flying Archives - The Rotary Wing Show Podcast

September 14, 2014April 11, 2015

RWS 8 – Helicopter EMS in Alaska with Lorena Knapp

Lorena Knapp flys EMS helicopters in Alaska

Lorena Knapp talks about EMS operations and flying in Alaska on the Rotary Wing Show — Lorena Knapp on EMS flying in Alaska

Alaska is still largely wilderness and remote communities rely heavily on helicopter operations. Air Ambulance services like the one that today’s guest Lorena Knapp flies for can drastically reduce the time needed to get a patient to primary care given the terrain and ground conditions.

Find out about flying conditions in Alaska and get an insight into helicopter Emergency Medical Service (EMS) operations. Along the way we follow Lorena’s career progression to find out how she got her start and worked her way up to her current challenging position.

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01:12 Meet Lorena Knapp
02:30 Current role with Air Methods and location
04:30 Early flying experience with her dad
06:10 Helicopter training and getting licence
08:22 Hillsboro Aviation training and instructing
09:00 Oil and Gas in Gulf of Mexico
11:10 Tours – Juneau and Denali, Alaska
13:40 Moving into EMS
14:50 Air Methods organisation and history
18:00 EMS operations – Air Ambulance, VFR, NVGs, shifts
20:20 Medical crews and carrying patients, memorable calls
25:10 Really making a difference
26:20 Flying in Alaska
28:10 Terrain and heights
28:50 Day length changes, NVGs
30:45 Impact of weather
34:05 Cold weather ops
38:25 Sectional charts, GPS and navigation
39:55 Anchorage airspace classes
42:20 Helicopter industry operators
44:00 Getting a job in Alaska
44:50 Alaska highlights off hours
47:20 Helping people achieve dreams
49:45 Ninety-nines and other women aviation groups
52:53 Trainmorepilots.com
53:20 Best helicopter novels – send in your nominations

Lorena Knapp in the cockpit of her helicopter with Alaska scenery outside — View from the cockpit flying in Alaska in an Astar – no steam driven gauges here

Map showing the size of alaska against the rest of the united states — In the episode we talk about the size of Alaska. This graphic shows the size comparison with the rest of the United States.

Lorena’s TEDx Talk Video
[leadplayer_vid id=”5415358564A54″]

Links from this week’s episode:
Lorenaknapp.com – Lorena’s website
AirMethods
The Ninety-Nines, Inc., International Organization of Women Pilots
Whirly Girls

[Tweet “If we were not there, that guy would not now be alive #helicopters”]

[Tweet “Can sometimes log more night flying on the day shift than the night crews”]

[Tweet “The hydraulic fluid starts to get jelly-like at these temps #alaska”]

Got a comment or question about today’s show? Use the area below to leave your thoughts.

September 6, 2014April 11, 2015

RWS 7 – Helicopter Underwater Escape Training with Mick Dowling

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HUET Instructor Mick Dowling talks on the Rotary Wing Show about underwater escapes — Mick Dowling on Helicopter Underwater Escape Training

30 seconds ago you were airborne but now you are in the drink and water is quickly filling your helicopter cockpit while the machine starts to roll upside down – what do you do next?

If you are not 100% certain then you will want to listen to this interview with Mick Dowling, Commercial HUET Manager at the Careflight Group.

HUET = Helicopter Underwater Escape Training

Knowing what to do in those critical seconds after entering the water may just save your life.

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01:05 Where in the world you are listening from – 31 countries
01:58 PPRuNe thread
04:18 Mick Dowling from Careflight Group
04:34 What is helicopter underwater escape training (HUET)
05:56 Origins of HUET
06:35 Mick’s background and career path
08:00 Careflight Training Services division
09:05 Who needs HUET
11:26 Legislative requirements and currency
12:52 Increase in survival chances after HUET
13:48 Early courses – progress to current best practices
17:11 HUET in a nutshell
18:33 Things to think about pre-flight + preparation
20:57 Reference point – most important thing
22:11 Brace position for impact
25:54 When the helicopter turns upside down
27:45 Losing orientation
29:39 Opening the exit
31:05 Reaching the surface
31:55 Lifejackets
33:05 Going back for others
34:35 Blackhawk in Fiji
35:40 Maximising survival on the surface
38:28 HEEDS / EBS
41:10 Extra tips
42:37 Getting HUET training and course breakdown
48:00 Next actions
49:40 Submit any questions here on the blog
50:48 Next episode… Don’t forget to sign up for email alerts
51:06 Visit today’s sponsor – trainmorepilots.com

“Careflight Group, is one of a few in Australia who are able to provide competency based HUET utilising modular Aircraft Underwater Escape Trainers “AUET”. To successfully egress, and be assessed competent when using the AUET platform, trainees are required to operate multiple Seatbelt and Exit types. As a result we’ve noted aircrew and trainees completing HUET in the AUET tend to experience a high skill retention rate” ~ Mick Dowling

[leadplayer_vid id=”540AE883BA524″]

Links from this week’s episode:
Careflight Group HUET Training
PPRuNe.org thread about the show and video of Steve Kux’s crash

[Tweet “Up to 20% of helicopter ditchings occur inland (dams, creeks etc)”]

[Tweet “Your mobile phone in a chest pocket? In an impact the harness can crush it into you.”]

[Tweet “Identifying your reference point is the most important thing in a helicopter ditching.”]

helicopter-underwater-escape-training-out-of-pool — Mick Dowling briefing trainees prior to crane lift

Helie Ditching1 — The real thing (if you are lucky enough to have floats)

helicopter-underwater-escape-training-in-pool — That ‘water up the nose’ sensation… while waiting for movement to stop

Post escape - surface huddle to maintain warmth and morale — Post escape – surface huddle to maintain warmth and morale

Got a comment or question about today’s show? Use the area below to leave your thoughts.

August 30, 2014April 11, 2015

RWS 6 – Zululand Anti-Poaching Wing with Etienne Gerber

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rhino anti poaching helicopters — ZAP Wing aircrew in front of one of their two R44 helicopters

In this episode of the Rotary Wing Show we head to Zululand, South Africa to hear about how helicopters are being employed in the fight against Rhino poachers. Etienne Gerber is the chief pilot at Zululand Anti-Poaching Wing and shares first hand the challenges his crews face in performing their role.

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02:00 Leave a 5 star review on iTunes/Stitcher
03:40 Meet Etienne Gerber
05:45 Zululand Anti-poaching Wing
08:03 Air Operators Certificate – Airwork
09:20 What drives Rhino poaching
12:20 Organised crime connections and resourced
13:50 Operational base and game park area of operations
16:25 Aircraft fleet – 2 x R44 + 2 x light fixed wing
17:40 Night Ops
19:20 Impact on poachers
20:30 Pilot experience and support crew
21:50 Training and area familiarisation
24:00 Job appreciation
25:00 Engineers, maintenance, aircraft contracts
26:25 Self protection and not getting eaten
27:40 Flying conditions and weather
29:00 Terrain in operating area
31:10 Airspace, heights and other aircraft
32:58 Navigation, available maps, local landmarks
34:45 An average day
37:55 Flight following
39:37 Flying rates and hours budget
41:00 What happens on a call out
44:10 What are rhinos like
46:10 Poachers
46:50 Rhinos and helicopters
47:40 Drones
49:10 ZAP Wing funding

Links from this week’s episode:
Zululand Anti-Poaching Wing website
ZAP Wing Twitter
ZAP Wing Facebook

If you enjoyed the interview and want to support Etienne and the other aircrew please donate via the button above – its at least worth the cost of a cup of coffee

[Tweet “Averaging 1 call out per day for anti-poaching helicopters”]

[Tweet “Rhino horn is Keratin, same material as your fingernails”]

Got a comment or question about today’s show? Use the area below to leave your thoughts.

August 25, 2014April 11, 2015

RWS 5 – First Person View Quadcopters with Raphael Pirker

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Interview with Raphael Pirker Rotary Wing Show — Raphael Pirker From Team Blacksheep talks about FPV Quadcopters

Flying helicopters doesn’t come cheap but for those of us that can’t get enough of it or don’t have the funds for the real thing then a new technology might be the answer – enter First Person View (FPV) remote controlled aircraft.

The idea is that you strap on a set of video goggles linked to a camera in the aircraft and ‘pilot’ the aircraft as if you were sitting in it. At just meters off the ground you can get all your low flying kicks out of your system.

Add in a GoPro camera and you have your flight to share with people in HD video.

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This is the video that was my first introduction into the world of FPV.

In Episode 5 of the Rotary Wing Show we get to hear from Raphael (Trappy) Pirker from Team Blacksheep (no, not a Kiwi), a company that manufactures a popular line of FPV quadcopters.

Raphael talks about FPV flying, what kit you need and some of the performance figures of these machines. We also touch on the legalities and legislation issues surrounding ‘drone’ flights – and Trappy should know as he is front and centre in the FAA’s sights with regards to commercial use of unmanned vehicle systems in the USA – see google search results.

Team Blacksheep and some of their designs

We then get into the safety side of drone operations and how they affect us as helicopter operators + plus what we can do to be better aware of flight risks.

[Tweet “15-20Km range, 120km/h & 12000 feet on these quadcopters”]

[Tweet “50K-80K quadcopters hitting the market per month”]

Got a comment or question about today’s show? Use the area below to leave your thoughts.

August 16, 2014April 11, 2015

RWS 4 – Flying In China with Dan Heath

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helicopter flying in china — Dan Heath in front of a EC135 in China

An interview with Dan Heath, a flying instructor and charter pilot flying in China.

Dan talks about the conditions on the ground in China, an insight into the Chinese helicopter industry and some of the challenges and opportunities for helicopter operators there.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

Oh, and Dan does tourism flights over the Great Wall of China – greatwallhelicoptertours.com

If you are keen to get in touch with Dan for information on flying or aviation business opportunities in China then he is happy to chat with you. You can reach Dan through the website link above.

More to follow when I get back from flying today! 🙂