Rotary Wing Show – Helicopter News, Safety, Training & Pilot Stories

A bit of change of format for this episode of the Podcast. I’m re-sharing a recording made for the flight school website where I instruct. This one is all about some of the financial assistance that the Australian Government provides that can also be used towards the gaining of a commercial helicopter licence. * This … Continue reading "RWS 76 – Funding Helicopter Training Using VET Student Loans...

As an ex-Kiowa helicopter pilot, survival instructor RAAF fixed wing instructor, jet and 737 pilot Mike Atkinson has had opportunities to experience a range of aviation operations.  So what does he do in his spare time? in 1932 two German seaplane pilots found themselves off course and out of supplies in the Kimberley region of northern … Continue reading "RWS 75 – Adventures and Surviva...

Pete’s MD500 is in hilly terrain when a passenger’s hoodie departs the cabin and goes straight through the tail rotor. Listen to what happens next in this recording captured by Doug Williams at his house with Pete Gillies. Extra puppy noises included 🙂 In a machine that by design generates significant torque – losing helicopter … Continue reading "RWS 74 – Pete Gillies Talks About Tail Rotor Fail...

In this interview Doug Williams captures a conversation at his house with Pete Gillies about teaching autorotations. Pete shares a story that highlights the differences, especially in turbine helicopters, between touchdown autorotations with the engine idling and with an engine completely off. Have you ever flown an auto with the engine completely off – be … Continue reading "RWS 73 – Pete Gillies...

Tiltrotor technology aims to push the envelope on helicopter top speeds while retaining the ability to land and take-off vertically. The Leonardo AW609 will be the first civilian tiltrotor design to undergo FAA certification and brings with it some unique mission profiles. Dan Wells started his flying career on the AH-1 Cobra before transitioning to … Continue reading "RWS 72 – AW609 Tiltrotor wit...

Part 2 of the interview with ex-Australian Army and current Search and Rescue pilot Kevin Humphreys looking at the topic of aircrew mental health. In this episode the focus shifts from Kevin’s military career to his personal experience with mental health challenges, the recovery process and what other aircrew can take away for their own … Continue reading "RWS 71 – Aircrew Mental Health with Kevin...

Kevin Humphreys is a veteran of a number of overseas military deployments on Blackhawk and Chinook, currently a check and training pilot on AW139 helicopters and an ambassador for a number of mental health charities. He joins us in the interview today to share some of his flying experiences and his personal story of struggling … Continue reading "RWS 70 – Aircrew Mental Health with Kevin Humphreys...

Learn about multiengine helicopter operations in this episode. A great primer for those that have only flown single engine machines and hopefully a useful refresher others. Putting this together has been a great refresher for me personally as it is just over 10 years since I last flew anything with a second engine. Thankfully though … Continue reading "RWS 69 – Multi-Engine Helicopter Consideratio...

World Helicopter Day 2018 is this Sunday! Wishing everyone in the industry a fantastic day for it as we celebrate what we do and the machines we love. A big thank you to Mike Young from aircrewinterview.tv for being kind enough to allow the syndication of this interview with RAF pilot Paul Kennard. The audio … Continue reading "RWS 68 – 2018 World Helicopter Day and Flying the Chinook with Paul Ke...

6834 nautical miles south west of London in the South Atlantic some amazing helicopter stories were being lived out during the Falklands War. Many of these were even unknown to the other aircrew flying in the same operational area. Harry Benson was there as a 21 yr old pilot and many years later has interviewed … Continue reading "RWS 67 – Falklands War from a Wessex Cockpit with Harry Benson" The...

A podcast that I get a lot of value from is the Jocko Podcast which deals in leadership, mindsets, ju jitsu, military history and has nothing to do with helicopters… or does it. In this episode I chat with Adrian Park a former Australian army helicopter pilot and now EMS pilot who has a special … Continue reading "RWS 66 – Extreme Ownership Book Review with Adrian Park" The post RWS 66 – Extreme O...

Helicopters are amazing assets to have working in a bush firefighting role. Every year around the world they contribute to lives saved and property damage avoided. Now for the first time in Australia we are starting to see the move into night time firebombing operations. Richard Butterworth is head of training at Kestrel Aviation based … Continue reading "RWS 65 – Night Aerial Firefighting with Ri...

Imagine you are sitting in an apache cockpit during a refueling operation. Suddenly the world outside, in every direction you look, is one giant fireball. You can feel the heat cooking through through the windshield. What do you do next? That is the situation that today’s guest Boyd ‘Skip’ Tackett found himself in. He received … Continue reading "RWS 64 – Lessons from an AH-64 Apache Refuel Fire w...

“On 9th and 10th of January 2011, heavy rainfall caused flash flooding to occur across parts of Queensland resulting in widespread damage to property and 35 fatalities. Grantham, Lockyer Valley and Toowoomba were severely impacted. Due to landslides caused by flooding, and water blocking the Warrego highway, the Lockyer Valley became isolated; police and emergency … Continue reading "RWS 63 – 2011...

Nestled in the north west corner of the US, just north of Seattle is Snohomish County and the operating base of their Helicopter Rescue Team. The HRT conducts approximately 80 rescues a year, predominantly mountain rescues of hikers. Two of their team, Chris Moriarty and Bill Quistorf, took the time out for a chat about … Continue reading "RWS 62 – Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team" The post...

Virtual reality hardware and software have crossed a threshold where their use in supporting helicopter training and currency/recency provides an amazing experience. In this episode we break down what you can expect and what you will need to get started. Hopefully you will never look at computer helicopter flight simulators the same after listening to … Continue reading "RWS 61 – Virtual Reality H...

As helicopter systems, engineering and processes continue to get safer, the human component becomes the focus to further improvements in accident rates. Randy Mains shares his 20 CRM Diamonds in this interview. Randy Mains was 22 years old when he deployed to Vietnam to fly UH-1H Hueys. On return to the US with over 1000 … Continue reading "RWS 60 – 20 Crew Resource Management Diamonds with Randy...

The elevation of the Himalayan mountains puts them at the extreme of human and helicopter performance. For climbers it can be a 2 week trek out or a 30 min helicopter flight to safety if they find themselves in trouble. Andrew Gutsell is part of the Alpine Rescue Service run by Air Dynasty that services … Continue reading "RWS 59 – Himalayan Rescue Ops with Andrew Gutsell" The post RWS 59 – Himala...

Aaron Kenworthy started The Helicopter Page as a way to learn more about the helicopter industry and to provide a place to share information from around the globe. Today we go behind the scenes of the largest helicopter focused Facebook page and perhaps the largest helicopter online platform in the world. With a following of … Continue reading "RWS 58 – The Helicopter Page with Aaron Kenworthy" Th...

Peter Wilson is currently making and around the world flight and talks to us about some of the planning and lead up to the trip. More information and photos to follow shortly. Getting this out the door so you listen and follow Peter using his tracker. See links below.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | … Continue reading "RWS 57 – Three Journeys Round with Peter Wilson" The post RWS 57 – Three Journ...

During 30 years of flying with the Australian Army Matt Barker has got to try his hand at a wide range of roles. He has picked up some tales of close calls and funny incidents along the way. Episode 55 contains the first half of this interview which is also well worth listening too In … Continue reading "RWS 56 – The Chickenbone Story with Matthew Barker" The post RWS 56 – The Chickenbone Story wi...

During 30 years of flying with the Australian Army Matt Barker has got to try his hand at a wide range of roles. He has picked up some tales of close calls and funny incidents along the way. In the 1980’s the RAAF was directed to transfer its helicopters to the Australian Army. This brought … Continue reading "RWS 55 – Close Calls and Funny Stories with Matthew Barker" The post RWS 55 – Close Call...

Jack Lynch was a ‘Bushranger’ pilot in Vietnam for the Royal Australian Air Force. These were Iroquois UH-1H helicopters fitted out as aerial gunships which provided close air support to Australian troops. Listen to Part 1 of the interview here A pair of low flying Sabre jets over Jack Lynch’s childhood property was the seed … Continue reading "RWS 54 – Huey Gunships with Jack Lynch Part 2" The po...

Jack Lynch was a ‘Bushranger’ pilot in Vietnam for the Royal Australian Air Force. These were Iroquois UH-1H helicopters fitted out as aerial gunships which provided close air support to Australian troops. A pair of low flying Sabre jets over Jack Lynch’s childhood property was the seed for a 50+ year career in and around … Continue reading "RWS 53 – Huey Gunships with Jack Lynch" The post RWS 53...

Landing in the urban jungle of inner Sydney is a far cry from dropping off SAS troops in the jungles of Vietnam – Ken Vote has done both in his career as a Navy and EMS helicopter pilot.   >> Listen to Part 1 of this interview here < <   Ken started his helicopter career … Continue reading "RWS 52 – Interview with Ken Vote Part 2" The post RWS 52 – Interview with Ken Vote Part 2 appeared first on...