A very long time ago in 1984 with my first RC scale helicopter and one of the helicopters that started my career in Helicopter Aviation

I have been ask by a few members about my background in both full size helicopters and models. I started flying RC helicopters in 1980 and built my first of many scale models in 1984. I started taking lessons to get my Private Pilots license in 1983 and six months later I passed my check ride. Next step was a Commercial Pilots license. A good friend and I purchased a Hughes 300C and leased it back to the local Sheriff’s Dept where I was a Deputy Sheriff and I continued to build time. I had my first engine failure in that little 300 over the city of Knoxville, TN. I took a few small limbs out of a tree to reach the only front yard in sight but we made it with no damage. After inspection of the helicopter the damage explaind the severe vibration I felt at 1000 feet just before rolling the throttle off which caused the engine to immediately cease to run (the engine had thrown a complete piston somewhere over Knoxville). The ride down was rather exciting but very short.

In 1985 I started my first Commercial job flying an old Bell 47G3-B1 giving sightseeing rides around the Great Smoky Mountains. I had my second engine failure in that forgiving old helicopter along with a couple of ladies from California on a $10 ride around Pigeon Forge, TN ( bet they still talk about that ride, lol). In 1986 I was sent out to Bell Helicopters in Texas for a 206L (Long Ranger) transition. I flew those sightseeing rides around the mountains for many years. In 1998 the FAA prohibited all heliports and off heliport landings within nine miles of the Smoky Mountains Nationl Park ending the helicopter sightseeing business in Pigeon Forge, TN.

It was at that time I gave up sightseeing and headed to Atlanta, GA to fly an ENG (electronic news gathering ) equipped Bell 206. The helicopter was so heavy with myself, a reporter shooting live TV from the co-pilot’s seat and a cameraman with a camera console in the back, I was never able to top it off with fuel. It was a VERY exciting job as everytime we took off we were responding to something newsworthy. With the family in Tennessee and me only getting to come home one day a week wasn’t working out and after a few months I headed to the Gulf of Mexico to fly offshore for the pertoleum industry where I retired in 2010. I had the oppertunity to fly many different helicopters in my career.

Some of my highlights were getting checked out in a surplus UH-1B and civilian Bell 205 in 1986 for a short time flying in the movie King Kong Lives, then it was back to my real job. Dressing up in a Santa suit one Christmas and spent all day flying kids around in the helicopter, it was great. I transfered Bell 407’s back and forth from Palestine, TX to Tennessee during the Space Shuttle Columbia recovery. I picked up a Aerospatiale SA 315B Lama in Fort Collins, Colorado and flew it to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for search and recovery after Hurricane Katrina. I was contracted out on a FEMA contract from my offshore company. I had my third and last engine failure over Sabine, Texas in 2009 and then hung up the wings in 2010. When I retired Sandy flew down to meet me and the company owner let her fly offshore with me about one hundred miles to a drill rig, a day we will not forget.

BUT, the biggest and most unforgettable flight was when I had the extreme pleasure of taking my friend Rick Hayes and his lovely wife Leslie in a Long Ranger and we hovered over Rainbow Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains while they said their wedding vows getting married. Some of you may know Rick, he is an accomplished 3D pilot and a member of Team Horizon. We have continued to be great friends since that flight.