Summer of Aviation
If you haven't already heard, August 9th will be a big day at High Desert Helicopters. We've invited some top helicopter industry employers and aircraft manufacturers to visit and share their thoughts about the career outlook of a helicopter pilot. We'll also be holding an open house for the majority of the day, providing visitors with great information on training, tours of the new academy building and providing discovery flights.
The Summer of Aviation was created as a gathering point for helicopter pilot employers, prospective helicopter pilots and the staff at High Desert Helicopters. Our primary objective is to educate prospective pilots about the helicopter industry and how to become a helicopter pilot. Our secondary objective is to learn about and better integrate the staffing needs of pilot employers into the High Desert Helicopters training curriculum.
If you're considering becoming a helicopter pilot you don't want to miss this event. Seating is free but limited so please, pre-register by calling or visiting our website.
Announcing: Aviator Scholarships
This year High Desert Helicopters is introducing an amazing training scholarship opportunity. One $5,000 and two $1,000 scholarships will be awarded annually to deserving participants. The scholarships will be based on career interest, aptitude and financial need. Full details on the scholarship program and this years' award process will be announced at the Summer of Aviation event on August 9th. If you're considering training you don't want to miss this event. Click here to register on our website or give our office a call.
Instructors Wife Takes Flight
Melissa Keanon is not fond of flying. When she and Matt go home to Georgia,
she keeps close watch on the air sick bag. However, Melissa's first helicopter
flight was, and I quote: "Like nothing I expected. I was a little nervous at something
new and different. I didn't want to go up at first."
With her feet back on the ground,
Melissa has a newfound knowledge of her husbands' passion for flying. "Amazing and
so cool and the view was beautiful." And would she fly again? "Totally!" is her
emphatic reply.
The Presidential Way to Fly
It was an impressive sight and sound as five large military helicopters, all painted to look like Marine One, hovered overhead. They were spotted and heard recently over Salt Lake City and Park City in preparation for a Presidential visit. The mission was to check out the route the President would take from Salt Lake to Summit County. The Park Record reported the Secret Service contacted Park City's Police Chief Sunday evening to notify him of a flyover.
President Bush arrived in Salt Lake City aboard Air Force One Wednesday, May 28th, 2008. It was his fourth visit to Utah, more than any other sitting President in history. President Bush touched down to attend fundraisers in support of Senator John McCain's presidential bid. Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. and Mitt Romney co-hosted an afternoon event in Salt Lake's historic Avenues at the home of Sam Steward, a prominent investment fund manager. A private reception before hand was $10,000 per person with a $500 per person luncheon following. The President then boarded Marine One for an evening reception at the Deer Valley home of Mitt Romney. One could check their coat at Mitt's door for $30,800 for this fundraiser.
President Bush landed in Park City around 5 p.m. on the ball field adjacent to the Park City Middle School, drawing the attention of local residents who had gathered throughout the afternoon. What they saw was the landing of the iconic helicopter, as well as four other identical U.S. Marine Corp helicopters. After an overnight stay, the President choppered over for a meeting with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors before leaving Utah.
Igor and Helicopters (a short history)
Who is Igor? Sikorsky of course. Born in Kiev, Russia May 25th, 1889, Igor Sikorsky was a gentle Russian immigrant, humble genius and legendary aviation pioneer. Igor Sikorsky is credited with inventing the world's first helicopter as we know or would recognize. But, the first record of a rotary winged craft dates back to the 4th century.
A book called 'Pao Phu' describes a flying car kept in the air by spinning blades. In 1480 Leonardo di Vinci drew his famous 'airscrew' machine which could never have flown. In November 1907, a Frenchman, Paul Cornu, became the first person to vertically ascend in a powered man-carrying rotary-wing aircraft. He went up 1.8 meters and remained aloft for 20 seconds. While it was in the air it had to be kept stabilized by men on the ground using sticks to stop it from going in whatever direction it wanted to. The machine crash landed and was destroyed. In 1923 Juan de la Cierva invented a machine that gave the pilot control over forward and vertical movement – this was a major advance in the development of helicopters.
The first practical helicopter was designed by Professor Heinriche Focke. Its first free flight was in June 1936. The machine consisted of the fuselage of a small biplane with two outriggers supporting the engines. The finished machine had impressive handling abilities which were filmed at the Deutschlandhalle Stadium in Berlin when the machine was flown by Hanna Reitsch. She claimed that she had only three hours of practice before making her historic flight.
Then, in 1939, Igor Sikorsky built and flew his VS-300 in America. His machine had the familiar single main lifting engine and an engine mounted at the rear which gave the pilot directional control. The VS-300 had an open-plan cockpit. However, the 1939 flights were tethered to the ground. In May, 1940, Igor made his first free flight and in 1941 created a world record by keeping VS-300 in the air for 1 hr 32 minutes. One year later the Sikorsky R4 flew. It was the worlds first production helicopter and it went in to service with the
US Navy in 1943.
Funny: Navigational Tech Support
A helicopter was flying above Seattle when an electrical malfunction disabled all of the aircrafts electronic navigation and communications equipment. Due to the clouds and the haze, the pilot could not determine the helicopters position and course to steer to the airport. The pilot the noticed a tall building and flew toward it.
Circling the building, the pilot drew a handwritten sign and held it in the helicopter's window. The pilots sign said "WHERE AM I?" in large letters. People in the building quickly responded to the aircraft, drew a large sign and held it in the buildings' window. It said, "YOU ARE IN A HELICOPTER." The pilot smiled, waved, looked at his map, determined the course to the SeaTac Airport and landed safely.
After they were on the ground, the co-pilot asked the pilot how the 'you are in a helicopter' sign helped determine their position. The pilot responded, "I knew that had to be the Microsoft building because they gave me a technically correct, but completely useless answer."
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