Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Robinson Helicopter will provide a subscription to the Crewchief Systems digital aircraft management system for buyers of new R66 NxG and R88 helicopters, legacy R22s and R44s, and helicopter trade-ins.&nbsp;Crewchief replaces paper maintenance logbooks with a digital solution that not only simplifies recordkeeping but provides “real-time operational and maintenance intelligence,” according to Robinson. Helicopter owners will also be able to order parts directly through their Crewchief platform.
Other features include AI assistance for visibility of airworthiness directives, inspection requirements, and maintenance status, according to Robinson, “keeping documentation organized and audit-ready. This proactive digital approach allows operators to continuously monitor aircraft health, strengthening regulatory adherence and operational confidence.”
“Most customers use their own spreadsheets,” said Robinson president and CEO David Smith. “The majority…don’t use anything. They use paper records, and maybe they’ve got an electronic logging system or scanning-in record system. This is taking everybody up a level, and also giving us the ability to see the fleet maintenance at a more granular level, so when customers maintain within Crewchief, we’ll have access to that information to see fleet-wide patterns and regular removals of [components]. We can then proactively understand why that’s happening.”
The selection of Crewchief stemmed from Robinson’s use of the program to manage its company helicopter fleet. “We’ve been evaluating lots of vendors in this space,” Smith said. “It’s an impressive platform across the board. By having it built [into the helicopter], the records are all created for your aircraft before you pick up a new aircraft.”
After the initial subscription period, owners of Robinson helicopters with Crewchief will have the option to continue the service and select various enhancements to the platform. “By that point, the hope is that this eliminates the worry and the anxiety of deciding, is it worth it or is it not?” he said.
In any case, the helicopter owner is also the owner of any information stored in the Crewchief system and can keep that information, even if they cancel the service. “This kind of system is only an upside for the customer,” Smith said. “It is beneficial, but you can maintain aircraft without it, and it’s certainly up to them.
“By supporting the transition away from paper logbooks, we are giving our customers the real-time intelligence they need to stay ahead of the maintenance curve and prolong the life of their helicopter,” Smith said.

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Crewchief replaces paper maintenance logbooks with a digital solution that provides “real-time operational and maintenance intelligence.”

Buyers of Robinson Helicopters Get Crewchief Built-in

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In this article

Robinson Helicopter Company

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