Incorporates Rescue And Relief Ops Into Factory-Specified
Courses
There’s training... and then there's real-world training.
The difference between the two could be the difference between life
and death, according to Christian Gadbois, owner of SRT
Helicopters. The former US Army Special Forces Medic will showcase
his company and its real-world, mission-specific training programs
for the first time at Heli-Expo 2007 in Orlando, FL next month.
Gadbois says SRT is the only helicopter training company to
exclusively employ working rescue professionals, and provide
disaster response services. SRT teams have responded to hurricanes
(including Katrina), earthquakes and tsunamis, and a host of other
disasters.
SRT augments factory training with more team-oriented
approaches, that prepare pilots and crews for specific missions and
the reality of helicopter operations in life-or-death
situations.
"We do things differently," Gadbois said. "You will not learn
the things you really need to know just sitting in a
classroom."
Gadbois tells ANN his company's training methods and curriculum
are current, relevant, and designed to address real-life
operational scenarios, because the SRT training staff is comprised
of those who regularly respond to real-world disasters
SRT training can also be customized to meet the requirements of
each customer's missions, and includes:
- Initial and Recurrent Pilot Training
- CRM/Human Factors for Air Crew and Management Personnel
- Technical Rescue Training, including Hoist Operations and
Maintenance
- Incident Management and Incident Command Training
- Special Operations, including Airborne Use of Force
- Operations in Austere Environments
Gadbois has identified five recurring issues that consistently
occur in any disaster response. As a result, SRT training is
specifically designed to improve knowledge and skills related to
interoperability, communication, incident management, common
terminology, and planning. Planning, especially, is an area that is
critically important yet often overlooked, so it's a strong area of
focus in SRT programs.
Based at Meadows Field in Bakersfield, CA -- and flying a mix of
Bell, Eurocopter, MD and Schweizer helicopters -- students learn
and hone their skills at SRT's 5,000 square-foot hangar facility
and classroom, an off-site hoist-training tower, and a military law
enforcement ranch. Training for desert operations occurs at Edwards
Air Force Base. The nearby mountains and Pacific Ocean provide
venues for high altitude and water training.
"I've heard it said that things don't change until people die,"
Gadbois said. "That's why we're not waiting for change, we're
driving it — one student at a time."
Heli-Expo 2007 kicks off March 1-3, at the Orange County
Convention Center in Orlando, FL.
NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23
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