Author: Mick

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An interview with Robert Feerst, President of Utilities/Aviation Specialists Inc.

Wirestrikes in helicopters are one of the leading causes of hull losses world wide. 60% of wirestrikes result in a fatality!

If we are going to apply the 80/20 principle to improving helicopter safety then this seems like a good place to start.

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Bob’s company website – Click Here
Bob’s bio (PDF)- Click Here

[Tweet “To a low level flight crew, wire MUST be classified as an invisible hazard. http://rotarywingshow.com/rws-2-flying-wire-environment-robert-feerst/”]

[Tweet “Never, Ever ASSUME that you and the pilot are seeing the same thing. Never! http://rotarywingshow.com/rws-2-flying-wire-environment-robert-feerst/”]

[Tweet “52% of wire strikes were by pilots with over 5000hrs. It is not a rookie mistake.” http://rotarywingshow.com/rws-2-flying-wire-environment-robert-feerst/”]

[gview file=”http://rotarywingshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/wirestrikes_ATSB-Report.pdf”]

[gview file=”http://rotarywingshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/FAA-Safety-Study-of-Wire-Strike-Devices.pdf”]

Article “A Plan for Reducing Wire Strike Accidents” – Click Here

 

This is the video that we discuss at the end of the interview. Produced by the same people that shoot and edit 60 Minutes in partnership with a larger number of helicopter industry bodies, this is something all helicopter crews should watch.

Have you hit a wire or come close to it? Do you know someone that has? Consider sharing your story below in the comments so that the rest of us can learn from the event.

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Mountain flying can be demanding on aircrew and helicopters. Yet helicopters are incredibly useful in this environment.

In this episode of the Rotary Wing Show, Mick talks with Pieter Koster of NHZ Topflight, a helicopter mountain flying school operated by Canadian Helicopters.

The school operates out of Penticton, British Columbia, Canada with a number of Bell 407, EC120B, Bell 206B and AS350 BA/B2 machines.

The full mountain flying course runs for 3 weeks where pilots complete ground school and practical flying components.

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[tweet “Fly accurately, get the helicopter slowed down, 60kts, level, assess your TQ vs baseline TQ http://rotarywingshow.com/1-mountainflying/”]

[tweet “Shallow approach minimises RoD, power change required to level & risk of vortex ring state http://rotarywingshow.com/1-mountainflying/”]

[tweet “When you fly towards rising terrain you will subconsciously climb and lose airspeed http://rotarywingshow.com/1-mountainflying/”]

Pieter talks about how he got started as a helicopter pilot and some of his early jobs. We then get into some of the techniques that help pilots operating efficiently and safely when operating around mountains.

Visit HNZ Topflight website – Click Here

You can see where Pieter flies from on this map.

This is a video by a HNZ Topflight student capturing some of the terrain that the course operates over and through.

Have you done the course with HNZ Topflight? Would you like to one day? Leave a comment below.