instructor, but she also relies on a team of 50 employees—“the best team in the world,” Nicole says—to keep the whole operation running smoothly.
Her Own Path Te desire to create her own path emerged early in Nicole’s life. As a child growing up in a small town in Michigan, she knew two things: she wanted to be a pilot, and she was intrigued with business, sales, and marketing. “I was the girl selling candy bars out of my locker in seventh grade,” says Nicole. She earned her pilot’s license at 18 and developed her
own undergraduate degree at Eastern Michigan University, combining courses in business, aviation, and communica- tions. Fixed-wing aviation lost a future entrepreneur when Nicole took a helicopter flight while in college and decided to pursue a career in vertical aviation. After college, Nicole packed her belongings in her Honda
Accord and moved to California for some early helicopter training and to work for Sonoma Helicopters. Along with managing the administrative side of the business and assisting with marketing and sales, she helped the small helicopter flight school pursue a Part 135 certificate, a task even seasoned aviation experts find daunting. “Tey had one R44 and two R22s,” recalls Nicole. “Te
owner wanted a Part 135 certificate so they could fly on-de- mand charters to the wineries. I had no experience in that, but I knew I could figure it out.” Nicole deciphered the complex Part 135 application
process by reading, studying, and consulting with friends and connections across the industry, including the Ninety- Nines, the International Organization of Women Pilots. “I learned a lot about regulations and the FAA and how
the infrastructure of a Part 135 certificate was written and built,” Nicole says. “In addition to the administrative side, I looked at the practical aspects of becoming a Part 135 operator, which is huge. How does it get implemented in a company? What privileges do you have as a 135 operator? Tis experience built my confidence that I could do the same thing for myself. When I started Rainbow, the first thing I did was put in an application with the FAA for a 135 certificate.” While at Sonoma Helicopters, Nicole earned the Amelia
Earhart Memorial Scholarship from the Ninety-Nines, giving her the opportunity to complete her commercial helicopter training. With an idea for a business and the freedom to go anywhere for the training, Nicole chose her own path once again—in Hawaii. “I came to Hawaii because it’s so beautiful. I wanted to live in a climate that I could fly in every day. I also wanted
Nicole chose Hawaii as her permanent home in part because she wanted to live in a climate where she could fly every day. (HAI/Andy Stenz)
JUNE 2023 ROTOR 27
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