal. Hampton Roads Helicopters (HRH) is a full-service aviation company based at Hampton Roads Executive Airport (KPVG) in Chesapeake, Virginia. The operator is one of two companies owned by lifetime industry veteran Dave Hynes, a helicopter and airplane flight instructor and helicopter designated pilot examiner. In addition to HRH, Hynes is president of Hampton Roads Charter Service (HRCS), an authorized Robinson Helicopter dealer and service center and aircraft management company. Together, HRH and HRCS provide FAA Part 135 helicopter charter services, flight instruction, aircraft ferrying services, aerial tours, as well as support for aerial photography/videography, special events, land surveys, and utility patrol. The two companies also offer helicopter maintenance, new- and used-aircraft sales and leasing, and aircraft hangaring, management, and pilot services. A Family Tradition Founded in 2005 by Dave Hynes and Andy Gibbs, HRH is a family business built on a rich helicopter history. Hynes’s brother, Patrick Hynes, also a helicopter and airplane instructor as well as an A&P mechanic, serves as HRH’s director of maintenance. Two of six children of 2021 HAI Salute to Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Michael Hynes, the brothers grew up around and worked for Brantly-Hynes Helicopters in the 1970s (more…)

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