This exciting day began with Chapter President, Ms. Deborah Baugh, welcoming the dozen or so girls to the Lebanon Municipal Airport (M54) and a brief slideshow of “Careers in Aviation”. The girls were treated to individual presentations from Music City Chapter Women in Aviation Members discussing 
their own educational and professional experiences. The Music City Chapter is comprised of pilots, aircraft mechanics, engineers and women that participate in various airport management roles.
Helicopter Foundation International
Helicopter Foundation International (HFI) is a tax-exempt charitable organization that preserves and promotes the rich heritage of vertical aviation, while supporting the next generation of pilots and technicians. HFI’s sister organization is Helicopter Association International (HAI), the trade association for the vertical aviation industry. As the leading voice of the international helicopter community, HAI advocates on behalf of its 4,300 members on legislative and regulatory issues. HAI also provides resources to help members run their businesses economically, efficiently, and safely, while annually hosting the world’s largest trade show devoted to vertical aviation, HAI HELI-EXPO®.
HFI fields programs in each of its three mission: Education, Safety, and Training.
Educating the next generation of pilots and maintenance technicians is a central part of HFI’s mission. Whether that means helping individual students fund their aviation studies or educating the public about the rewards of aviation careers, HFI is committed to educating the next generation of helicopter industry professionals.
HFI annually offers up to 19 scholarships for aviation students. In addition to scholarships, the Career Roundtable annual event offers students and others interested in rotorcraft careers the chance to speak with experienced industry professionals.
Students interested in an aviation maintenance career can learn the facts about aviation maintenance, including the A&P schools where they can begin a career. The HFI Next-Gen Maintenance Initiative aims to make more students aware of the opportunities in helicopter maintenance helping students achieve their goals of working as a helicopter maintenance technician.
Safety is a core value for HFI, which has two programs aimed at reducing accidents, incidents, and injuries in the helicopter industry. The HFI Land & LIVE program promotes one of the most valuable safety tools available to pilots – the precautionary landing. The HFI Rotor Safety Challenge is an education series that provides industry professionals with the tools they need to improve hazard and risk assessment and improve their safety culture.
HFI also has a strong interest in historic preservation. HFI is committed to capturing and preserving the history of both the machines and the men and women who started an international industry that is still going strong today.
A few of the historic preservation initiatives include: The Trailblazers series, HFI's print interviews with helicopter industry pioneers presenting a compelling look at how these visionaries saw the potential of this new industrial tool; the Heritage of Helicopters exhibit, held each year at HAI HELI-EXPO, HFI displays rare vintage vertical-flight aircraft; and the Virtual Museum, one of HFI’s newest initiatives, cataloging decades’ worth of models, manuals, magazines, documents, and photographs. These digitized will allow students, historians, and researchers access to these important primary historical sources about the helicopter industry.
You will hear more about HFI from President, Matt Zuccaro, during the NCASE annual meeting on January 10th.
