Push to Talk with Bruce Webb: A Helicopter Podcast

Charis Work is an SMS expert from New Zealand. Working in the country with the highest number of helicopters-per-capita, Charis knows how to tailor a safety system around the actual people it serves. In this conversation, I’ll speak with Charis about crafting SMS that makes us both safe and unencumbered.

Each year more than half a million patients in the US are transported by air ambulance. EMS flight teams face the unique challenge of navigating the inherent risks of flight with the added stresses that come with emergency care. So how can we provide them the safest environment possible to deliver their critical services?

Paul Ward is the assistant vice president of safety programs at Intermountain Health. As a former medic and lifelong student of industrial organization, Paul works to optimize safety for medical transport teams, and take better care of the people who take care of us.

Ashlyn Carter is a systems safety and mission assurance expert at Boeing. With a masters in industrial organizational psychology, and prior experience with Airbus and CAMI, she’s is a sterling example of the rising generation of human factors experts who are poised to take on the challenges of our rapidly-changing world.

Eoin Walker is the HEMS segment promoter for Airbus, and host of The Pre-Hospital Care Podcast. With years of experience as a flight paramedic, Eoin has seen firsthand how good communication cools even the most heated scenarios.

In this conversation, Eoin will let us in on how he’s been able to harness his communication through his life and career, and what we can do to follow suit. How we can "be the thermostat, not the thermometer."

Adam Bernhardt is the Head of Safety and Well-Being for Airbus in the Asia-Pacific region, an area that covers more twelve countries including Australia, Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia. Adam understands the subtle touch needed to advocate for safety across such a diverse region. 

In this conversation, I’ll speak with Adam about the ways he works across nations and cultures that may have differing — and even contrasting — views of safety, and how the lessons he’s learned from doing so might translate to our own individual lives.

In a little over one week from recording this episode, VAI’s VERTICON is set to take place in Atlanta, GA. Pilots, mechanics, instructors, operators, manufacturers, and more will converge in one place to celebrate the state of vertical aviation…and to deliberate on its future as we enter the middle part of this century. 

Joining me in this episode is François Lassale, the new President and CEO of VAI. In this lead-up to his first VERTICON as CEO,  I’ll speak with Francois about his vision for the industry and how he plans to guide us there. 

Dr. Roni Avissar is an atmospheric scientist, helicopter pilot, and professor at the University of Miami. His research is crucial to the modern field of weather analysis. In a unique twist on the role weather plays in aviation, Roni conducts his field research using a specially-equipped helicopter, often flying extremely low to the surface to collect data. His work has been funded by NASA, NOAA, and the US Departments of Energy and Agriculture, among others.

In this conversation, I’ll speak with Roni about the turbulent world of weather forecasting, and our relationship as pilots to the natural world around us.

Jesse Munns has flown helicopters for almost twenty years, doing everything from offshore to EMS. Some time ago, Jesse began experiencing a heavy strain in his personal life; after pushing himself past his limit, Jesse made a rare but commendable decision — he voluntarily relinquished his medical certificate. He had the awareness to know that he was putting himself and others at risk.

In this episode, I’ll speak with Jesse about the lessons we can draw from his circumstance, and what a road back to flying might look like for himself and others in his shoes.

Wendell Dunaway is a former training manager at Safran, where he oversaw the education of hundreds of technicians each year. Wendell knows firsthand how community can nurture skills and build understanding.

In this conversation, Wendell will explain how the guidance of five life coaches — five mentors designated to five different areas of his life — has kept him from stagnating, and how we can relate that practice to our own lives and careers.

A native of the Swiss Alps, Simon Wittinger is the author of The Mountain Flying Handbook. First published in 2020, the book is a comprehensive guide to operating at high altitude. It’s been praised by the helicopter community at large, and even been endorsed by EASA. 

In this conversation, I’ll speak with Simon about the process of writing the book. He’ll take us inside his experience as a mountain pilot, explain some common errors people make when flying in the mountains, and much more.

Access to the mountain flying handbook: https://manual.sha-swiss.ch/en/mountain-handbook-reading-sample/inhaltsverzeichnis

Website Swiss Helicopter Association: https://www.sha-swiss.ch/de/index.html