Essencial Safety tips for Helicopter Pilots

1. Check Yourself, Before You Wreck Yourself

The most important element of any flight is you—the pilot. As the pilot in
command, it is under your authority, and therefore your responsibility, to
ensure you operate the aircraft safely and according to all applicable rules and
regulations. Before a flight even begins, it is imperative to ensure that you,
yourself, are ready for flight. One such self-check that you should use is the
IMSAFE checklist. IMSAFE stands for Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol (or
Drugs), Fatigue, and Emotions. The IMSAFE checklist provides you with a quick
list of factors with criteria that you can use for self-evaluation. If any area does
not meet a specific standard, you should consider canceling the flight, as your
piloting abilities may become compromised.

2. Don’t Skimp on the Preflight Inspection

The second most important element of the flight is the aircraft. One of the
most important tasks any pilot must perform is a preflight inspection of their
aircraft. It’s easy to get complacent and take shortcuts during (or completely
skip) the preflight inspection. Don’t get lazy! Every aircraft should have an
associated preflight inspection checklist. Use it. Make certain that you review
any maintenance records, performance charts, and all other documents prior
to the flight. You may be on your fifth flight of the day; however, don’t let the
fifth preflight inspection become any less important than the first.

3. Consider the Mission

What is the purpose of your flight? Is it a training flight? Do you have a specific
destination that you need to reach? The flight environment is very dynamic.
Understanding why you’re flying in the first place will help inform your
aeronautical decision making. There are many elements to consider when
planning a flight such as a route and an altitude selection. The weather
conditions will have a heavy influence on your mission. Get a standard weather
briefing to aide in making a go or no-go decision. If you are flying and
conditions take a turn for the worse, don’t push it. Your best option may be to
turn around or, in a worst-case scenario, land in an open field or empty lot. Be
prudent and don’t put yourself or passengers at risk just to complete a flight.

4. Respond, Don’t React

In a perfect scenario, a perfect pilot should be able to understand all the
elements that can affect their flight and avoid the circumstances that lead to
tough decisions. But we’re not perfect. Good aeronautical decision-making
means that you can recognize the changes to our environment, effectively
analyze its effects, and ultimately reach a decision that keeps you and your
aircraft safe. A good pilot responds to these changes—they don’t react.
Reacting to a situation without first thinking about it could be worse than doing
nothing at all. Find a systematic approach that allows you to think through
anything thrown at you before deciding on how to respond.

5. Share Your Experiences

One of the greatest resources available to you is other pilots. Learn from
others and share your own experiences. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to
share your mistakes. Learn from them. Learn from the mistakes made by
others. We’re only human after all. Pilots almost always immediately recognize
when they make a mistake. But mistakes only become lessons learned when
we share and discuss them. Telling stories of what you messed up, learned, or
discovered about flying helicopters will benefit you and your fellow pilots. It
may even help someone else before they end up in a difficult situation.

Hillsboro Aero Academy offers a helicopter training program approved by the

Federal Aviation Administration. We designed the program to provide you with
the training needed to prepare you for a career as a pilot in the aviation
industry. If you are looking for a helicopter pilot school to help you learn and
hone these safety skills along with many other piloting skills, contact us today.
We can tell you more about our school and the career paths available to you as
a helicopter pilot.