PROFILE
OMNIFLIGHT HELICOPTERS Freeman went back home to Janesville for a wedding in late 1984. When he got to his parents’ house, his mom said, “Some helicopter place has been calling us looking for you.” That “helicopter place” was Omnifl ight Helicopters based at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport. “I immediately drove out to Omnifl ight,” says Freeman. “I was the third avionics tech hired at the company. I didn’t know a thing about helicopters or avionics, but helping to build and support Omnifl ight’s fl eet put my career on a fast track for sure.” The Janesville facility for
Omnifl ight did all pilot training, heavy maintenance, overhaul, custom completions, avionics, paint and structural repair for its fl eet and many third-party customers. Freeman started working at the company in late 1984 and quickly became a lead and then an inspector. He also fi nished up his commercial helicopter rating during that time and obtained his IA.
By 1993, Omnifl ight had a fl eet of
more than 130 aircraft nationwide, and one in Berlin. They were the biggest EMS operator at that time. “Unfortunately, our owner Dan Parker (of Parker Pen) passed away,” Freeman shares. “The company went to his second wife. She elected to move the operating certifi cate to Dallas, TX. The Janesville facility was closed a year later. “I was a senior avionics technician
by that time,” Freeman continues. “I had my A&P/IA and was a commercial fi xed and rotor wing pilot. I hadn’t made up my mind on what I wanted to do. I thought I would either go overseas or to Alaska. Then one of the VPs at Omnifl ight off ered me a spare BK117 to fl y around the country in a support role. I took the job, and at 33 years old, I got a spare helicopter, and with my tools I crisscrossed the country.
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I worked out of my house and generally stopped home to pay my bills and do laundry. I helped out in Dallas a lot, including a lot of special projects like the 94 Woodstock in Saugerties NY and the 96 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. My pager never quit going off and would generally vibrate across my night stand at night. Road trips would vary from one or two days to 30 or 40 days. By the end of the fi rst year, I was bouncing between fl ying several BK117 backups and a Bell 222.” Freeman was helping with scheduled and unscheduled maintenance at the hospitals. Back then, Omnifl ight only had one mechanic onsite at each location. Freeman would show up with a spare helicopter. If it was an AOG, it would take the pressure off the customer and the mechanic — Freeman would be the second mechanic, and the hospital would use the spare helicopter to continue operations. “That worked out very well except that I was never home.” Circa 1994, Freeman continued to try to convince JoAnn Parker to open
a satellite facility in Janesville for OHI fl eet support. She told him to write a business plan and she would think about it. He joined the small business development center at the UW-Whitewater and started Wire Specialties Inc. in his basement while writing the business plan. Eventually, Freeman got burned
out from traveling all over the country. The satellite facility and a possible promotion to regional manager looked foregone. In late 1998, he took a job at Woodward Governor in Rockford, IL. He was a lab technician for the CF34-8C fuel control, which ended up on the Bombardier Regional Jet. He stayed until certifi cation and learned a lot about manufacturing. At the same time, he continued to
support his mechanic friends in the fi eld by phone. Additionally, Freeman started doing local contract mechanic relief work for Pittsburgh, PA-based Corporate Jets. The company had all the local Hospital contracts like UW-Madison and Flight for Life in Milwaukee. “I was doing vacation
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