The next step for Black Hills Aerial Adventures is expansion into some of those areas themselves. Dakota Rotors holds the Part 135 certificate that eventually Schlaefli and Wells would like to encompass all of their operations. In addition to BHAA, they own a few other small tour operations like Badlands Helicopters in western South Dakota and Yellowstone Helicopters that flies out of Bozeman and West Yellowstone in Montana, as well as Jackson, Wyoming. They also operate a wide variety of aircraft, from leased R44s, R66s and Bell 206s to classic Bell 47s. It’s time to put that model behind them and focus on the airframes that are most suitable for their operations as they bring everything under one umbrella. Consolidation of brands and diversification of operations will provide additional opportunity for pilots who are looking to gain Part 135 experience or even limited HAA experience. Retention of pilots will also reduce training expenses every season, a major hurdle for the high-turnover tour industry. That reduction in training cost by providing ongoing opportunity will mean stability for BHAA and, as Wells envisions, increased pay for pilots. So the future looks promising for the business as well as for the pilots moving through the ranks at BHAA.


52 Mar/Apr 2023


No helicopter business operates without challenges. One of those challenges facing BHAA stems from the National Park Air Tour Management Act of 2000. It directed the Federal Aviation Administration and National Park Service to create Air Tour Management Plans (ATMPs) for each national park to manage commercial air tours; it was amended in 2012 to instead allow voluntary agreements with air tour companies. BHAA and Badlands Helicopters have been operating under voluntary agreements, but now the feds are working on ATMPs for Mount Rushmore and the Badlands that are more complex and invite public comments.


Some people and organizations want the FAA and NPS to reduce air tour hours and locations in the ATMPs. Tour operators say smaller tour areas could present safety concerns, however, and they don’t feel like industry experts have been involved enough in the ATMP process. “In fact, I am not anti-ATMP. I think they are necessary. What I am against is the way that the NPS is going about it,” Schlaefli says. “There is a process that works for everybody, and the park service has chosen to go down a different road.”


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