Coptersafety appoints new full-time flight instructor

Coptersafety has announced a new appointment of a full-time flightinstructor, Gerardo Donatelli, to support its mission in helping operators toenhance safety in their operations.

Gerardo brings with him 27 years of professional aviationexperience. After joining the Air Force Academy in 1992, he served the militaryfor 16 years. So, in 2008, when he took a leap of faith and entered the civilhelicopter operations, he moved on to SAR operations. From there on out,between 2008 and 2015 he was able to gain experience in the SAR, HEMS andoffshore operations around the globe as he worked for companies such as; WestarAviation, Abu Dhabi Aviation, etc. During Gerardo's military career, he alsoworked as a Safety Officer and Operation Manager.

“In 2015 I started as a freelance instructor atCoptersafety. Soon after that, in 2016, I also found another job flyingoffshore and also training on the AW139 again,” tells Gerardo. “Not long afterI had started, I was the only TRI/TRE on the line at the time. Training thepilots was one of the most completing experiences of my flying career. When Iwas preparing the pilots, who were doing their initial training in the realAW139 helicopters, I was able to apply and teach things I had already beenteaching in the simulator at Coptersafety. This duality between Sim and realHelicopter really brings up the level of teaching,” said Gerardo.

“Due to my long career as a pilot and instructor, I havegained much know-how and experience I now want to share,” states Gerardo, whosemotto is “if you have any doubts or questions, even the smallest, speak up.”