Secrets of Success

Even though the following tips may be true "secrets of success," they mean nothing unless you get busy, implement and execute them!

Secret #1: If you are going to do something well, then do something you LOVE. You must be passionate about whatever you consider to be your career or business. Passion is the fire that lights the spark of ingenuity and powers the flame of discipline.

Secret # 2: Closely related - you must become DARN GOOD at what you do...you must become a SME (Subject Matter Expert). It takes 10,000 hours to master something so that you can do it with unconscious competence. Start with training and learning your skills for at least an hour a day...

Secret #3: You must FOCUS your efforts. A challenge for me and many entrepreneurs is focus. But focus precedes success...think of your energy projecting out as a lighthouse beam rather than diffused as a floodlight.

Secret #4: You must WORK VERY HARD. Nothing good in life comes easy. There is no correspondence course to become a Helicopter Pilot or Navy SEAL; there are no shortcuts to being successful in any endeavor. By the way, did I mention that you should HAVE FUN doing this hard work! (see secret 1)

Secret #5: You must SERVE a higher cause than lining your pockets. Add some value to others lives, create something new that changes the world (even a little), leave the world a better place. Be CREATIVE and BOLD!

Secret #6: You must NEVER QUIT! It is okay to change course, 'fight to the rear" in tough economic times, "re-tool" the business or concept...but NEVER, EVER, QUIT! Too many have bailed at the cusp of success. Remember that all successful people were "instant successes" typically after 10 to 20 years of back-breaking work.

Secret #7: You must take MASSIVE ACTION, every day! One man's definition of massive action is different than another's...but the proof is in the pudding. You must work tirelessly, doing something you are passionate about, darn good at, which serves a higher cause, and you must never quit...even after you "make it!"

Simple...but not easy!

Train hard and have fun! Coach Mark Divine.


Merrill Field Airport; Group 3 Aviation Alaska, Training in the S-300CBi

Jeff and Gene Zalutsky

   

                                                                              

On the go - East; Chugach Mountains in the distance

On our way to ferry an R22 from Torrance, California to Birchwood, Alaska

We are on our way down to Torrance, California to ferry one of our R22 helicopters (N767VC) that’s been rebuilt back up to Birchwood, Alaska. It's going to be one hell of an adventure! Let’s hope its uneventful and we pull it off without a hitch. I'll be doing the trip with Corey one of my instructors. And who knows, I might even learn something. It'll be a chance for me to put everything I've learned in the last two years of helicopter training to the test. I'm taking a camera, and if possible will take a few photos along the way to share when I get back. As some of you know there’s not much room in the R22 so all I'm taking is a small little black back pack that will fit under the seat. We'll be roughing it for sure, but the goal is to get the helicopter and us back up here to Alaska in one piece. Our biggest obstacle will be the weather!

Old 7VC that's been rebuilt, rumor has it she's now red with a new registration # 99507; she was a good old bird!

N767VC, I soloed in this ship! I'm curious to see how she's going to look after the rebuild.

View Larger Map

According to Google we are looking at approximately 4,300 miles. Our route will depend on the weather coming up through California, Oregon and Washington but more than likely we'll follow I-5 north and enter Canada at Kelowna, BC. Canada can be a desolate place and staying near the main road (ALCAN HWY) is safer in my book. Our route will follow Williams Lake, BC; Prince George, BC; Dawson Creek, BC; Fort St. John, BC; Fort Nelson, BC; Watson Lake, YT; Whitehorse, YT; Haines Junction, YT; Beaver Creek, YT; Northway Junction, AK; Tok, AK; Glenallen, AK; and then on to Birchwood, AK. Of course we can fly as the crow fly’s and straighten out all the curves :-).  I'm glad we're ferrying the helicopter with summer just around the corner, and as we approach Alaska the days will be longer with plenty of daylight. Wish us luck!

I joined the US Air Force in 1978

High Voltage Powerline Distribution Maintenance Course, Aug 1979

I'm the skinny 19 year old kid on the left

I joined the Air Force in March 1978. I didn’t have a clue what my job was going to be until I got to the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) Center in Los Angeles, California. The military bused me down from Oxnard the night before and put us up in a hotel near Hollywood. It seemed like an older part of town from what I can remember. The one thing that stands out is a song playing on the juke box back then. A song by the band Heart called "Crazy On You". It was a strange night, I had a lot of mixed feelings and to this day it doesn't matter what I'm doing if that song comes on the radio I think of that hotel. The next morning we were all bused to the processing center. What I did know was that I loved aviation and wanted to be around airplanes, the Air Force seemed like the logical choice. I asked them what jobs would keep me outside. I didn’t want anything to do with working in an office. After several options and lots of questions I settled on being a high voltage lineman without really knowing what the job entailed. I was a lineman for 15 years on several bases starting with the Air Force Academy, Colorado, then Columbus AFB, Mississippi; Hill AFB, Utah (where I got my Private Pilot's license) and then on to Alaska, Elmendorf AFB. I then did a short stint in South Dakota, Ellsworth AFB working in the missile field as a facility manager for ICBM launch facilities. We then moved on to Patrick AFB in Florida and then back to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. After gaining some rank I ended up flying a desk and retired after 23 years in the Air Force. I should also mention I did several temporary duties (TDY's) in Southwest Asia; one tour during the Desert Storm era in Saudi Arabia, one tour in Kuwait, and again in Saudi Arabia just before I retired. The first tour in Saudi we were attacked by a car bomb which destroyed one of our military buildings, OPM-SANG. We had to respond and shut the electrical power down to the building. I then spent the next two weeks helping the FBI at the bomb site gathering bomb fragments (evidence) using our bucket truck. We had to go on top of all the roof tops within a 1/2 mile radius finding evidence. We were actually finding pieces of the truck bomb all the way out on the outer perimeter.

12 December 2008 SOLO!

12 December 2008

Solo!...what a great feeling! Marcus Roulet, Chief Flight Instructor for Alyeska Helicopters, was my instructor that day. I believe I had approximately 29 hours; I would have soloed sooner if it wasn’t for my flight physical at the Heart of Eagle River clinic in Eagle River, Alaska. I ended up waiting an extra two and half weeks for my 3rd class physical. I found out the doctor doesn't sign his own flight physicals, he sends them into Anchorage to the main FAA Flight Doctor to be signed. In the mean time I kept flying. Lessons learned: 1) Ask your flight instructors who they go to for their physicals and take their advice, 2) get your flight physical done as soon as possible in case there are issues. I waited until I had 19 hours in my log book assuming the physical would only take a couple of hours and I'd have the medical certificate in hand when I walked out of the clinic. Live and learn.

I need to stress this point about soloing -- there is no correlation on how good a pilot you’re going to be by the number of hours it takes you to solo (within reason :-). Flying helicopters is about being patient; it's about proficiency, consistency, a good attitude towards safety, learning to relax on the controls, and having FUN flying the helicopter!

Photo credits go to Marcus Roulet

Learning to Fly/Hover the R22 19 Oct 2008 @ 9 hrs

So I had this great idea...I'll have my wife, Mary, shoot a little video of me hovering at approximately 9 hours of flight time. I thought I was pretty good at hovering until I felt the pressure of Mary using the video camera. My instructor was Nico von Pronay. Those hangers in front of me and the helicopter behind me were a little too close for my measly 9 hours. I could imagine splintering rotor blades as they smashed into the building and that parked helicopter. I was too careful in the beginning and felt tense which would translate into overcompensating with the controls and those dam pedals were so sensitive. It's all a part of learning to relax with the machine.

My Objective for this BLOG

This blog is for the helicopter student, to be used as a training guide, and an outlet for my experiences in becoming a helicopter pilot in Alaska. Also included are other miscellaneous ramblings, about helicopters, that may pop, indiscriminately, into my head.

At the moment I'm trying to muster up the motivation to study for the Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Rotorcraft FAA exam. I've already taken the Fundamentals of Instruction (FOI's) exam and scored a 98%. That test wasn't particularly hard. The CFI-Rotorcraft exam is going to be more involved and require a lot more in-depth study time.

As I get more into this BLOG I'll start from the beginning on my road to becoming a helicopter pilot and hopefully, eventually becoming a Certified Flight Instructor in helicopters and sharing my love of helicopters with those that want to learn to fly these incredible machines.