this issue (PDF Format)

the journal of the professional helicopter pilot
So You Want to Be a Professional
Helicopter Pilot!
by Tony Fonze
page 8 - Lest We ForgetThe “Thunder Brigade”
COLUMNS
2 President’s Letter
FEATURES
& MORE
10 So You Want to Be a Professional
Helicopter Pilot!
20 What Elephant?
22 Aeromedical Q & A
8 Lest We Forget-The “Thunder Brigade”
6 Pilot Error
4 Autorotate Contributors
Volume 6
www.autorotate.org
Issue 3
A u t o r o t a t e i s t h e o f f i c i a l p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e P r o f e s s i o n a l H e l i c o p t e r P i l o t s ’ A s s o c i a t i o n ( P H PA )
Letter from the President—Pilot Shortage
It looks like the forecasted “Pilot
Shortage” is about to hit us in full force.
Operators are forcing their pilots to work
overtime and cancel vacations and still,
they find themselves looking to fill more
empty seats every day. The fallacy here is
that there is a pilot shortage. Nothing
could be further from the truth.
What is actually happening is a shifting
paradigm. Until recently, we have had an
abundance of pilots and only a few seats
to be filled. We now have a situation with
plenty of seats to be filled and an abundance of pilots. But the pilots have chosen to work in other fields that pay better,
offer better benefits, better working conditions and permit their employees to
spend time with their families.
There is no pilot shortage, just a shortage of pilots willing to work for poor pay,
poor benefits, in poor working conditions,
and willing to spend half their life away
from home. The industry could easily
end the so-called shortage tomorrow by
simply raising wages and benefits to a
level that would make it worthwhile to
those thousands of pilots who have chosen another line of work simply because
they want a better life.
Working at Ft. Rucker I have the opportunity to speak with many pilots. The ones
who are in the process of retiring all say
the same thing to me, "Why would I want
to take a $50,000 a year job with fewer
benefits and spend half of my time away
from home when I can walk in the door
of corporate America at $80,000 a year or
better and be home every night?” I see
their point clearly, and hopefully the
industry will see their point before these
forced working conditions lead to an accident.
Many of the pilots affected by this are
becoming increasingly disgruntled as
their vacations are canceled and their
phones ring the moment they get home
with someone telling them they have to
come back to cover empty seats. As they
grow weary and increasingly unhappy
they are going to make mistakes. And
this is a business where mistakes are seldom forgiven by the aircraft we fly and
the jobs we do with those aircraft.
I learned an amazing statistic at the
first meeting of the International
Helicopter Safety Team. If the airline
industry were experiencing the same accident rate as today’s U.S. air ambulance
industry, they would be crashing 90 airliners every year. It doesn’t take much
imagination to envision an accident rate
escalating to the point where customers
no longer want to climb onboard our aircraft.
With forced work-over (overtime) and
the cancellation of vacations, pilots are
already growing tired and a tired pilot is
not nearly as safe as a fresh, well-rested
pilot. My hope is that the operators putting flight-time ahead of pilot-rest, wakeup before it’s too late. I want them to
come to the realization that they are competing with corporate America for the
services of well-qualified individuals who
have options in life. They are not just
competing against each other for pilots.
They are competing against other professional choices available to pilots.
Operators have misread the shortage as
a lack of qualified pilots, when in reality
it is a lack of pay and benefits worthy of
the pilots who are putting it on the line
every day. The moment the pay and benefit situation is corrected, the shortage will
end. My concern is that those with the
power to make these changes will not do
so until the situation has become much
worse and more dangerous for the pilots
attempting to do their jobs.
Butch Grafton
President, The Professional Helicopter Pilots’
Association (PHPA), PHPA International.
Volume 6 Issue 3
Publisher:
The Professional Helicopter Pilots’ Association
Managing Editor:
Anthony Fonze
Design:
Studio 33
Editorial Assistance:
Michael Sklar
Autorotate is owned by the Professional Helicopter
Pilots’ Association (PHPA). Autorotate (ISSN 1531166X) is published every other month for $30.00 per
year by PHPA, 354 S. Daleville Ave, Suite B, Daleville,
AL 36322.
Copyright © 2006, Professional Helicopter Pilots’
Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or
in part is strictly prohibited. It is illegal to make copies
of this publication. Printed in the U.S.A. by union
employees.
Subscriptions:
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Single issue reprints offered, when available, for $5.00
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Article Contributions and Editorial
Comments:
Article contributions, including ideas, freelance stories,
an interest in assignment articles, Live and Learn
experiences, photographs, and comments are welcome
and should be sent to autorotate, 3160 N. San Remo,
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Fax 520-298-7439. E-mail editor@autorotate.org.
Autorotate and PHPA are not responsible for materials
submitted for review.
Notice:
The information contained herein has been researched
and reviewed. However, Autorotate and PHPA do not
assume responsibility for actions taken by any pilot or
aircraft operator based upon information contained
herein. Every pilot and aircraft operator is responsible for
complying with all applicable regulations.
354 S. Daleville Ave, Suite B, Daleville, AL 36322
Butch@autorotate.org
END
Cover: Tom Magill;
Inset, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade
3
Autorotate Contributors
Troy Hayes
Pete Gillies
Elan Head
I Want to Say, “Thank You”
It is hard for me to believe, but PHPA
has owned and published Autorotate for
over 4 years now. During that time I’ve
been blessed to work with a core team of
talented contributors who have written
stories, taken photos and helped with the
editing process to make Autorotate a
magazine that pilots enjoy reading and
PHPA can be proud of. They’ve given of
their time and talents repeatedly, selflessly, and without remuneration, and I am
indebted to them.
This is a salute to the men and
“woman” who have helped bring you
Autorotate for the last 4 years. We couldn’t do it without them.
To all, my most sincere thanks and
appreciation—Tony
Troy Hayes-writer
Troy has struggled with writer’s block,
late-night airline travel, uncooperative
child-care arrangements, and getting lost
in LA to contribute several exceptional
feature articles to Autorotate. He’s a
skilled observer and a talented writer
with a keen sense of humor. We’re fortunate to have him. Thank you Troy.
Troy Hayes lives in Tucson Arizona with his
wife Jo and their son Tyler. His two dogs have
finally stopped barking at me when I drive up
into his driveway. Troy’s primary occupation is
4
as an officer/paramedic for a state law enforcement agency and he is also a flight instructor
and corporate pilot with Voyager Flight Services.
Troy is an Army/Air Force veteran who served in
Desert Storm and is a member of the Air Force
Reserve.
Pete Gillies-writer
I love Pete Gillies. He is one of the
most talented, yet humble, pilots in the
industry and he’s spent his entire career
sharing his experiences with others: in
the cockpit, classroom and now on the
pages of Autorotate. He is respected by
ALL who know him and I’m proud to
have him as a friend.
Pete has been a commercial helicopter pilot
since 1967 and has been Chief Pilot at Western
Helicopters since 1980. Much of his early work
was in the area of power-line construction where
he invented new techniques and equipment to fit
the needs of the job. He holds a B.A. in Business
and Public Administration from the University of
Arizona (Hey, that’s here in Tucson) and he flies
airplanes too (ASMEL, Instrument-Airplane, and
Lear Jet type-rating). He was HAI’s Outstanding
Certified Flight Instructor of the year in 1996.
Pete hails from a flying family. His father, Bud,
was a U.S. Navy Pilot and his mother, Betty, was
in one of the original squadrons of WASPs during WWII. His sister and three of his children
are also pilots.
The Editor
Elan Head-writer
Elan holds several distinctions among
the Autorotate clan—not necessarily in
order of importance: She is a ‘she’; she
is much more attractive than any of our
other contributors—even Troy; she is a
real-life professional magazine writer;
and she can spell. On more than one
occasion Elan has sacrificed a fun and
rewarding (i.e. they pay her) travel article
to hammer out a feature for Autorotate.
Now that’s dedication.
Freelance writer Elan Head was on assignment in British Columbia two years ago when
she went for her first helicopter ride. Two weeks
later, she was taking lessons at Quantum
Helicopters in Chandler, Arizona, where she’s
now employed as a flight instructor. Elan has
been writing professionally since she was 17.
Earlier this year, she was honored by the Arizona
Press Club for her work for Phoenix Magazine.
She’s pictured with her sister, Sairy Head (right),
after taking Sairy for her own first helicopter
ride last December.
Tom Magill-photographer
Tom Magill is a professional photographer and cinematographer and you can
see it in his work. He is an artist. In
fact, Tom shot the only “centerfold”
Autorotate has ever published (Volume 3,
Issue 6, “Shhhh-it’s a secret!”). Look at
some of Tom’s work in this month’s article, “So You Want to Become a
www.autorotate.com
Tom Magill
Professional Helicopter Pilot.” Tom has
driven all over Southern California and
given days of his time to photograph
Autorotate stories. And time is money
(unless you’re shooting for Autorotate).
Tom, I thank you for your generosity.
Tom Magill is a Los Angeles-based freelance
commercial helicopter pilot and director of photography. A four-time Emmy nominee, he has
traveled the world for the past dozen years as a
cinematographer. Tom has worked on such shows
as NBC’s The Apprentice, HBO’s Project
Greenlight, and MTV’s Road Rules. Tom hopes to
launch his own aerial photography business in
the near future.
Dana Raaz-writer
Dana Raaz is one of our most prolific
contributors, but that’s not why I appreciate Dana. Dana Raaz epitomizes my
image of a career pilot: skilled, knowledgeable, with a professional bearing and
willingness to share what he knows with
those “coming up.” And, the guy knows
how to write, too. Thank you Dana.
Dana grew up as an "Air Force brat" and
from his earliest recollections, knew he wanted
to be a pilot. He dropped out of college at the
age of 19 and enlisted in the Army in order to get
into the Warrant Officer Flight Training program.
He flew tours in Korea and Vietnam before joining PHI in 1968, where he has worked ever
since.
His work has taken him to Ecuador, Costa
Rica, Bolivia, Belize and the Philippines. He
Photography: Pete Gillies; Tom Magill
Dana Raaz
Michael Sklar
spent time on a management career path, including Director of Latin American Operations. But,
in 1999 he returned to the one thing he knew
best—being a helicopter pilot. Today he is a
captain in the Sikorsky S-92.
Dana lives in Lafayette with Joan, his wife of
25 years and their 16 year old daughter Kelly.
Son Neil is a pilot with American Airlines and
son Dean is a senior in mechanical engineering
at LSU. Dana hopes to continue flying as long
as he can pass a checkride and a physical.
Michael Sklar-editor
You won’t find Michael’s byline in the
pages of the magazine, yet there are few
pages that haven’t benefited from his
tremendous skill and experience—as my
associate editor. A pilot and university
professor, Michael serves as the final
“voice” in every article, helping to make
everyone who writes for the magazine,
myself included, look good. His favorite
edits include proper use of the hyphen,
appropriate capitalization, and the use of
‘than’ vs ‘then’. And Michael is one of
those rare people who does what he says
he’s going to do, when he says he’s going
to do it. Michael, you are a gift.
Michael G. Sklar is currently a Professor at
Rutgers University in New Jersey, but soon to be
looking! He has also held professorial positions
at Emory University and the University of
Georgia. Michael is also a former software
developer. His four daughters have produced
one grandchild so far, but he’s hopeful. “Flying
Jeff Smith
a helicopter is by far the biggest of all thrills
(excluding children, wife, etc. who may read
this),” he shares. One of his flying highlights
includes flying over parts of England last year in
an R22. One especially memorable moment was
a low-level pass over Prince Charles’ summer
home. (Try that over here and you’re liable to
find a small missle up your carburetor…).
Michael has written several textbooks and edited
many others. He enjoys all aspects of language
and takes pride and pleasure in tearing my
Autorotate articles asunder—for their own
good, of course.
Jeff Smith-writer
Jeff Smith is many things: a professional, career pilot; a talented instructor;
a gifted writer; a selfless scout leader;
and a realist with a mission—to help helicopter pilots rise to the challenges of
their industry. He has been with PHPA
from the beginning and dedicates enormous amounts of his time to make piloting a safer and more rewarding career.
He inspires me.
Jeff Smith has been flying helicopters since
1970 and has accumulated over 9000 hours in a
variety of models ranging from the Bell 206 to
5
Autorotate Contributors
the CH47 Chinook. He spent much of his 20 year
Army career teaching and evaluating helicopter
instrument flight. Since retiring from the military
in 1987, Jeff has been employed by the flight
training contractor at Fort Rucker, Alabama,
teaching both students and new instructors the
art of IFR flight.
AUTOROTATE ANNOUNCEMENTS
PHPA Locals Award Scholarships
PHPA Local 102, serving army aviation at Fort Rucker, Alabama has awarded
eight $1,000 scholarships to dependents
of Local 102 members. Congratulations
go out to:
Tell us who you are in
Autorotate’s Member
Profile
James White,
son of Richard White, Adv Div
Jessica Evans,
daughter of Gerald Evans, Pri Div
Autorotate would like to profile
YOU in one of our next issues. All
we need is a good photograph of
Jason Antonelli,
son of Michael Antonelli, Pri Div
you and your helicopter; your
name, e-mail address, and PHPA
Stephanie Hauenstein,
daughter of Alan Hauenstein, Pri Div
Dorcey Wingo
It would take more than a single paragraph to do any level of justice to Dorcey
Wingo. Author, cartoonist and unbelievably experienced pilot, Dorcey is able to
go back into his log books and turn one
cryptic line into a masterfully woven
story—taking us back in time into his
mind and his cockpit on that day, at that
moment. Dorcey can tell a story like no
other. He is a master.
Dorcey "Captain Methane" Wingo retired as a
heli-logger in 2003 and published Wind Loggers
the following year, a romantic, non-fictional
depiction of the helicopter business.
The book focuses on the often perilous world
of helicopter logging and includes many other
humorous tales of life under the twirling rotors.
Mr. Wingo resides in southern California with his
wife and three children.
If you’d like to get your own copy of Wind
Loggers, a wonderful collection of true
short stories with that one-of-a-kind Wingo
“voice,” send your check or money order
for $25.00 to Smoking Hole Productions,
807 W. Lorraine Pl., Rialto, CA 92376-5635.
If you’re nice, he’ll even autograph it for
you.
END
6
about you, your location, and your
photo. Send the information via
Michael Kosch,
son of Stephen Kosch, Pri Div
Dorcey Wingo-author
member ID; and a brief write up
e-mail to Tony Fonze, the editor at
TonyFonze@autorotate.org.
Brian Dunlap,
son of William Dunlap, Pri Div
Ashely North,
daughter of Rodney Lacewell, Pri Div
Michael Spencer,
son of Jock Spencer, Adv Div
We’d also like
to extend our
congratulations
to Nick Dallas
for being
awarded one of
Nick Dallas
the Howard
Coughlin Memorial Scholarships from
PHPA Local 107, Air Logistics. Nick is
the son of Andy Dallas of Air Logistics.
Nick’s scholarship is a $5,000 total award
and he’ll be using it to attend the
University of Georgia. This is the second
Howard Coughlin Memorial Scholarship
to be awarded to a Local 107 member’s
child. Brent Quigley was the first recipient and Brent has already completed his
Engineering degree at Mississippi State.
END
Live and Learn—
More than just
entertaining reading
We can all learn from the experiences of each other. It is something
we can give back to our pilot community. Your story may even save a
life. With that in mind–
Get Off Your Butts and Send
Me Some Live and Learns!
They can be brief or long, rough
drafts or well crafted. Don’t worry
about your English or writing skills—
that’s why we’re here. Submit your
Live and Learn stories to Tony Fonze, editor at
TonyFonze@autorotate.org.
You’ll be glad you did, and so will we!
www.autorotate.com
PILOT ERROR—and what you can do aboutBy JeffitSmith
Pilot error is the correct term to use
when the pilot causes an accident, and
lots of helicopter pilots have been making
errors lately. If it gets much worse, the
feds will require stickers be placed on the
passenger doors that say: “CAUTION –
riding in this vehicle can be hazardous to
your health.” If the phrase offends the
politically correct among you, with which
non-pilot humans would you prefer to
share the blame? Get over it and do
something to change the uncomfortable
truth.
Rather be Lucky
Most of you who have been in this
business for more than a few weeks know
a frightening truth. But for incredible
luck and good fortune, most of us could
have had our own names on numerous
accident reports by now.
I have had my share of opportunities to
make the news—like the time I became
so frustrated with a student’s inability to
land a UH-1 with the hydraulics off, that
I told myself I would let the SOB crash
on the next approach to teach him a lesson—and then let him hit the ground so
hard that he nearly did! Human factors?
Which human would have been responsible?
Or, the time I was looking around an
unimproved area for departure obstructions, and only then noticed the large set
of wires behind the aircraft that I had
somehow failed to see (yet missed) on
my approach.
I could go on about my own near misses, but you all have your own stories.
And most of us know someone who was
not so lucky as to have only a story to tell
with a happy ending.
Your Chance to Make a Difference
I am certain that within our ranks, our
Photography: Sasha Radosavljevic
are not. We are going to focus this conference on solutions to the issues that
cause pilots to make mistakes.
Here is a short list of phrases commonly used on accident reports associated
with pilot error. Add your own favorite:
~ Inexperience
~ Fatigue
members have the answers to reducing
the unacceptable number of pilot error
accidents we are having. You might have
an idea, learned the hard-way, that could
keep someone else from repeating the
scenario that taught you that lesson.
Prior to the formation of PHPA, we had
no way of reaching thousands of other
pilots with a tip that could prevent an
accident. Today, every pilot can turn a
good idea into a lifesaving gift for many.
PHPA is putting a lot of effort (and
money) into helping pilots avoid that lifeshattering mistake that causes an accident. We don’t have all of the answers,
but collectively, you do. What a double
tragedy if you read about a fatal accident
that you could have helped prevent.
Human Factors Safety Conference
2006
This October 27th and 28th, PHPA will
be holding our second Human Factors
Safety Conference in Memphis,
Tennessee. We would like everyone to
attend, but we know that most of you
can’t, even if you were so inclined. That
doesn’t mean you can’t contribute.
We need your experience. We need
your ideas. We need your solutions. We
need to know what works for you, and
what you think might work for others.
That means, we need some of your time.
This conference aims to be different. The
problems are well-defined. The solutions
~ Lack of proper training
~ Failure to follow established procedures
~ Failure to comply with regulations
~ Inadequate crew coordination
~ Inadequate performance planning
~ Controlled flight into terrain
~ Flight into wires or towers
~ Continued flight into deteriorating
weather
In each one of these issues, the pilot
did something, or failed to do something
that ultimately resulted in an accident.
How do we prevent the next one?
Better training?
What kind, how much?
Better equipment?
What kind, how much?
Different rules or regulations?
What should they say? Who should
enforce them?
These are not easy questions to answer.
Often, we are dealing with human behavior that is not easily changed in a desired
direction. But if we don’t act to solve
these issues, others are going to force
their solutions upon us.
Unreliable Professional is an
Oxymoron
Most of you like to think of yourselves
as professionals, proud of your ability to
7
control your own fate. But the truth is,
our failures as a group are threatening to
have our profession engineered down to
that of “system monitor.” Our unreliability has manufacturers and operators alike
looking for ways to reduce our contribution to the safe outcome of the flight.
How would you like to watch a computer make the takeoff, fly a canned
route, and land at the destination? Your
main function would be to start the aircraft, shut down the aircraft, and take
over if the computer failed. Sound farfetched? Truth is, you are the most unreliable system in the aircraft. Where
would you be looking to make improvements if you designed helicopters? Why
would an operator want to pay a professional salary for unreliable employees
who could wreck his expensive
equipment and subject him to large lawsuits?
Send your best idea on solving a pilot
error problem to PHPA so that we can
take the best of them and develop a comprehensive program that finally begins to
make a dent in the number of accidents
caused by our fellow pilots. We will publish the results from the conference in a
future edition of Autorotate. You will
have a chance to vote on recommendations before they are adopted as PHPA’s
formal position, and presented to the
International Helicopter Safety Team for
consideration by the entire industry.
Don’t worry about being eloquent, and
don’t think someone else will take care of
it. It’s your profession, your future. Just
get it on paper and mail it to the editor of
Autorotate (editor@autorotate.org) or
send an email to PHPA at
Safety@auotorotate.org .
Do it today.
A few months ago, I was contacted
by SSG Kevin Doheny, the Public
Affairs Officer for the 159th Combat
Aviation Brigade (CAB), the Thunder
Brigade, currently operating out of
Logistical Support Area Anaconda, in
Iraq. The brigade’s primary mission is
to support the 101st Airborne Division
(Air Assault), but for Operation Iraqi
Freedom 05-07, they have been supporting the Multi National Corps-Iraq.
For some of the units in the brigade,
this is their 3rd deployment since
2001.
The 159th CAB, 101st Airborne
Division (Air Assault) is comprised of
an attack battalion fielded with AH64s (Apaches); an assault battalion
flying UH-60 Black Hawks; and a lift
battalion fielded with Black Hawks,
MEDEVAC Black Hawks and CH-47s
(Chinooks). The 159th also flys OH58Ds (Kiowa Warriors), a cavalry battalion which just recently arrived to
the brigade. The brigade is based at
Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.
Kevin asked me if I wouldn’t mind
running some photos of his unit’s
operations in Iraq. Kevin, I would be
honored to do so and I want to thank
you and the men and women of your
unit for their dedication and sacrifice.
The members of the Professional
Helicopter Pilots’ Association salute
all of you and your brothers and sisters serving in our country’s military.
Thank you.
Tony Fonze,
Managing Editor, Autorotate
Jeff Smith
PHPA Safety Committee
END
8
LEST WE FORGET!
www.autorotate.com
Photography by 159th Combat Aviation Brigade
9
Cover story
So—You Want to Become a
The alluring promise of a
rewarding career denoted by
adventure, good pay and benefits,
and the respect and status due a
member of an elite group is
attracting a new type of applicant
to our helicopter flight schools.
But the path to an established
career as a helicopter pilot
includes great expense, sacrifice,
and an uncertain path. At the same time,
many segments of our industry can’t find
the pilots they need. And, that “alluring
promise” mentioned in the first sentence—for many, that’s all it is.
Who are these new pilots? What kind
of training are they getting? Are they
able to fill the jobs being vacated by the
“Vietnam generation?” And, what type
of “out of the box” thinking should be
occurring to improve the situation?
Autorotate investigates.
10
kind of money you could earn a 4-year
Bachelor’s Degree from almost any state
college (University of Arizona,
University of Michigan, etc.)—and that
would include the cost of housing and a
living allowance. Becoming a helicopter
pilot is not cheap and the rewards are not
always clear. So, who is being drawn to
this new career and how on earth are they
paying for it?
The price of admission
Warning—all military trained pilots
please sit down and hang on to your
shorts while reading the next paragraph.
The approximate cost of obtaining all
of the ratings necessary to be a competitive applicant for a 200 hour total time,
flight instructor position is approximately
$60,000 US, rapidly moving towards
$70,000. Let me make that a little more
real—that’s about $700/month for 15
years ($65,000; 10% interest). For that
Ten to fifteen years ago helicopter
flight schools attracted a blend of students. One segment was typified by
young people, many just out of high
school, who were seeking careers in a
field they knew very little about. The
other was represented by middle-aged
men looking for a new challenge and
toy—a private pilot’s license and their
own R22s. Typically, there weren’t many
of either group, and flight schools,
though able to eke out a living, weren’t
Photography: Bottom photo (R44) & Neil Jones; Neil Jones. R22 photos, helicopter support provided by Rotor Aviation, Long Beach CA; Tom Magill. Schweizer photo, support provided by
Western Helicopters, Rialto CA; Tom Magill
Professional Helicopter Pilot!
By Tony Fonze
exactly drowning in students. But things
are different now—both in volume and
demographics.
There was one thing that all the flight
schools I spoke with for this article
agreed on—there has been a dramatic
shift in both the numbers and types of
students now attending their flight
schools.
“Most of our training applicants are in
the 27-40 year old age range. They are
employed and many of them own their
own homes. They’re mature people,
looking for a new, rewarding career,” says
Patrick Dennis of Silver State
Helicopters. This fact is corroborated by
Charlie Duchek, owner of Midwest
Helicopter in St. Louis, MO. “In the last
15 years, I’ve seen my student base shift
from older, well-off guys wanting to get
their private pilot licenses to almost
exclusively, people looking to begin a
new career.” This drive for a new life is
filling our flight schools. So how do you
account for this change in student population?
How should I know, I’m only a magazine editor.
“But something now exists in the realm
of helicopter flight training that never
existed before—aggressive marketing targeting those seeking fame and fortune as
professional helicopter pilots. And who’s
providing it? Silver State Helicopters.
And then, there was Silver State
One afternoon, several years ago, my
teenage daughter, Mina, and I were driving home from her high school. As was
our rule during the afternoon drive, she
was allowed to pick the radio station. It
was not the one I would have chosen.
Photography: R22 photo, helicopter support provided by Rotor Aviation, Long Beach CA; Tom Magill
But, fair is fair. On the way to school, I
make her listen to NPR’s “Morning
Edition.” I was largely tuned out, when I
found myself snapped to attention by
words and phrases one does not normally
hear emanating from one’s car radio:
“helicopter pilot,” “critical shortage,”
“exciting,” “rewarding,” “free seminar.”
Mina and I looked at each other with a
shared congenital trait—the ability to
smoothly raise one eyebrow, simultaneously expressing surprise, doubt, and
skepticism. What did we just hear?
Tucson had become the next target in
the Silver State campaign to suck
prospective helicopter pilots out of their
current boring, frustrating lives into the
exciting and lucrative world of the professional pilot. Here’s how it works—and
make no bones about it, it is working.
11
Silver State Helicopters has attacked
rotary-wing training with an entirely new
business model that has rocked the helicopter world and brought a significant
amount of “visibility” from a skeptical
industry. Elements of Silver State’s controversial model include an aggressive
radio advertising campaign followed by a
rally-cum-seminar and an occasionally
unorthodox flight training regimen that
sometimes includes months of intense
ground instruction and simulator time
before the student sets foot in a helicopter. All of this is funded by a loan program with an aggressive recognition formula that has resulted in lots of “free
internet press.” Still, in less than 7 years,
Silver State has grown to now include 21
different flight schools training over
2,000 active students. Their impact on
the industry cannot be ignored.
Silver State owns 184 aircraft, primarily R22s and R44s, but this number also
includes 14 turbines and 3 airplanes.
They have over 500 employees. In July
of this year, the company flew over
12,000 hours. They are a presence.
The increased visibility provided by
Silver State has, in fact, influenced growing numbers of students at all helicopter
flight schools. But that is not the only
factor fueling the rise in student popula-
tions. The other is available funding.
Read carefully before signing
Neil Jones, owner and operator of
Quantum Helicopters in Chandler,
Arizona has been a helicopter flight
instructor for 25 years and serves as an
excellent historian for this segment of the
industry. Quantum continues to be a successful and well-regarded flight school
employing on average 15 CFIs, most of
whom are graduates of Quantum’s program. “What are the two most significant events to shape helicopter flight
instruction?” I asked my friend and mentor.
“Frank Robinson is first,” Neil
responds without hesitation. “Prior to the
introduction of the R22 in the early 80’s,
helicopter flight instruction was either
unavailable or unaffordable. The R22 has
changed that. And the next thing is the
availability of financing, which first
became available around 2001.”
Prior to 2001, you were either financially independent, went seriously into
credit card debt, or tapped your parents in
order to learn to fly helicopters. This
financial pressure had two affects. First,
it served as a sort of natural barrier to
becoming a helicopter pilot. It kept the
numbers down. Second, it skewed those
small numbers more towards older, financially-stable people whose interest level
largely stopped at getting their private
licenses. Then came 9/11 and everything
went to hell followed by the availability
of loan programs, a substantial increase
in career-minded rotorcraft students and
the phenomenon known as Silver State
Helicopters.
Student loan programs come in two
basic flavors: career training loans and
higher education loans. Career training
loans fall under the general umbrella of
unsecured loans. This means higher
interest rates and, for younger people
with no credit, or people with a less than
stellar credit history—the potential
requirement of a co-signer. These programs may loan up to $100,000 and may
also cover housing. The Sallie Mae program is the largest lender operating in
this arena.
The other loan programs available are
primarily integrated with online college
degree or campus-based training programs. In this approach your flight training is actually an integral part of either
an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program and you become entitled to standard student loan funding—a much
broader category than career training
loans. One example of this approach is
Utah Valley State College (UVSC) which
offers multiple degree programs through
specific flight schools.
Duchek, of Midwest Helicopter, is
associated with UVSC and speaks highly
of the program. “While they offer online
instruction programs, I’ve also visited
their campus in Provo, Utah and was
impressed with both the campus and professionalism of the aviation program.”
UVSC offers two different two-year aviation degrees as well as a bachelor program and students are required to attain
at least their commercial ratings as part
of the programs. Funds are advanced to
the flight schools by the lender in meas-
12
Photography: R22 photo, helicopter support provided by Rotor Aviation, Long Beach CA; Tom Magill
www.autorotate.com
ured segments commensurate with the
completion of discrete elements of the
training.
Editor’s Note: Regardless of the loan
program you’re considering, the following must be said. Please, please review
any lending contract with great care.
You must read and understand every line.
If you’re not comfortable doing that
(which would include about 90% of the
population) then have an attorney read it
to you and explain as he goes. It will be
worth it. Remember what I said earlier,
“$700 per month for 15 years.” If you
sign this thing and the whole deal goes
South—you have to share a significant
amount of the blame yourself.
So flight schools are busier than ever
and they are attracting a more mature
audience. But, what kind of training are
they getting and how well are they prepared for what greets them at the other
end of their training experience?
A change in the nature of flight
instruction
Looking at my own experiences and
speaking with those who’ve been
involved in the training industry for 10+
years, several identifiable trends have
emerged:
• Flight instructing has become more
standardized and regimented
• Flight instructors are less experienced, overall, than they used to be
• Entry-level, post-CFI job requirements have come down
When Frank Robinson launched the
R22 he had an immediate and dramatic
impact on flight instruction. It became
affordable, and, because it was now
affordable it attracted a new crop of vastly unqualified flight instructors to the
arena. The net result was a dramatic
increase in instruction-related accidents
followed rapidly by an increase in regulation—largely targeting the R22. Then,
things began to settle down some. But,
relatively low student volumes, low job
availability (the Vietnam “guys” were
still in their 40s and 50s and not going
anywhere) and many students who were
paying their own way allowed for a freedom in flight training that is largely gone
from the scene today. Here’s what happened.
In the late 80s and 90s, it was still
tough to get a professional helicopter
pilot job. According to Neil Jones, “the
early civilian trained pilots had a difficult
time of it. To get a non-CFI job, they
needed 2,500-3,000 hours and turbine
time. Of course, this was a ‘Catch 22’
situation. But what it meant was that our
flight instructors were comparatively high
time pilots, because they had no place
else to go.” Because they had more experience, and perhaps because they were a
little bored, students were often allowed
to stretch their wings including simulated
engine failures over school football
fields, occasional trips to the mountains
for high altitude pinnacle landings,
autorotations during take-offs and landings, and other practices pretty much
frowned upon today. Also, there were
opportunities to fly for fun—let’s blow
off our lesson today and just head up into
the hills and see what it looks like over
there. If it sounds like I’m speaking from
personal experience, I am.
Photography: R22 photo, helicopter support provided by Rotor Aviation, Long Beach CA; Tom Magill
In today’s training environment things
are much more regimented. Even if your
training program is Part 61, it will tend to
look more like a 141 program. Today’s
training is characterized by a 100 plus
page syllabus that spells out on a lesson
by lesson basis what is to be covered and
learned “today.” There are a number of
important factors driving training in this
direction:
• The increasing cost of education—
resulting in the need to drive the
training towards passing the check
ride along the shortest critical path.
No dollars available for frills and frivolity or expanded training.
• The absence of more experienced
flight instructors—flight instructors
without any turbine time are in
demand once they hit 1000 PIC (Pilot
in Command) hours. This can be
achieved in one year as a flight
instructor at a busy school. This
means that CFIs have less experience
and must be more tightly controlled
by management to minimize accidents.
• Increased insurance rates and insurance carrier influence over some segments of the flight instruction industry.
13
EDITOR TAKES TOO MUCH
LICENSE AGAIN!
OK, I’ve never been shy about taking a
bit of editorial license and I’m about to do
it again. So here it is—if you are a young
person motivated to become a helicopter
pilot please first consider getting your college degree. No, it may not immediately
help you get a flying job and yes, I
remember the impatience of youth—barely. But we’re talking the rest of your life
here. An education can only help, and
there is still plenty of time to become a
pilot.
I am a man who believes in having
options. Too many times, I’ve seen helicopter pilots have to leave the industry for
one reason or another without any
(options). Having a college degree gives
you more options in life—it’s that simple.
I have other reasons for saying this as
well.
Airline pilots are almost universally
required to have a four-year degree. That
is not the case with helicopter pilots. And,
while that makes jobs more available to a
larger group of prospective pilots, I
believe that it hurts helicopter piloting as a
career in the long run. The factors that
influence the job of helicopter piloting
include salary and benefits, influence over
our work environments and safety issues,
participation in key decisions, and recognition as important members of our companies. I’m sorry to say that in many, if
not most of these environments, these factors do not exist. And, while you can
point the finger of blame for this sad truth
in many directions, at least part of the finger has to point back at ourselves.
We should do a better job of representing ourselves professionally in the industry and higher levels of education can only
help. (OK, I’m braced for the impact,
send in your e-mails in response to my
brazen statements and I’ll put them in the
next issue. But, give it some thought.)
14
• Rapid population expansion in larger communities limiting practice
areas and reducing the public’s tolerance of noise and perceived risk.
No more throttle-chops terminating
on a high school football field.
This new model of training is more
limited in scope and exposure. But,
nonetheless, it is good training.
Deeper Dive into Silver State
If you have been on a helicopter website anytime in the past few years, you
have heard of Jerry Airola and Silver
State Helicopters.
Silver State knows how to market. I
say that with professional admiration.
While most flight schools rely heavily
on word of mouth, a web site, and a
small amount of advertising, Silver
State has identified their audience and
instituted an aggressive campaign to
root them out in large to medium sized
cities throughout the country. They
have a plan and they know how to execute it.
But you can’t open 21 flight schools
in 7 years without encountering serious
growth issues, and they have. This fact
was dramatized in 2005 when Silver
State reported 15 accidents including 1
fatality and 1 serious injury. It was
clear that something had to change.
The company has since undertaken an
intensive internal review, resulting in a
number of significant policy changes
and refocused attention on safety.
According to Patrick Dennis, Director
of Regional Flight Development for
Silver State, a designated examiner
(DE) and prior Chief Flight Instructor
for the company, 2005 was a wake-up
call that the company responded to.
They began an accident analysis
study, looking for root causes. As a
result of their findings, significant
changes were made to their operating
procedures:
• A mandatory weight and balance
before every flight
• Strict adherence to the published
maneuvers guide
• No flights with outside temperatures
above 40° C (In Arizona and Utah
this means that summer flight operations routinely stop before noon
and don’t start again until evening)
• New CFIs must have a minimum of
100 hours dual given prior to providing instruction on straight in
autorotations (150 hrs for 180s) and
no more than 4 autorotations will be
performed within a given flight
block
Quantum Helicopters employs some
similar measures including no night
instruction given until certain minimum
CFI experience levels are met. Same
thing goes for confined area and pinnacle landings.
In May of this year, Silver State had a
Photography: Schweizer photo, support provided by Western Helicopters, Rialto CA; Tom Magill
www.autorotate.com
company-wide safety stand-down that
brought nearly 200 of their company helicopters to Las Vegas for a week-long
series of meetings and seminars. All
pilots, ground school instructors and
front desk personnel were in attendance—all in all, about 250 employees.
Things have improved. So far, in 2006,
there have been only two accidents, and
one involved an unauthorized solo flight
by a flight instructor.
My tour of the Silver State facility in
Mesa, Arizona showed an operation that
appeared ordered and professional and I
was able to sit in on an interview session
with two prospective pilots and their families. According to Wally Beatty, Silver
State’s Director of Student Enrollment,
“all applicants pass through a rigorous
screening process.” In the session I
attended both candidates were in their
late 30s-early 40s and were accompanied
by their wives and, in one case, children.
The interview process that I observed
was at least, in part, a screening process
designed to weed-out people who would
be unlikely to succeed at the program.
Financial qualifications were handled at
another time, but the meeting I attended
did discuss some of the realities of being
a professional pilot, including missed
holidays and birthdays, and potential long
periods away from home. The interviews
culminated in an R44 demonstration
flight with the prospective pilot and their
family. At the conclusion of this process
the demonstrating pilot also added their
inputs to the final decision process. I
was impressed with what I saw.
literally dozens of check rides for Silver
State pilots every year. When I asked
him to compare Silver State applicants to
those from other flight schools, he said,
he could not tell the difference.
Your first turbine job
A few paragraphs back we were discussing the forces working to narrow the
experiences gained during flight training.
Those same forces work to narrow the
experience gained as a flight instructor
which are the experiences you bring to
your first “turbine” pilot job.
For many of today’s job applicants their
range of experience when applying for
their first non-CFI job is very limited.
You received your training following the
strict regimens of a 141 or 141-like train-
ing program. You then go on to earn
your 1000 hours repeating the exact same
program over and over, but this time as
an instructor. There is absolutely nothing
wrong with the training you’ve received
and given. But, it just represents a small
portion of the experience required in
other industry segments. This is very different from the airline industry.
In the air carrier world, pilots will
almost invariably serve as copilots for an
extended period of time. They not only
learn the routine from more experienced
peers, but hopefully they are given an
environment to hone their decision-making skills while still supported by someone who has already done so. Compare
that to the world of the newly employed
helicopter pilot.
But, as they say, the proof is in the
pudding. And while Silver State’s
approach may not be for everyone, and
anyone would be out of their minds if
they didn’t scrutinize very carefully,
before signing, ANY loan document that
would involve the sums we’re talking
about, I turned to a close friend and designated examiner in Arizona who does
Photography: Schweizer photo, support provided by Western Helicopters, Rialto CA; Tom Magill
15
Bert Levesque, Director of Operations,
Air Medical Services, for Med-Trans
Corporation says it well when describing
the first day on the job for a new EMS
pilot, “When you go out and step in the
aircraft to fly your first mission—you are
on your own. And this is not an airport
to airport environment with knowledgeable ground crews.” This begs the question—where exactly are you supposed to
get your industry specific training and
who is supposed to give it to you? The
answer is—it depends.
engine IFR ships. Second in command
pilots are needed to serve on these missions, creating the opportunity to pair
newer Gulf pilots with more experienced
Gulf veterans creating that all too rare
experience for helicopter pilots—an
opportunity to learn directly from a more
experienced pilot, while on the job.
Jobs available to the 1000 hour CFI
can typically be found in just a handful of
areas: Grand Canyon and Alaskan tour
operators, some pipeline and powerline
patrol companies, some ENG and in the
Gulf of Mexico. Each of these operators
will give you the training, sometimes
minimal, that you need to begin flying in
their environments. Most of your training is learned on the job. One variation
on this theme occurs in the Gulf.
EMS jobs unfilled
As drilling and pumping operations
continue to move farther and farther offshore, they drive a need for more dual
But this magic formula is rare in our
industry. And the Gulf operators and
pilots are feeling the strain (See sidebar,
Pressure in the Gulf).
All you have to do is go to
Justhelicopters.com and search for EMS
jobs to see that something is amiss here.
We have a mismatch between the skill set
of younger pilots interested in those jobs
and the requirements demanded by the
industry.
EMS jobs are among the most demanding rotorcraft pilot jobs today and their
accident rates reflect this. Off-airport
pick-ups; flying into unknown weather
conditions; working in wire-rich environments; nights; critical decision making—
all add up to higher entry-level requirements. So, where are the pilots going to
come from?
“I saw this coming five years ago,”
says Med-Trans’ Levesque. “Many of the
experienced pilots were getting out of the
business because they were retiring or
unable to pass their medicals. Those that
remained were entrenched in their communities. They owned their homes and
had built families in the area and wouldn’t consider relocation. It was and is
very difficult to find pilots to open new
bases.”
Job qualifications for EMS pilots vary
by company and state. States sometimes
establish minimum requirements for
EMS pilots operating within their borders. On the low end, job requirements
are 2000 total hours (1500 helicopter);
1000 PIC helo; 500 turbine; 100 unaided
night; and instrument rating. The highend, is a lot higher: 3000 helicopter PIC;
500 night; and 200 IFR—ATPs preferred.
These guys and gals do not grow on
trees.
16 Photography: Top; R22 photo, helicopter support provided by Rotor Aviation, Long Beach CA; Tom Magill. Bottom; Silver State fleet; Silver State Helicopters
www.autorotate.com
What can the industry do to guarantee
a supply of pilots that meet their requirements?
Let’s pull our heads out of our XXX—
“box”
The “pilot shortage” has helped fuel a
trend towards better wages and working
conditions. Gulf pilots, long victimized
by their operators due to the glut of available, post-Vietnam pilots, are now significantly unionized. These “organized”
pilots have made a dramatic impact on
wages in the Gulf and that impact is
beginning to be felt elsewhere. EMS
operators, unable to staff new bases and
positions vacated by retiring pilots find
themselves competing for a short supply
of resources by raising wages. They’re
also experiencing downward pressure on
requirements—not altogether a good
thing. But the industry has other options
to fix its resource and experience gap.
Here are just a few ideas I encountered
while pursuing this article.
EMS pilots who met the company’s
requirements and developed a comprehensive understanding of their local
areas.”
Marty Wright, Chief Flight Instructor
for the Bell Helicopter Training Academy
also has some thoughts on how the industry needs to change to better respond to
its demands for new, competent pilots.
“The new crop of pilots is not quite the
same as the Vietnam generation. New
people have higher expectations regarding wages, living conditions and respect.
They have more options. If the industry
wants to continue to grow, we need to
find ways to meet these expectations.”
On the subject of on-the-job-training,
Marty had more to say. “In the past, the
gap between new people and experienced
people was voluntarily filled by the experienced guys who took a measure of pride
in helping to ‘teach’ the new guys. I
don’t see this quite as much anymore.
There is more a feeling of every man for
himself.”
Bell is attempting to address this issue
with their new Professional Pilot Program
(P3). As Marty explains, “The
Professional Pilot Program is a train-thetrainer based program for professionals
employed as flight instructors or chief
pilots within their operations. Each market segment within the industry is unique
and the flight portion of the course is tailored to each major industry: law
enforcement, EMS, off-shore, etc.
Qualified pilots who successfully complete the program would receive their CFI
renewals, a Flight Review, Instrument
Proficiency Check (as appropriate) and
their NVG Recurrency (as appropriate).
The program is designed to reinforce the
concept of not only developing, but sharing information and expertise between
senior pilots and those of lesser seniority
within their operation.” Sounds like a
good idea to me.
Grow your own
Silver State’s stated intent is to develop
a breadth of helicopter operations at the
tail-end of their training program. Pilots
would enter their training program, serve
as CFIs and then head directly to Silver
State operations in ENG, Law
Enforcement Support, Utility Work, etc.
Not a bad idea, but still unproven.
However, I cheer them for their initiative
and vision.
Bert Levesque of Med-Trans once promoted a similar notion. “Develop an
operation capable of growing and grooming our own pilots. Key bases would
have a small R22-based training program
associated with them. We would also
develop interim helicopter operations
supporting ENG, powerline patrol, etc.
and we would staff these with our new
1000 hour CFIs. When they had gained
sufficient experience, we would then
have a home-grown and trained group of
17
Bob Spencer, Chief Flight Instructor
for Western Helicopters, has some
notions on the subject as well. Western is
well-known for their advanced, specialty
training programs in targeted autorotations and mountain flying. But, they also
teach ab initio (beginning) pilot training
from Private through CFII.
If you visit Western, in Rialto,
California you are just as likely to run
into a 10,000 hour DEA pilot, there to
bone-up on his high DA pinnacle landings, as you are a new student learning to
hover. Western takes advantage of this
blend of experience in their training program.
Bob Spencer explains, “Most of our
ground instruction is taught by a dedicated ground instructor—himself, a very
experienced pilot. But we routinely hold
ground classes where we intentionally
blend all of the pilots who may be attending our facility that day. We invite experienced pilots from law enforcement, air
carriers, and other disciplines to share
information with our new flight students.
Everyone enjoys and benefits from the
experience.” What a novel idea.
OK, here are some other ideas that I’ve
assembled from comments and suggestions made while gathering ammo for this
article.
18
• Why not make it attractive for retired
pilots to become part of our flight
instructor programs? OK, flight
instruction isn’t for everyone, and
pilots who spent their careers in turbine helicopters may not be too excited about climbing into an R22, but
some of them might. As Bob
Spencer said, “retirement is not all it’s
cracked up to be.”
difficult milestones to overcome is
the night hour requirement. Do you
know how hard it is to get 200 unaided night hours? ENG is one of the
few places where this can be done. If
I were a creative EMS operator, I’d be
willing to consider investing in an
ENG operation or a frost abatement
business to serve as a feeder system
for my EMS operations.
I’m not suggesting that our flight
schools remove any hope of a profitable
operation by replacing their new CFIs
with retired military and offshore pilots.
Even more so, replacing all our new CFIs
with other pilots would make it impossible for newbees to attain the minimal
requirement level of 1000 PIC hours.
But, one or two experienced pilots
imbedded in a crop of new pilots could
not hurt. The mature pilots could provide
advanced commercial training: pinnacles, confined areas, high DA, etc. and
serve as a tremendous resource to the
younger instructors in their program.
And, if that’s not possible, why not follow
Western’s example of employing a greatly
experienced pilot as your ground instructor? Something to think about, I hope.
• The Gulf companies need to get more
creative. If you have new positions
opening every month that you cannot
fill, you need to think out of the box.
One barrier is already being
addressed—better wages and working
conditions. Now, let’s keep thinking.
• Now, let’s switch gears. I am an
operator working in an environment
with difficult to fill positions—EMS
comes to mind. Consider acquiring
or establishing a “feeder” operation.
In the case of EMS, one of the most
Photography: R22 photo, helicopter support provided by Rotor Aviation, Long Beach CA; Tom Magill
What about establishing scholarship
programs? You could offer scholarships
to developing students at various flight
schools. Of course, you would want to
interview them, and possibly fly with
them. In exchange for the scholarship,
they would be required to go to work in
your company for a pre-established
amount of time when they have met your
entry level minimums. If they failed to
comply, they’d have to repay the scholarship amount under less than attractive
terms.
•To help improve information and
experience sharing among pilots why not
employ standard operating practices that
have been in place in business for over 50
www.autorotate.com
years? Pilots are fiercely individual and
we all KNOW that we are the PICs of our
aircraft. OK, nothing really wrong with
that. But don’t you want to be the best
PIC you can possibly be, or do you come
out of the chute knowing everything there
is to know on day one?
There is a significant opportunity for
operators to create team building processes that allow pilots to learn from each
other and make better decisions by making them in a group setting. I hear shouts
of heresy from the pilot community out
there. “Get over it.” Shared decision
making, where feasible, is an effective
tool for many aspects of helicopter flight:
weather decisions, equipment decisions,
cross country and fuel planning, etc. It
can be done if we have a collective will
to do it and a forum for making it happen.
OK, I’m just getting started, but I’m
also running out of room. But you get
the idea—let’s start thinking and borrowing ideas from other industries who have
approached and solved similar problems
of their own.
In conclusion, launching on a career to
become a professional helicopter pilot
requires a strong commitment and desire.
You are about to spend a small fortune to
buy your ticket to get in the front door.
The industry, though improving, is
dynamic and imperfect. Know what
you’re getting into.
While attending the Silver State interviews, the lead interviewer, Erika Beatty
made a statement to the prospective new
pilots and their families that resonated
with me. “Soon you will finish the interview process. You’ll understand the work
that lies ahead and the commitment
required. When you climb out of the R44
after your demo flight, if you do not want
to be a helicopter pilot more than anything else in the world, turn around and
walk out that door.”
END
GULF PILOTS UNDER DURESS
PHI, like all the other Gulf Coast
operators, is critically short of pilots.
This situation began with hurricane season last year and has only gotten worse.
The reasons are fairly straightforward:
The oil companies are on a roll. This
has been coming for a few years (when
oil prices shot up) and just happened to
hit at the same time as the hurricanes.
The new projects are predominately
“deep water”, requiring more helicopters, bigger helicopters, and faster helicopters.
Many of the Gulf Coast pilots are
Vietnam veterans and are long in the
teeth. Medical problems are starting to
take their toll.
The military is paying large bonuses
to retain helicopter pilots and are even
actively recruiting pilots that have been
retired for years.
Younger, civilian-trained pilots are
not available in numbers large enough
to alleviate the problem.
Additionally, some oil companies are
demanding higher pilot experience levels from their contractors. Interestingly
enough, the same oil companies are
imposing age restrictions as well. A
recent Shell contract restricts singlepilot helicopter flights to pilots under
age 60. Two-pilot helicopters can only
have one pilot 60 or older. No pilot 65
or older may fly for Shell. This would
appear to be a clear violation of federal
age-discrimination law and, practically
speaking, impossible to adhere to under
the current conditions.
PHI is mandating work-over. Pilots
are told at the end of their hitch that
they will work a certain 3 days of their
7 days off. Needless to say this has generated ill-will with the pilots.
PHI has increased the work-over pay
from 150% of salary to 175% (200%
during hurricane evacuations) but this
has not solved the problem.
While some vacations are being
granted, many vacation requests are
being turned down. To illustrate PHI’s
confusion in this area, one very senior
PHI pilot, who asked to remain
unnamed, has recently received two letters from PHI dated the same week; one
advising him that his vacation request
has been denied, and the other advising
him that he has too many days of
accrued vacation on the books and must
use it or lose it.
The solution to this shortage appears
equally straightforward—the law of
supply and demand. “When supply goes
down and/or demand goes up, the cost
of goods or services must go up. The
amount of increase in cost is directly
proportional to the ratio of imbalance
between supply and demand.” (See
President’s Letter, this issue)
PHI, despite their business acumen,
has so far been unable or unwilling to
accept this change in business practice.
Unless things change, the future is foreboding.
A similar staffing crisis exists at Air
Logistics, but the company has, so far,
been taking a different tack. Initially
issuing a memo canceling all approved
pilot vacation requests, the company has
since rescinded that letter. Additionally,
Air Log and the Local representing the
pilots have now agreed on the terms of
a 90-day, trial, incentive-based program
involving higher pay rates and cash
bonuses for workover time. The program will be evaluated at the end of the
90 day period to see whether or not it
has been effective.
19
What Elephant?
Having recently
returned from
Phoenix and the latest meeting of the
International
Helicopter Safety
Team (IHST), I am
certain of two
things: the first is
that a large commitment in effort is
being made by a
significant number
of the big players in
this industry. These
guys seem serious
about making an unprecedented improvement in the rotary wing safety picture.
The second is that no one seems willing
to look at the elephant sitting conspicuously in the middle of the room.
First Things First
The stated goal of the IHST is to
reduce the rotary wing accident rate by
80 percent by 2016. When asked by
PHPA to identify exactly who was included in this goal, the answer was everyone.
Unlike the Civil Aviation Safety Team
(CAST) that IHST is modeled on, but
which tackled only the commercial airline segment of fixed wing operations,
IHST is seeking to find solutions to R22
as well as S76 accidents. Throw in military operations for good measure, and
you get a sense of the magnitude of the
effort required. Starting with North
America, which has half of the world’s
helicopters (and an equal half of the accidents), the goal includes expanding the
effort worldwide to include literally all
rotary wing operations.
The sense of “wow, so this is what we
are talking about” seemed to grow after it
was first given voice, and was expressed
by numerous speakers during the meet20
Photography: Gordon Cable
By Jeff Smith
relevant to the outcome, you had better get involved
now. PHPA has
been involved since
the beginning.
All Aboard!
ing. But now it is on the record. So, no
matter what you fly, in whatever part of
this industry, from training in an R22,
fire-suppression, long-line, off-shore,
EMS, sightseeing, public use or even
operating an Apache in Iraq, this initiative is going to have an affect on your life
and your career.
JHSAT/JHSIT
Besides an executive steering committee, IHST is composed of two main subcommittees: JHSAT (Joint Helicopter
Safety Analysis Team) and JHSIT (Joint
Helicopter Safety Implementation Team).
JHSAT is already staffed and has been
meeting monthly to analyze the available
accident data in order to see “where the
data points us.” That data will be the
basis for recommendations to the IHST
as a whole, which upon approval, will be
handed off to the JHSIT for implementation. Completion of the first block of
data and subsequent recommendations
are due in early 2007.
Considering that this whole concept
was first expressed in Montreal only last
September, it seems that the process is
moving forward at a rapid pace.
Expressed another way, if you want to be
There is little
doubt that the
major manufacturers are onboard this
effort. They seem
determined to produce ever-safer
products and have the financial incentive
to do so. New helicopter sales are booming, and a safe helicopter is an expensive
helicopter. At the other end, savvy customers are beginning to push operators
for safer equipment and practices. This is
a trend that will likely expand, as more of
the flying public demands the same level
of safety in helicopters that they have
come to expect from the airlines.
Even regulators at the FAA are acting
nice and trying to help everyone get
along. The cooperation is almost unsettling.
The one group that seems to be sitting
in the background right now is the major
operators. Their wait and see approach is
not surprising given that the cost of
implementing the recommendations will
ultimately fall on them and their customers. While the philosophy of the
IHST revolves around voluntary compliance as opposed to regulatory mandates,
peer pressure and potential liability for
non-compliance with industry-adopted
norms should pressure operators to adopt
at least some of the recommendations to
come out of this effort. Cost effectiveness is the operative phrase.
www.autorotate.com
What Elephant?
With all the briefings about terrain
avoidance warning systems, redundancy
and fail-safe designs, I had the distinct
feeling that the rest of the 100 people in
attendance were conspicuously tip toeing
around the elephant of “pilot error” that
stood in the middle of the room but that
was never directly acknowledged. Chalk
that up to political correctness, I guess,
but let’s stop being polite for a moment.
Truth is, pilots are breaking too many
aircraft. Three out of four accident
reports include human factors in the
blame line, and the human most referenced is the pilot. Yes, we can cite the
numerous extenuating circumstances
such as fatigue from long duty days,
management or customer pressure to fly
when you know better, underpowered or
poorly equipped and maintained aircraft.
But let’s be honest, most of you accept
this environment without so much as a
peep to anyone outside of a buddy at the
bar after the shift is over.
As pilots, we are both the last line of
defense and the first at the scene of the
accident. Ultimately, it is the pilot who
decides to continue flight into deteriorating weather, not his boss. No amount of
safety equipment can prevent a pilot from
taking-off over-gross and dumping an aircraft into the water. We cannot, as professionals, allow one of our own to take
pride in the title “Kamikaze Pilot” and
think that it will not ultimately reflect on
all of us when he finally kills someone.
Eliminating all human-factors-related
accidents achieves the goal of 80 percent
reduction, all by itself. Yet, the same 80
percent target is unattainable even if
every other cause is entirely eliminated.
Let your responsibility in all of this sink
in for a moment. Now, go read the article
titled “Pilot Error” in this magazine and
see what you can do about it.
END
21
Q & A, Virtual Flight Surgeons
© Virtual Flight Surgeons® Inc.
Question: My doctor recently prescribed Lunesta® as a low risk sleep aid.
Is that a problem?
Answer: Lunesta® (eszolpiclone) is a
relatively new sleep aid that has been
marketed as the only prescription sleep
aid approved for long-term use. As with
any prescription sleep aids, there is a
potential for side effects such as dizziness
and difficulty with coordination.
Lunesta® also has a risk of memory problems, dependence, withdrawal symptoms,
and changes in behavior. The FAA does
not approve Lunesta® or related prescription sleep medications for use during
flight. After talking with your clinician
(stopping abruptly can be dangerous),
Lunesta® should be stopped at least 24
hours before returning to flying if you
were taking it for just a few days. If taking for more than a week, the FAA
expects at least 48 hours before
returning to flying. In either case
this assumes your underlying condition does not pose a threat to aviation safety. Remember that the
visit to your doctor for sleep issues
is reportable on your medical.
Question: I have chronic back
pain and my doctor has suggested
surgery. What do I need to do?
Answer: There are many causes
of chronic back pain. In fact it’s
one of the most common problems
in adults. Should you require surgery, you should be able to return
to flying on your current medical
once cleared by your treating
provider. FAR 61.53 (fondly
known as the “self-grounding rule”)
puts the responsibility on the airman to determine if he/she can
safely perform crew duties including all emergency procedures fol22 Photography: Virtual Flight Surgeons
lowing surgery. You may want to get the
advice of an experienced Aviation
Medical Examiner or Aerospace
Medicine physician to assist in making
this decision. Remember to report the
surgery at the time of the next medical.
We typically recommend that you take a
copy of the Operative Report and the
final clinical narrative from your personal
physician releasing you to full activities.
The Virtual Flight Surgeons (VFS) aeromedical physician staff is available as a PHPA membership benefit for pilots with aeromedical concerns and questions regarding their FAA medical
certificates. VFS represent over 100,000 pilots
and controllers with FAA Aeromedical certification assistance.
Additional information regarding these topics
and others can be found at
www.AviationMedicine.com. Click on
“Corporate & Partnership Confidential
Dr. Parker
Vice President for military
and general aviation safety
Questionnaire” and select PHPA from the drop
down menu to submit a Confidential
Questionnaire. VFS will address each question
by telephone or email within two business days.
Dr. Parker is the Vice President for military
and general aviation safety for Virtual Flight
Surgeons® Inc.
END
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