Author

Bill Wagstaff

Latest from Bill Wagstaff

Rotorcraft

CHC Scotia workers prep for possible strike

North Sea oil and gas producers could be facing a summer of extreme discontent should a voting majority of union members at CHC Scotia have their way.

Aeromed helos find little to do but grieve

For years the aeromedical helicopters based in and around New York City and Washington have trained for massive urban disasters.

Helo flown via synthetic vision for the first time

In an experiment reminiscent of Jimmy Doolittle’s trailblazing instrument blind flight in 1929, researchers at Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) hav
Safety

Lessons learned save lives, preserve forest in blazing summer western wildfire season

Some forest fires start with a blast of jagged lightning, incinerating the dry timber and flinging the flaming fragments into the tinder-dry underbrush fro

Final prototype Sikorsky S-92 makes first flight

The fifth and final prototype Sikorsky S-92 medium-twin transport helo, this one incorporating customer-inspired design changes and a new Rockwell Collins

Extex puts it on the line online

Taking its battle against high-priced OEM repair and technical manuals and their revisions to a higher level, Extex has placed all of the pertinent tech da

Anti-Noise Groups Make the Most of Big Apple Helo Ops Bans

It should come as no surprise that citizen groups opposing helicopter operation over Manhattan are using the aftermath of September 11 to lobby lawmakers f

Part 135 Rotorcraft Ops Restored Over Manhattan

Closed by a ban on operations within three nautical miles of the World Trade Center site since September 11, Manhattan’s three public-use heliports were pa

Sole Survivor of Papillon Grand Canyon Crash Files Suit

The only survivor of an August 10 sightseeing helicopter crash at the Grand Canyon has filed suit against Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters of Grand Canyon

Helo Hard Times Lead to Bell Chairman/CEO Dismissal

Citing a need to realign its executive lineup in the face of an economy that was already softening before it was rocked by the events of September 11, Text

Civil Tiltrotor Preps for Engine Runups, First Flight

Bowing to some inevitable delays after September 11, Bell/Agusta Aerospace reports assembly of the first two BA609 tiltrotors is nearing completion, with e

Copter Cops Cop Doughnuts and a Lot of Trouble

Police officers’ passion for doughnuts is one of American culture’s sturdiest stereotypes.

Graveyard slide

A cargo-configured Falcon 20 made a gear-up landing at Detroit City Airport shortly after takeoff on August 28, sliding off the end of the runway and comin

Helo ops suffer the worst from N.Y. airspace lockout

Ever since the nerve-shattering morning of September 11, the skies over Manhattan have been strangely quiet.
Maintenance and Modifications

In buyout, Keystone finds key to growth

In the middle of a helicopter market that has been flat for nearly a decade and seems likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future, how does a 50-y