MAUNA LOA
HELICOPTER
PILOT SCHOOLS

Mauna Loa Helicopter News and Notes

 

April 2008

Elementary school kids in the small town of Koloa on Kauai got an up close and personal look at a helicopter when staff from our Lihue base arrived in an R-22 for Career Day.  Instructors Barrett Daladig and Aaron ‘Aho Sai Mauck told the students about careers in aviation in general and in the helicopter industry in specific.  Click here to see the full article as it appeared in Kauai’s Garden Island newspaper.

Mauna Loa Instructor Barrett Daladig tells Koloa Elementary School students about the workings of the Robinson R-22.

Congratulations to the following successful students who earned ratings in April:

STUDENT	Rating:
Lee Grayson	Instrument
Kalei Gregory	Commercial & CFI
Kyle Boudreau	CFI-I
Brandon Sturm	CFI
Hannah McGavock	CFI
Joshua Stamm	Private
Michael Driscole	Private
Paul Cheesley	Commercial
Adam Finn	Instrument
Dustin Huff	Private
Grant Phillips	Instrument
Karl Schmidt	Private
Frank Von Arx	Private
Todd Green	CFI & CFI-I
Trevor Winnop	Private

 

March 2008

We’re happy to report that Mike Klink, former CFI at our Honolulu base, has been hired by Alex Air to fly tours on Maui. Mike will be flying an MD-500 initially and then transitioning to an A-Star. Congratulations are in order as well for Kurt Hessler, also one of our Honolulu CFIs, who was picked up by Gulf Helicopters in Qatar. Kurt will be flying Bell 412s.

Congratulations to the following successful students:

STUDENT	Rating:
Michale Lent	CFI
Ian Morrison	Private
Tim Boyer	Private
Paul Cheesley	Commercial
Kalani Hillstrom	CFI
Charles Jahns	CFI and ATP

 

February 2008

Nice to see that our Kauai tour operation is getting off to a good start: Kauai base manager Jennifer Goo tells us that February set a record with more than 30 tours flown for the month. The Garden Island certainly merits the aerial attention. Jennifer also reports that our Kauai instructors were on hand for a career day at Kapaa High School where the Mauna Loa booth proved very popular.

In Honolulu, we were happy to welcome back CFI Kurt Hessler from his African adventure. Kurt spent a short time on the Ivory Coast checking out a job flying Dauphins but elected to return to his alma mater in the position of assistant chief flight instructor.

And former MLH instructor Shelley Sailer emails us from Aniak, Alaska, where she’s now working as an R-44 pilot: “It’s cold and snowy here, as anticipated. I flew in -22C temps the other day and it was intense. Each day I am challenged with a new environment and I am thankful for having the opportunity to learn so much…”

Honolulu Fire Fighters check out one of Mauna Loa Helicopters' R-22s. The purpose of the visit was to give them a better idea on how to approach the aircraft in the event of an emergency.

 

Congratulations to the following successful students:

STUDENT	Rating:
Brian Treptow	Instrument
Dillon Dennis	CFI
Ben Frisius	Instrument
Caryll Schwabe	Commercial
Paul Cross	ATP
Stephen Pangle	Private
Isabelle Berges	Commercial
Michael Lent	Commercial
Aaron Oberlander	Instrument, CFI-I
Kalani Hillstrom	CFI
Mark Mahaney	Private
Greg Conaway	Private
Sam Mohring	Commercial
Tracy Jeffress	Private

 

January 2008

It always is a pleasure to hire one of our former students.  This month we are delighted to announce the hiring of Martin Braaen as our newest Instructor.  Martin earned his double-I rating in November and now has a full slate of eager new students to whom he will pass along his knowledge.
Also this month, we launched our new tour website for the island of Kauai.  Check it out at www.maunaloahelicoptertours.com.

Congratulations to the following successful students:

STUDENT	Rating:
Luka Dayton Smith	Private
Chiyoko Mitsuda	Private
Keltie Gadd	Private
Peter Koziol	Private
Peter Loewen	Commercial
Ethan Shiinoki	Commercial
Mark Cook	Commercial
Philippe Berling	CFI-I
Kyle Boudreau	Instrument
Michael Nowak	Private
Yukihisa Nakazawa	Instrument
Caryll Schwabe	Commercial
Matt Young	CFI

 

December 2007

Alex Air, a Part 135 air tour operator on Maui, is the latest company signing on to our instructor placement program.  More companies in Hawaii are seeing the value of hiring instructors from Mauna Loa to fly their air tours because they can count on excellence and continuity in the training program.  The big advantage of a pilot from Mauna Loa is that the instructor already has 1000 flight hours in Hawaii, a strong knowledge of the weather and variable terrain, and helicopter procedures both VFR and IFR within the state.  We congratulate John Fryer, one of our instructors from Kauai, who is starting with Alex Air in mid-January. 

Currently we have graduates flying locally for:
Blue Hawaiian Helicopters (2)
Sunshine Helicopters (2)
Heli USA (5)
Inter-Island Helicopters (1)
Island Helicopters (1)
Mauiscape Helicopters (1)
Paradise Helicopters (1)
Safari Helicopters (1)
Evergreen Helicopters (4)
Pacific Helicopters (2)
Genesis Aviation (1)
Makani Kai Helicopters (1)
Honolulu Fire Department (2)

Congratulations to the following successful students:

STUDENT	Rating:
Mark Johnson	Private
Matt Young	Commercial
Roy Wilkowski	ATP
Adam Finn	Private
Aaron Mauck	CFI-I
Allison Reed	Commercial
Cameron Walker	CFI-I
Tomoyuki Yoshizawa	CFI

 

November 2007

Mauna Loa Helicopters’ Kauai location is now offering aerial tours of the island in an R-44.  The four-seat aircraft is perfect for discriminating travelers wanting a more intimate experience.

Mauna Loa President Ben Fouts, who has piloted many tours himself over the years, says the R-44 offers something different, “Too often an aerial tour in Hawaii becomes a cattle car, stuff as many people as you can in a helicopter, fly them around the island as fast as possible, then drop them off and load the next group.  This to me was a huge turnoff.  I wanted to offer something personalized.”

The R-44 allows Mauna Loa to guarantee a window seat for every passenger, and every tour is a private tour.  If you’re planning a Kauai vacation, we invite you to come fly with us for a personal experience.  Find out more at our new website: www.maunaloahelicoptertours.com

While aerial tours are not Mauna Loa’s primary focus, the venture affords our more seasoned flight instructors invaluable real world experience.

Congratulations to the following successful students:

STUDENT	Rating:
Laurent Barthes	Instrument
Maureen Work	Instrument
Kalei Gregory	Private
Kyle Boudreau	CFI
Aaron Mauck	Instrument
Laurent Barthes	CFI-I
Marie Bordikova	Private
Daniel Douglas	CFI
Paul Cheesley	Private
Brian Schiller	Private
Charles Coltrin	Private
Chris Currier	CFI-I
Kristin Labrecque	ATP
Markus Schueler	Private
Martin Braaen	CFI-I

 

October 2007

The Big Island once again hosted the grueling Ironman Triathlon, a prestigious event for elite athletes, and Mauna Loa Helicopters once again helped bring the video signal to NBC’s viewers.  The school flies an R-22 with a microwave antenna attached to the skid to provide the aerial relay for the far-flung event.  The annual competition draws upwards of 2,000 competitors who race through a 2.4 mile swim, a 110 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run in an incredible test of human endurance. 

With the new army contract in hand, Evergreen helicopters contacted Mauna Loa Helicopters to help provide flight crews for two Bell 412 helicopters that are to be stationed at Wheeler Army Base in Oahu.  Four of the five initial pilots hired for the program were or are Mauna Loa instructors.  Evergreen hired Chad Costa, a former Mauna Loa instructor, to captain a 412, and current Mauna Loa Assistant Chiefs Doug Froning and Noah Haydn Myer along with Senior Instructor Drew Stringer as co-pilots on the 412. 

“This is an incredible opportunity for our guys to build a career flying a medium category helicopter and getting to stay in Hawaii,” said Ben Fouts, president.  The pilots will be trained on Night Vision Goggles, Class D external loads (hoisting a rescue swimmer), and external loads with the Bambi bucket for fighting fires. 

“I am extremely proud of our guys for all they have done for the flight school and now getting selected for one of the most desirable jobs in the Pacific,” said Fouts.  Froning, Hayden Myer and Stringer will continue to help the school on a part time basis as the senior instructors at their respective bases. 

Congratulations to the following successful students:

STUDENT	Rating:
Elsie Coopman	Private
Robert Hill	ATP
Mandye Mastaglio	Commercial
William Davis	Private
Chris Currier	Instrument

 

September 2007

The big news is the completion of an overhaul for one of our instrument trainers, Five Charlie Mike. Now equipped with a Sandel Electronic HSI and a Garmin 430, Mode S transponder with TIS, and a Garmin Audio panel, this aircraft could be the most advanced R22 IFR trainer available. 

“We decided to invest in the electronic HSI and the Garmin 430 to give our students a leg up on learning an advanced IFR package,” said President Ben Fouts.  “I discussed this at length with representatives in the industry and one thing they want to see from aspiring professionals is proficiency with advanced IFR cockpits.  The glass HSI combined with the Garmin 430 provides a great platform for the IFR training environment.”

Congratulations to the following successful students:

STUDENT	Rating:
Otis Howard	Instrument
Kyle Boudreau	Commercial
Aaron Hanson	Private
Ryan Hinkle	Private
Mark Cook	Private
Kalani Hillstrom	Commercial
Dillon Dennis	Commercial
Brian Crenshaw	Commercial
Lee Grayson	CFI
Dan Douglas	CFI
Kurt Hessler	ATP
Mandye Mastaglio	Instrument
Brant Swigart	Private
Grant Phillips	CFI

 

August 2007

Congratulations to the following successful students:

STUDENT	Rating:
Laurent Barthes	Commercial
Cris Iverson	Private
Richard Jones	Instrument
Michael Lent	Private
Joseph Chiocca	Commercial
Grant Phillips	Commercial
Carlos Calleja	Commercial
Joey Nakaya	Commercial
Ethan Shiinoki	Instrument
Alicen Bishop	CFI-I
David Learned	CFI
Trevor Taylor	Instrument
Laurent Barthes	CFI
Hannah McGavock	Instrument

 

July 2007

Congratulations to the following successful students:

STUDENT	Rating:
Shane Williams	CFI
Cameron Walker	CFI
Martin Braaen	CFI
Mandye Mastaglio	Private
John Hedley	Commercial
Todd Green	ATP
Alicen Bishop	Instrument
Shaylan Allmen	Commercial
Aaron Mauck	CFI
Brian Crenshaw	Commercial

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