Episodes
July 21, 2019
RWS 75 – Adventures and Survival with Mike Atkinson
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?
April 21, 2019
RWS 74 – Pete Gillies Talks About Tail Rotor Failures
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.
April 21, 2019
RWS 73 – Pete Gillies Talks About Teaching Autorotations
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...
Oct. 22, 2018
RWS 72 – AW609 Tiltrotor with Dan Wells
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 uni...
Oct. 3, 2018
RWS 71 – Aircrew Mental Health with Kevin Humphreys – Part 2
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 heal...
Oct. 1, 2018
RWS 70 – Aircrew Mental Health with Kevin Humphreys – Part 1
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.
Sept. 23, 2018
RWS 69 – Multi-Engine Helicopter Considerations with Jim Vince
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 jus...
Aug. 15, 2018
RWS 68 – 2018 World Helicopter Day and Flying the Chinook with Paul Kennard
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...
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...