Episodes
July 26, 2018
Flying a Wessex in the Falklands War: Harry Benson’s Helicopter Combat Stories
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...
June 25, 2018
RWS 66 – Extreme Ownership Book Review with Adrian Park
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 helicopte...
June 7, 2018
RWS 65 – Night Aerial Firefighting with Richard Butterworth
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 fire...
March 23, 2018
RWS 64 – Lessons from an AH-64 Apache Refuel Fire with Skip Tackett
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?
March 11, 2018
RWS 63 – 2011 Brisbane Floods & Lifesaving Helicopter Rescues
“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.
Feb. 22, 2018
RWS 62 – Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team
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.
Dec. 13, 2017
RWS 61 – Virtual Reality Helicopter Sims with Sérgio Costa
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 starte...
Oct. 17, 2017
RWS 60 – 20 Crew Resource Management Diamonds with Randy Mains
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.
Oct. 2, 2017
RWS 59 – Himalayan Rescue Ops with Andrew Gutsell
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.
Sept. 20, 2017
RWS 58 – The Helicopter Page with Aaron Kenworthy
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 perhap...
April 18, 2017
RWS 57 – Three Journeys Round with Peter Wilson
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.
March 17, 2017
In-Flight Emergency or Comedy? The Chickenbone Incident with Helicopter Pilot Matthew Barker
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...
March 6, 2017
RWS 55 – Close Calls and Funny Stories with Matthew Barker
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 helicopte...
Dec. 22, 2016
RWS 54 – Huey Gunships with Jack Lynch Part 2
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 ...
Dec. 15, 2016
RWS 53 – Huey Gunships with Jack Lynch
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 Lync...
Dec. 4, 2016
RWS 52 – Interview with Ken Vote Part 2
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...
Nov. 25, 2016
RWS 51 – Australian Navy, Vietnam and EMS with Ken Vote
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. Ken started his helicopter career with the Australian Navy,
Oct. 25, 2016
RWS 50 – The God Machine with James Chiles (Helicopter History)
The God Machine: From Boomerangs to Blackhawks, The Story of the Helicopter by James R. Chiles delves into the origins of the helicopter and the people that made them into the machines they are today. It has been another long break between episodes but...
June 12, 2016
RWS 49 – Toronto Traffic Helicopter with Dini Petty
Dini Petty forged her mother’s signature on a permission form for skydiving lessons when she was 17. By age 22, Dini Petty was flying above Toronto, Canada as the first female traffic helicopter pilot who was also giving traffic reports while flying.
May 29, 2016
Extra – Impromptu Session at Rotortech 2016 About AHIA and Regulation Progress
This is a recording from a session at the Rotortech 2016 expo on the Sunshine Coast. Vice President of the Australian Helicopter Industry Association (AHIA), Ray Cronin leads a discussion about regulation change and recent progress.
May 26, 2016
RWS 48 – The Case For Full Down Autos with Glen White
Glen White has been providing recurrency and initial training to helicopter pilots around the world through his company Eurosafety since 2004. He is a strong proponent of the benefit of full touchdown autorotations in training.
May 21, 2016
RWS 47 – First Around the World Solo and Australian Regulations with Dick Smith
This is Episode 47 of The Rotary Wing Show and our main interview today is Dick Smith, the first person to fly a helicopter solo around the world plus a bunch of other aviation first and records. For Australians,
May 7, 2016
Vietnam Huey Combat Pilot Robert Mason on Flying and Writing Chickenhawk
The Vietnam war has been called the helicopter war. They were used as troop carriers, gunships, medevac, heavy lift, observation and aerial trucks. Chickenhawk author Robert Mason shares some of his memories of flying the Hue...
April 6, 2016
RWS 45 – Rosemary Arnold – First Australian Female Helicopter Pilot – Part 2
In 1965 Rosemary Arnold became the first Australian female helicopter pilot, the first female helicopter pilot in the southern hemisphere and Whirly Girl No.99 In this episode listen in as Rosemary tells the story of her 50yr+ career in aviation.