Meet a otor
Pro RPMN: What is your current position?
I’m the owner and operator of Helicopter Air Specialty Service, owner and operator of AMP/HASS LLC (a Robinson Service Center), owner and operator of the Maple Grove Heliport (E66), and manager of the Maple Grove Airport (65G) at Fowlerville, Michigan.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight.
I had a chain of 126 retail stores and needed to get to one of them fast. I hired a pilot to get me there and he turned out to be a CFI. He let me fly! Most expensive flight I ever took. It was a thrill. Five lessons later, I was buying my first helicopter: a Robinson R22. I had no license but I owned a helicopter, which forced me to get my license. Failure was not an option.
RPMN: How did you get your start in helicopters?
It was a very efficient way to get from store to store. It was a lot of fun too! If one has to work, then one should always do something that is fun and that one is passionate about. That way, one will never work a day in their life. As I was flying from store to store, I would take my CFI’s students with me to show them how to plan and execute a cross-country flight. I found out that I really liked teaching.
RPMN: When or how did you choose to fly helicopters, or did they choose you?
I think the helicopter chose me. Not only was it efficient, but it was a lot of fun and challenging. I am the type of person that must always be challenged and must be continually learning. The day I stop learning is the day I’ll retire. I have attended the Robinson safety class every two years since the late ‘80s when
12 Sept/Oct 2020 Dennis Bowdoin
Frank Robinson used to teach the whole class, and never has there been a time I haven’t learned something. I hear CFIs out there who say they have to attend, and I look at it as I get to attend.
RPMN: Where did you get your start flying commercially?
I started using my helicopter for my chain of retail stores at first, then got my CFI and have concentrated my commercial flying to mainly training. I enjoy teaching and I feel that if one takes one aspect and becomes knowledgeable and professional about it, both the pilot and the public benefit.
RPMN: If you were not in the helicopter industry, what else would you see yourself doing?
I would probably still be piloting,,,but a tour submarine in the South Pacific. (LOL)
RPMN: What do you enjoy doing on your days off?
I don’t really have any days off. I’m busy seven days a week maintaining the heliport/airport, being the Michigan Helicopter Association safety officer, being on the Michigan Aeronautics Commission General Aviation Committee, being on the FAA Safety Team, and I’m on the county planning commission. My idea of a vacation is to go get my CFI renewed with Tim Tucker out at the Robinson Factory every two years.
RPMN: What is your greatest career accomplishment to date?
In 1994, Western Michigan University College of Aviation hired me to write and run its new helicopter program. I did that for nine years. During that time I had four very dedicated students who
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