A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

Befitting the vertical lift that members of the Helicopter Association International (HAI) provide to the world, on the eve of Heli-Expo 2014, association president Matt Zuccaro pronounced the state of the industry “very up.” 
“Air tours are doing well, corporate operations have re-established themselves and offshore oil and gas work is very busy right now, so it’s a pretty positive picture,” Zuccaro said. Nonetheless, the industry faces challenges including a potential shortage of pilots and mechanics.
“The younger generation has so many options,” said Zuccaro. “We’re starting a sales and marketing campaign to show them being a pilot or a mechanic is a good career path.” But the economic barriers to entry can be high.
“The average [student helicopter pilot] gets a rating up to a CFI, which allows him to make money, but that costs about $80,000,” he said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to improve that scenario.”
Of more immediate concern are “unwarranted” <a href="mailto:http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainalerts/2014-01-21/la-helo-noise-rules-tucked-federal-spending-bill">regulations being driven by political grandstanding</a> that may actually impinge on safety, Zuccaro said. “It’s at the point right now where regulations mandating [helicopter] routes and altitudes have become the forum of elected officials. They’re not even asking the FAA anymore; they’re telling them, ‘We want you to put in regulations on routes and altitudes’ based on [constituents’] complaints. We respect people’s concerns. We have a Fly Neighborly program, working with the community and FAA and stakeholders. [But] legislators are making regulatory decisions without any study of what the realignment would mean. It’s not being done for safety or for airspace efficiency. It’s being done for a small group of people who have gotten the ears of elected officials.”
The recent FAA rule changes for Part 135 and Part 91 helicopter operations are also a concern. Meanwhile, the industry and HAI retain their focus on safety independent of regulatory mandates, Zuccaro said.
“We’ve been requesting for years the FAA include night vision goggles in the HEMS [helicopter emergency medical services] rules, but they didn’t do that,” said Zuccaro.” What’s better for HEMS than night vision? That puzzles us, but the industry on its own has equipped the fleet [with night vision goggles] to the 90 percent level.”

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