HeliMx – YOUR Magazine

Can it really be? This issue marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of HeliMx magazine. Time sure does fly when you are having fun!

HeliMx was launched because of feedback from helicopter mechanics. You told us that no magazine met your editorial needs. Existing helicopter magazines focused more on pilots and flight operations with a little bit of helicopter maintenance sprinkled in. Likewise, aviation maintenance magazines that were out there focused mostly on fixed-wing aircraft with an article devoted to helicopters here and there. Because of your feedback, HeliMx was born. It is the only magazine dedicated to providing editorial exclusively focused on the needs of helicopter maintenance professionals.

We hired Fred Polak right off the bat because we knew that even though Greg Napert and I are both A&Ps, we wanted someone with helicopter-specific experience to spearhead the magazine. What a great job Fred has done. We are proud to have him working with us!

I am excited to announce that Fred has taken a huge step towards ensuring that HeliMx continues to publish top-notch editorial for the helicopter maintenance team. He has assembled an editorial advisory board for the magazine. This team of industry professionals will help steer the editorial direction of HeliMx magazine, offering advice on industry trends and helicopter maintenance topics of interest while also giving feedback on each issue we publish. The HeliMx editorial advisory board consists of:

Randy Davis-Yates. Davis-Yates is a 44-year-old Arizona native who has worked on helicopters in a wide variety of environments — everything from service centers, news agencies, EMS operations, corporate aircraft and now law enforcement. He has been with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Division for 10 years. He is a certified A&P mechanic with IA and is currently its chief helicopter mechanic.

 

Dan Sweet. Sweet has worked as public relations manager for Columbia Helicopters for nearly 17 years, following the company’s aircraft from their headquarters near Portland, Ore. Prior to joining Columbia, he served for eight years as a Navy journalist.

Danny Green. Green Is an A&P with an IA and the aviation vibration data analyst for Chevron, Gulf of Mexico Aircraft Operations located in Picayune, Miss. He monitors 16 aircraft daily, including AW139s, Bell 430s, Bell 427s and soon to be two Bell 429s.

Dana Kerrick. Kerrick started working aircraft maintenance in the United States Air Force in 1959, turning wrenches on B-52 Bombers. He holds an FAA repairman certificate on rotor blades and also holds ground instructor certificates for basic, advanced and instrument ratings. Kerrick has been a chief pilot instructing in airplanes and helicopters since 1970. He has been active in blade repair since 1981, and is presently vice president of International Aviation Composites Ltd in Fort Worth, Texas. Kerrick has been teaching rotor blade preventive maintenance at FAA IA Refresher clinics for 10 years.

Jon Robbins. Robbins has been an A&P mechanic for 31 years. He holds IA and private pilot and instrument airplane ratings. He supervises the helicopter maintenance program at CAL FIRE (California Fire Aviation Management Unit).

Brad Nelson. Nelson is the director of maintenance of the Phoenix  PD Air Support Unit. He has worked with the Phoenix Police Department since 1979. He became supervisor of the maintenance unit in 1991.

Edward Jerin. Jerin joined Era Med LLC in 2008 as the aviation maintenance manager for its Boston Med Flight critical care transport service contract. It operates one S76 C++ and one BK117 C1 helicopter based at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Mass. It also operates one BK-117 C1 helicopter out of Plymouth Municipal Airport in Carver, Mass.

I would like to thank all the editorial advisory board members for donating their time and talent to help us continue to meet your editorial needs.

On a final note, our editorial direction isn’t based solely on the seven people on our advisory board. The most important part of our editorial direction is YOU. If you would like to see an article on a particular topic, just contact Fred or me. If you have feedback on an article you read in the magazine, even if it is critical, we encourage you to send a letter to the editor. After all, this is YOUR magazine. We need you to tell us what you like or dislike and what you would like to see more of in the future.

Thanks for reading. We appreciate your feedback!

Joe Escobar  |  Editorial Director