Women Power at GHS

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“Let us ensure that every girl, everywhere, has the opportunity to realize her dreams, grow into her power and contribute to a sustainable future for all,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres.

Women in aviation is not something new, early pioneers include French Raymonde de Laroche, the world’s first licensed female pilot as far back as March 8th, 1910. What a fantastic coincidence that many years later International Women’s Day was dedicated to be held every year on March 8th.

When I started my career in an aviation company 17 years ago it was a pure male domain. I joined GHS seven years ago as the first and only female employee. Since then, our female representation has increased incrementally and we are heading to equal gender staff numbers at our German Headquarter.

We at GHS highly appreciate, support and promote the development of women power in aviation. I would like to introduce some of my female colleagues who share their passion for aviation.

Anna Folch has taken over Compliance Monitoring for Air Operations and Crew Training at GHS in November last year. She has been amazed by the world of aviation since she was 8 years old. She started studying aeronautical engineering and worked as an engineer until she fulfilled her dream to get her Helicopter Commercial Pilots Licence CPL(H). Just recently Anna completed her type rating on Bell 412 and carried out her first ferry flight of our Bell 412 D-HEPP from Nigeria to Germany as the Co-Pilot.

“Taking off and seeing that everything becomes smaller and smaller. Nothing else matters, just flying.”

Anny Folch

As a 7 year old, Vera Aitzinger knew that one day she would become a helicopter pilot.  Vera is currently the Executive Assistant at GHS, which means she is involved in all company matters which she carries out enthusiastically and always has good ideas. Vera currently holds a FAA helicopter pilot license and is working on her EASA CPL(H). According to her the industry is still far from having gender equity, which can be very hard sometimes. However, I have no doubt that her dream as a little girl, to become a rescue pilot in the Austrian Mountains will come true sooner than later.

“Little girls with big dreams become women with vision”, you should always go and follow your dreams, no matter what.

Vera Aitzinger

Pheobe Chizobam told me that “When I was a child, I always wanted to fly but this wasn’t a common career choice for kids around my age at that time in Nigeria,” today Pheobe is our first and only female engineer working on our Bell 412 fleet in Maiduguri and has almost completed her type rating. Her favourite part being an engineer is participating in major maintenance, such as removal and installation of aircraft engines. Her biggest obstacle so far is not receiving recognition and acceptance by her peers just because  she’s a woman; “I have literally experienced situations where I was told, you’re intruding in a man’s space, your place is in the kitchen!” , She has risen above this and proved her detractors wrong.

Sara VucemilovicGrgic is our female maintenance planner working with a lot of male engineers and mechanics. Her future plan is to become a licensed engineer which will give her an all-encompassing knowledge from office administration right through to the hangar floor and the aircraft itself.

“If you are a strong woman interested in powerful flying and fast machines, your place is saved in aviation.”

Sara VucemilovicGrgic

Our pilots will always tell you “The best office is a cockpit!”, however, working in an office for an aviation company can be just as exciting and challenging!

I wish all my female colleagues and all women involved in aviation a “Happy International Women’s Day – it’s our responsibility to inspire more and more women to break barriers and follow their dreams!

Ursula Pöcklhofer
Marketing & Sales at GHS

FLEXIBLE MAINTENANCE OPTIONS, TO MEET YOUR NEEDS – GHS EASA Approved Part 145 Base Maintenance

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Another significant milestone and a great addition to the ongoing development at our new premises in Kirchanschöring/Germany. The recent EASA approval by the German Civil Aviation Authority, Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) of the GHS Part 145 base maintenance facilities allows GHS to offer flexible maintenance options which are focussed on controlling costs while keeping aircraft flying.

Our team of highly qualified GHS technicians provide base maintenance services to local and international customers as well as 3rd party maintenance for Bell 412 and EC225 helicopters. Our Part 145 Maintenance options include:

  • Return to Service (RTS)
  • Single scheduled maintenance events
  • Modifications and implementation of STC
  • Base/line maintenance within EASA CAMO regulations
  • Avionic inspections and reviews
  • Special tool rental
  • Hangarage, short and long-term storage
  • Spare Part Sourcing and Supply Chain Management

Our clients benefit from a high degree of cost control and optimization of maintenance task planning. We guarantee our customers the highest possible availability of their aircraft – anytime, anywhere. The entire GHS team is proud of this significant achievement!

Forest fire training in the Chiemgau Alps & Traunstein

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Successful training sessions performed to be prepared for any emergency

Wildfires in the mountains require a fight with joint forces.

On 13.08.2020, about 70 emergency response teams of the local fire brigade and alpine rescue service including GHS flight and ground crew conducted this successful training in Ruhpolding/Chiemgau Alps.

Within this exercise a forest fire has been assumed across the Chiemgau Arena in Ruhpolding/Bavaria, to be stemmed from the ground as well as by air. It has been a main target to train the collaboration between the teams of the fire brigades and the helicopter flight and ground crews. New techniques could be shared as well has valuable experience with the interaction of helicopter and further organizations involved.

On 12.09.2020, a larger combined disaster response exercise has been carried out at the military training area in Kammer where GHS again supported the Fire Brigades with one of its Bell 412 helicopters as part of the exercise to simulate and train different scenarios.

Both training scenarios did include several flights familiarizing ground personnel and helicopter crew by transporting loads up in the valley and dropping them in impassable terrain uphill as well as water rejection with the Bambi Bucket.

On the second occasion, the Bambi Bucket has as well been used to refill a water basin and 30 firefighters were deployed. With this, we could additionally demonstrate, that with the Bell 412 larger numbers of firefighters can be redeployed to inaccessible areas in the shortest time in order to get them to the places where they are needed most.

These exercises as well gave GHS good opportunities to test their intern procedures and equipment. Lessons learned will be implemented and our setup proved to be efficient and reliable.

All participants and organisations involved have been very satisfied with the achievements and both sides could gain good knowledge and experience during these trainings.

Our gratitude goes to all parties involved, especially to the Traunstein Fire Brigades who invited us to these events.

It will be our great pleasure to assist the Fire Brigades with any aerial vegetation firefighting or disaster response tasks in case of an emergency – we are ready!

Photos by:  flohagena.com/GHS  / Max Köbele/5sM/GHS / Flying Lens

Waldbrand Übung in den Chiemgauer Alpen/Traunstein

Erfolgreiche Übungstage um für den Ernstfall gerüstet zu sein

Bei einem Waldbrand in den Bergen sind viele Helfer gefordert.

Am 13.08.2020 fand ein erfolgreiches Training mit ca. 70 Einsatzkräften der lokalen Feuerwehren und der Bergrettung inkl. GHS Piloten und Bodencrews in Ruhpolding/Chiemgauer Alpen statt.

Es wurde ein Waldbrand im Bereich oberhalb der Chiemgau-Arena in Ruhpolding/Bayern angenommen, den es sowohl vom Boden aus als auch mit „Hilfe aus der Luft“ einzudämmen galt. Eines der Hauptziele war es die Zusammenarbeit von Feuerwehrfrauen- und männer und der Hubschrauber Cockpit- und bodencrews zu trainieren. So konnten neue Techniken geteilt werden sowie wertvolle Erfahrungen im Zusammenspiel mit dem Hubschrauber sowie den anderen beteiligten Organisationen gesammelt werden.

Am 12.09.2020 fand eine weitere umfangreichere Katastrophenübung am Truppenübungsplatz in Kammer statt, bei der die GHS erneut mit einem Bell 412 Hubschrauber die Feuerwehren unterstützte um diverse Szenarien zu simulieren und zu trainieren.

Bei beiden Trainingseinheiten wurden Einweisungsflüge durchgeführt um das Bodenpersonal und die Hubschrauber Crew miteinander vertraut zu machen, indem Lasten im Tal aufgenommen und im Gelände abgesetzt wurden, sowie der gezielte Wasserabwurf aus dem Außenlastbehälter, dem Bambi Bucket.

Weiters wurde das Bambi Bucket dazu genutzt ein Wasserbecken wieder aufzufüllen und es wurden 30 Einsatzkräfte der Feuerwehren repositioniert. Damit konnten wir zusätzlich demonstrieren, dass mit einer Bell 412 auch eine höhere Anzahl an Einsatzkräften rasch in unwegsames Gelände versetzt werden kann, um die Löschtruppen direkt dort einzusetzen wo sie am nötigsten gebraucht werden.

Diese Übungen gaben uns weiters eine gute Möglichkeit unsere internen Abläufe zu trainieren und unser Equipment zu testen. Gelerntes wird umgesetzt und unser Setup auf Effizienz und Zuverlässigkeit geprüft.

Die Teilnehmer und Organisatoren beider Übungen zeigten sich sehr zufrieden mit dem Ergebnis und beide Seiten konnten wertvolle Erkenntnisse und neue Erfahrungen gewinnen.

Unser Dankeschön geht an alle beteiligten Organisationen, im Speziellen an den Kreisfeuerwehrverband Traunstein, der uns zu den Trainingseinheiten eigeladen hat.

Es ist uns eine Ehre die umliegenden Feuerwehren bei der Bekämpfung von Vegetationsbränden oder Einsätze im Katastrophenschutz zu unterstützen – wir sind bereit!

Fotos von:  flohagena.com/GHS  / Max Köbele/5sM/GHS / Flying Lens

GHS now an approved Air Training Organization

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In another significant development, GHS is now an EASA -approved Air Training Organization!

If advanced helicopter training or pilot license currency renewals are what you are looking for GHS has the solution.

The main focus of our helicopter training offering is advanced training for individual pilots and aviation companies which will include IFR-courses, twin conversions, and Bell 212/412 type rating as well as pilot qualification courses.

Our instructors are highly experienced with thousands of hours of a wide variety of helicopter instruction and operational mission flying which qualifies them to provide meaningful skills transfer in conjunction with top-class instruction which blend together for the benefit of the student under instruction.

The GHS ground school facilities are located in the GHS headquarter in Kirchanschöring, a small town in a beautiful part of Bavaria close to the Alps with easy access via the Salzburg International Airport a mere 20 minutes’ drive.

GHS has access to and uses the CAE training center at the Stockholm International Airport for all of the Bell 212/412 and H225 simulator training aspects and renewals. The on type flight training will be conducted in one of our Bell 212/412s at one of the airfields in the vicinity of the GHS headquarters.

Give us a call to arrange a tailor-made training program that meets your requirements.

GHS PREPARED AND EQUIPPED FOR UPCOMING FIRE FIGHTING SEASON

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GHS’s recent move to our new company headquarters in Kirchanschöring has led to us being able to prepare and fly our helicopters from the home base and offer an air ambulance service as well as aerial firefighting services in Germany and neighboring countries

The start of summer will inevitably mean that wildfires will become increasingly common and GHS is available to despatch our highly experienced crews and Bell 412 helicopters to immediately assist in the extinguishing of fires.

GHS believes that integrated planning, prevention, and immediate intervention are critical in the fight against wildfires and we have pilots and crews with years of experience from fire-fighting operations in Southern Europe, a mission-ready Bell 412, one of the best helicopters for fighting vegetation fires, available to carry out firefighting missions 7 days a week.

The use of helicopters for aerial firefighting is still developing in Germany and there are insufficient air assets and pilots with firefighting experience. This shortcoming and the fact that local officials are not aware of the existing helicopter service results in unnecessary danger to residents and emergency services and costly avoidable environmental damage.

GHS has taken extraordinary measures to ensure we protect our employees against the COVID-19 outbreak while safeguarding our ability to continue to provide these critical operations which protect our communities and their property, therefore, in collaboration with the local authorities, GHS will apply specific COVID-19 protocols across our firefighting operations.

Our Latest Air Ambulance Service And Partner Flymed GmbH

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We are proud to announce the brand new INFECT air ambulance service with our partner Flymed GmbH.

Within this service, we combine competent and experienced personnel and crews (standard crew: 2 pilots, medical specialist, paramedic), four intensive care ambulances and one Bell 412 intensive care helicopter fitted with AAT Ambulance Kit, equipped with Hamilton T1 ventilation and intensive monitoring, syringe pumps, transport-incubator, systemic medication, and the Ego Zlin BioBag isolation unit.

Notwithstanding the current global health crisis, we are delighted to communicate this new cross-border (missions to Austria or Italy are possible) accomplishment with an estimated preliminary lead time to activate the service of less than 60 minutes.

Here’s to a new partnership doing its part to provide a life-saving service for people and communities in Germany and neighboring countries.

Contract Extension Humanitarian Aid Operation in Nigeria

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We are pleased to announce, that our Bell 412EP D-HAFV has recently been re-contracted for another 2-year period in Maiduguri/Nigeria – this despite the difficult times and restrictions we are faced with.

“This achievement optimises the saying ‘when the going gets tough the tough get going’ and I am proud to say that all staff members and crew in Maiduguri have lived up to this motto” , says Dominik Goldfuss, GHS CEO.

Congratulations to our entire team – we are proud of all of you and your effort which has made this happen and want to thank everyone who supports us and our mission!

GHS is honored to continue serving the humanitarian aid industry with our aviation support services.

OUR FIRST LANDING – WE ARE READY TO HELP 24/7!

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We are delighted to announce the first arrival and landing of our Bell 412EP, D-HEPP, at our new premises in Kirchanschöring. This is the start of something big for GHS.

The aircraft is mission ready shortly and can then be mobilised immediately for any urgent assistance and for COVID-19 support in particular.

GHS is ready to help 24/7. Give us a call!!!

+49 8685 37799-33

emergency@g-h-service.com.

Global Helicopter Service GmbH Latest Statement Concerning COVID-19

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The world is experiencing an unprecedented crisis which is impacting on everyone in all forms of life. GHS has a duty to protect the health and safety of all of our staff and we continue to monitor the daily updates and information about the global COVID-19 outbreak. In light of this GHS have taken extraordinary measures to ensure we protect our employees while safeguarding our ability to continue to provide important aviation services to all of our clients who provide humanitarian assistance to millions of people in one of the most vulnerable regions in Africa.

We have established a COVID-19 working group that have identified areas that we consider critical to our ability to provide services. This working group monitors day to day events and makes recommendations and changes to the preparedness plan that has been implemented to counter the effect of the pandemic on our business.

GHS foremost goal is to:

  • Remain fully operational with limited effect on our ability to provide emergency services to our clients. 
  • Continue to respond to all requests, enquiries, and tenders as usual.
  • To protect the health of all our staff and clients personal we deal with and to work as a focussed, dedicated team to overcome the impact and spread of COVID-19.

We understand the enormous impact and critical nature of the situation however we remain committed to providing the safe and superior service our customers have come to expect of our company. GHS have taken the following protective measures following the guidance of the WHO and the Robert-Koch Institute in Germany:

  • All crews carry out a personal risk assessment before going into mission and undergo self-isolation before commencing a tour of duty.
  • Enforced increased hygiene measures in the office, at home and in the mission location.
  • Encouraging all staff to change their lifestyle and behavioral conduct and carry out the following;
    • Wash your hands frequently
    • Maintain Social Distancing
    • Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
    • Immediately seek medical attention in the event you develop a fever, cough and have difficulty breathing.
  • GHS have implemented a “work from home” office concept where this is possible with GHS ensuring everyone has telephonic and internet connectivity.

GHS appreciates that this situation remains very dynamic and continues to evolve and we will continue to provide updates to the preparedness plan and do everything we can to manage and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the safety of our employees and our clients in mind.

GHS is a disciplined, strong team that will work together and act decisively to overcome these difficult and challenging times.

We have moved!

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