Tribal Aviation Has an Impact on Small Airports

Native American tribes are beginning to purchase aircraft. This may be because tribal officials and leaders are involved in more travels out of area for meetings and conferences. Tribes have also taken to lobbying which may necessitate frequent trips to Washington, DC. Then add to those needs that most tribes reside a good distance from a major airport, and simply boarding a flight may add up to half a day (or more) in additional travel time to just getting to and from the airport. A tribe possessing its own airplane or jet can take travelers to a gathering a great deal faster. Naturally, the biggest issue is the politics. Even corporate CEO's are under fire for flying in private jets.

Some tribes are trying to make air travel more accessible to everyone. Rural airports serve tribes located in rural areas. In rural airports there might not be sufficient travelers to warrant routine commercial service. However, tribes using their Bureau of Indian Affairs transportation money for aviation and leveraging Congressional help for rural airport projects have been able to establish some form of regular commercial service in their area.

An example of a tribe that both owns private aircraft and working for a regional airport is the Chickasaw Nation based in Ada, Oklahoma. The tribe has owned private aircraft for a while and is leveraging that usage with the Ada Municipal Airport. Recently, the airport commission added two seats for Ada's airport most frequent users, which were the Chickasaws, and the other seat was for Pre-Paid Legal Services.

This appointment has been no mere honorary appointment. The Chickasaw Nation is having an impact in who operates the airport as its fleet of jets uses Jet-A fuel. They want to make sure the operator carries Jet-A fuel (fuel for jets) in addition to 100 low lead fuel or Avgas (fuel for airplanes). It is this form of impact that tribal aviation can have on a regional airport. By carrying jet fuel the Ada airport can serve more aircraft and support regular commercial service. Without the Chickasaw Nation and Pre-Paid Legal jets, the airport would only need to carry fuel for airplanes, relegating the airport to another small town airstrip.

Military Helicopter Pilot Careers

A career flying military helicopters offers excitement, challenge, and adventure. Military helicopter missions include transporting troops and equipment, anti-submarine warfare, troop helicopter escort, anti-armor, reconnaissance, and inserting/extracting special operations personnel.

The US Army is the largest operator of helicopters within the US military. A career as an Army Aviator will give you access to some of the most advanced helicopters in the world. Army aviators fly AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters, UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters, OH-47 Kiowa scout/light attack helicopters and the MH-6/AH-6 Loach special operations helicopters.

The US Navy uses helicopters for a wide variety of missions. Pilots who fly SH-60 Sea Hawks track submarines. MH-53 Sea Stallion pilots detect and clear mines in advance of ship traffic. Navy helicopter pilots who fly CH-46 Sea Knights specialize in transporting personnel and equipment.

The US Marine Corps uses the helicopter extensively. In fact the Marines invented and developed vertical envelopment warfare (using helicopters to rapidly move troops to key tactical and strategic positions). The AH-1Z Cobra is used to provide support to Marines on the ground. The CH-46 Sea Knight is used for tactical assaults and the CH-53E Super Sea Stallion is used for heavy lift. The Marines also fly a modernized version of the UH-1 Huey, a helicopter made famous during the Vietnam War, on utility and VIP missions.

The US Air force uses HH-60 Blackhawks for combat search and rescue and MH-53E Super Stallions for deep insertions and extractions of special operations troops.

Though not technically a member of the US armed forces, Coast Guard Aviators have a strong history of flying and fighting alongside the US military in times of conflict. The Coast Guard's primary roles are homeland security, law enforcement and search and rescue. They fly three types of helicopters. The HH-65 Dauphin is a short-range rescue helicopter. The HH-60 Jay Hawk is a medium/long range rescue helicopter and the MH-68 Stingray is an armed interdiction aircraft.

Military helicopter pilots have very rewarding careers. They fly with and support some of the best people this nation has to offer. The road to a career as a military helicopter pilot isn't easy but it's certainly within reach of anyone who has the commitment and the desire to succeed.

Robust Aerial Navigation in GPS-Denied Enivronments

This helicopter was developed at CSAIL at MIT, under Nick Roy. This vehicle has fully autonomous capabilities in GPS-denied environments. This video was submitted to the 2010 ICRA video contest.