Since the late 80s, Helinet has been a staple in the Los Angeles Helicopter community, providing services to a diverse mix of markets. Legendary stunt pilot and entrepreneur Alan Purwin co-founded West Coast Helicopters in 1987 and later merged the company with Helinet in 1998.

While most other aviation companies were focused on a small selection of rotorcraft, Alan saw the benefit of running a diverse operation from the start. 

Fly Neighborly Program

To mitigate the company’s noise impact on the communities they fly above, Helinet has developed a “Fly Neighborly Program” to provide a clear foundation and set of standards for its pilots and staff. “Pilots can help make the public less hostile to day-to-day helicopter operations by being aware of noise sensitive areas, and when possible, avoid flying over these areas,” said Helinet’s Chief Pilot Brian Petschauer. “They can also fly in ways that cause the least possible impact to the public,” he added.

As Chief Pilot, Brian regularly sends out operations memos to his team, highlighting noise sensitive areas and ways to reduce Helinet’s noise footprint in that particular region. However, there are times when certain areas can’t be avoided in the interest of flight safety, meeting FAA regulations and ATC directions, or due to the time-critical nature of the mission. “When we get a call from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to pick up a child with a life-threatening condition, or one of our hospital clients need immediate transportation for their organ procurement teams, we have an obligation to fly the quickest and safest route possible,” said Al Sousa, Vice President and Director of Operations.
 

Read the full article from Southern California Rotorcraft Association: HERE

Story starts on page 6.

Story by Allison Rakun