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

Helicopters are uniquely suited to the demands of the US Forest Service. John Harris is one of the Service’s inspector pilots and in this episode talks about his career and his current role. Based in Missoula, Montana, John is responsible for checking and qualifying contractor pilots for the US Inter-agency Helicopter Pilot Qualification Card. This … Continue reading "RWS 26 – US Forest Service He...

Dr Warren De Haan has been an Aviation vision specialist for 48 years and is considered the world’s leading expert in the field. In this episode we will be talking about vision science, tips on looking after your eyesight, better habits to help you detect obstacles, the effects of aging on sight and considerations for … Continue reading "RWS 25 – Aviation Vision Science with Warren de Haan" The po...

Today’s episode is about a single seat helicopter design being developed in Australia that makes use of a coaxial rotor system. And who better to talk us through the design than Airbus A380 captain Richard Woodward. That’s right, Richard is not only Manager of Flying Operations and Chief Test Pilot at CoaX Helicopters but also … Continue reading "RWS 24 – CoaX Helicopters with Richard Woodward" Th...

To take us through everything you ever wanted to know about helicopter aircrew helmets we are joined today by Mark Jones of Gentex Aircrew Systems. The modern helmet does much more than just provide head protection as you are about to find out. Should you get one? What should you look for in a helmet? … Continue reading "RWS 23 – Helicopter Helmets with Mark Jones" The post RWS 23 – Helicopter Hel...

Blackdeath 23 was Robert Mill’s callsign in an Air Cavalry Unit operating the Kiowa Warrior in Iraq. Robert has published his journal as a book of the same name covering his two tours in Iraq and the daily challenges of operating a scout helicopter in that environment. The Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior is a light … Continue reading "RWS 22 – Kiowa Warrior in Iraq with Robert Mills" The post RWS 22 – K...

  A battle truck that cruises at 240kts and can land in your supermarket car park – the V-22 Osprey is one of the more unique aircraft kicking around. Ok, technically its a tiltrotor design but we’ll adopt it as more rotary wing than fixed wing. The Osprey was developed from earlier tilt rotor aircraft … Continue reading "RWS 21 – V-22 Osprey with Mike McKinney" The post RWS 21 – V-22 Osprey with...

  A great example of the utility of helicopters is their use in firefighting support. There is more to it than meets the eye though. [Warning: This is a longer episode, approx 85mins, so you might want to download the file and play locally] Using underslung buckets or bellytanks helicopters are able to provide water … Continue reading "RWS 20 – Aerial Firefighting with Gordy Cox" The post RWS 20 –...

Whether you walk away from a landing after an helicopter engine failure or not depends on many things but one good predictor is the Height Velocity(H/V) diagram. The H/V diagram (also known as H/V curve and dead man’s curve) represents combinations of airspeeds and altitudes that have been determined for that helicopter type where it … Continue reading "RWS 19 – Height Velocity Diagram with Shawn...

A box full of maps, a sat phone, a support crew of 1 in a British hangar, full tanks and off you hop for an around the world record flight in an MD500 helicopter – that’s what Simon Oliphant-Hope did. Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download 00:45 Thanks for your feedback … Continue reading "RWS 18 – Around the world solo in 17 days with Simon Oliphant-Hope" The post RWS 18 – A...

Its time to dust off your CV and step behind the scenes of a helicopter aircrew recruiting office so you can be better prepared for your next job application. Several times in our flying careers we’ll need to go through the process of applying for a position and mostly likely interviewing against other candidates. As … Continue reading "RWS 17 – Helicopter Aircrew Recruiting with Mark Weeden" The...

Educating or instructing can be it’s own skill set regardless of the actual content taught. Philip Greenspun is a MIT lecturer and a flight instructor and shares his own approach to flying training. If you are a helicopter instructor or in a check & training role then brush up your thought processes as we chat … Continue reading "RWS 16 – Helicopter Instructing Tips with Philip Greenspun" The post...

This is part 2 of the interview with British helicopter display pilot Dennis Kenyon. For part 1, listen to Episode 14 In this episode we delve deeper into the preparation, setup and mindset needed to be a display pilot. Dennis is a CAA appointed Display Authority Examiner and does train and approve other pilots but … Continue reading "RWS 15 – Display Flying with Dennis Kenyon – Part 2" The post R...

Display flying has captured the imagination of the public ever since the very first flights. One the longest performing and well respected helicopter display pilots in the world is UK pilot Dennis Kenyon Note: This is part 1 of the interview. Look for part 2 in Episode 15 Dennis ‘the maestro’ Kenyon got his flying … Continue reading "RWS 14 – Display Flying with Dennis Kenyon – Part 1" The post RW...

Do you remember how humbling it felt first learning to hover? If you ever want to experience that feeling again then give longlining a go. The ability for helicopters to move equipment and loads to remote or hard to reach locations makes them incredibly useful machines. Helicopter longlining notches that capability up several levels of … Continue reading "RWS 13 – Helicopter Longlining with Andre...

NASA is not just space shuttles, Mars robots and moon landings! Susan Gorton has been leading the NASA Rotary Wing Project for the last 8 years helping to pave the way for faster, quieter, safer and more economical helicopter designs and operations. You are in for a treat today as you get to hear about … Continue reading "RWS 12 – NASA Rotary Wing Project with Susan Gorton" The post RWS 12 – NASA...

Whirly Girls International president(2014) Dianna Stanger got her start in flying thanks to a need for breakfast eggs on her island home. That started a love affair that most of us can relate too. Dianna is one busy lady. She manages an airfield and FBO in Texas, operates a flying school amongst several other businesses, … Continue reading "RWS 11 – Whirly Girls International with Dianna Stanger"...

For most young helicopter pilots opening your own helicopter training school is probably not high on your list of things to do. But this is exactly what Heather Howley, this week’s guest on the show, did when she was left in the lurch with a helicopter lease contract to cover. Heather is the owner and … Continue reading "RWS 10 – Owning a Helicopter School with Heather Howley" The post RWS 10 – Ow...

John Eacott’s aviation career has spanned 49 years and he’s still adding time on top of that today as an active commercial pilot. He has spent a huge amount of time flying over oceans as an ex-Royal Navy pilot and multiple stints in the oil industry. He is also the first nuclear qualified helicopter pilot … Continue reading "RWS 9 – Never Work a Day in your Life with John Eacott" The post RWS 9 –...

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 … Continue reading "RWS 8 – Helicopter EMS in Alaska with...

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 … Continue reading "RWS 7 – Helicopter Underwater Escape Training with Mick Dowling" The post RWS 7 – Helic...

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. Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes … Continue reading "RWS 6 – Zululand Anti-Poaching Wing with Etienne...

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 … Continue reading "RWS 5 – First Person View Quadcopters with Raphael Pirker" The post RWS 5 – First Person...

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 … Continue reading "RWS 4 – Flying In China with Dan Heath" The...

An interview with Richard(Dickie) Maas, a Night Vision Goggle(NVG) instructor and assessor. Only a small percentage of helicopter crews have had the chance to fly with NVGs so far – that is slowly changing. In this interview Dickie will take us through how NVGs work, how they impact on military, law enforcement and EMS work … Continue reading "RWS 3 – Helicopter Night Vision Goggles with Richard M...

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. Podcast: Subscribe … Continue reading "RWS 2 – Flying in the Wire Environ...