Things in the Gulf are pretty good. I plan on becoming a PIC in the S76 and living out my career with PHi. The things I learned with Guidance Aviation have surely prepared me for PHi and flying in the commercial world. The biggest skill that I'm thankful I learned is power management. Pulling off of a 25 foot platform thats 100 feet off the water, fully loaded on a hot, humid, summer day in a 206 without over torquing takes skill and a lot of practice. I enjoy what I'm doing and am thankful for where I can from as a pilot!

PHI, Inc. Helicopter Pilot

I guess most of my colleges are afraid of flying at higher altitudes. I've had the A model Dolphin up to 14,000 MSL searching for a missing plane.

Anyone can fly at sea level, in fact most helicopters can be horsed around by any ham fisted pilot at that altitude.

Once you head up hill you separate the pilots from the aviators.

Smooth and methodical beats brute force every time in the mountains.

I contribute my ability to safe mountain flying to learning to fly at Guidance first and Navy Flight School second.

GULFSTREAM 550 PILOT

Although a Gulfstream 550 pilot now, I would never be in this picture if it wasn't for Guidance Helicopters.
-Jakub Singer

A DREAM COME TRUE - AFTER 9 YEARS IN THE ARMY

Flying  helicopters has been a lifelong passion and dream. I like the feeling of being free and flying like an Eagle.  Flight takes a certain courage and camaraderie that only a few have.  I spent nine years and one month in the United States Army, and was trained to work maintenance on army helicopters. Later on I applied for Special Forces and was selected. That was an awesome day and one I'll never forget. I was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 for 4 months in Kuwait, spent 12 months in Operation Iraqi Freedom 11; then deployed to Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom X11 for 12 months, and finally then spent 18 months in South Korea. I started out flying and training for fixed wing...

PILOTS STICK TOGETHER!

When I was 3 weeks old I was air-evacuated to Phoenix Children's Hospital. Unbeknownst to me, this began my love of helicopters.  My first voluntary flight was when I was 6 years old. My grandfather, a former Army National Guard helicopter pilot and aviation safety pioneer, flew me in his bird, N9010F, a Hughes 369F.  As I grew up, I knew it was only a matter of time before I had my wings. I found out about Guidance Helicopters from a friend who was attending there. After touring their facility, and meeting the professional pilots and employees, I knew I had found my school. So, I pursued my life long ambition of becoming a helicopter pilot. The flight instructor pilots and professional staff provided me with a great education;  I always felt...

RECENT GRADUATE

The training I received at Guidance Helicopters was outstanding from beginning to end. The professionalism and concern for students really impressed me right from the start. After looking at several other schools, the high altitude training offered at Guidance convinced me that was where I wanted to start my career.

The Guidance Flight Cost Reduction Program including simulators, on-line programs, and in-class discussion made it easier to grasp the knowledge needed to succeed in class and gave me a good understanding of what I would actually face in flight.

Throughout my 14 months in training, I never once doubted that I made the right choice in going to Guidance.

"Throughout my 14 months in training, I never once doubted that I made the right choice in going to Guidance." ~Cody Cooper

CHARTER / TOUR PILOT FOR NORTHSTAR TREKKING

I am currently flying AS-350-B2's for NorthStar Trekking. I am based out of Juneau, Alaska. I fly people out over the 1600 square mile Juneau Ice Field and land them on glaciers where they go for a guided 1,2 or 3 hour trek, varying in difficulty from a simple walk to ice climbing on Seracs (a glacial feature that is basically an ice wall).

Having learned the skill necessary to fly helicopters at Guidance Helicopters Inc., I was very well prepared for the task of learning to fly a new helicopter in a new environment. GHI provided me with a real world environment that allowed me to quickly adapt to the rigors of a part 135 tour operator. Alaska is an aviation state, and I feel Guidance developed me into a safe, professional pilot that was up to the challenge of flying in Alaska.

"Guidance developed me into a safe, professional pilot that was up to the challenge of flying in Alaska." ~ Cooper Crothers

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

My job is flying for the Grand Canyon National Park. It consists of utility operations, search and rescue, long line, short-haul, fire suppression… I primarily fly an MD 900 twin engine aircraft. I also fly a Bell 407 and Bell 206 Longranger. Guidance was a great place to do flight training. John was pretty easy going with us. We were free to do whatever we wanted: Fly in the mountains all day or go for a cross country and be gone for multiple days at a time. I think I probably have a total of 50 hours in the pattern at Prescott airport. The rest was out flying off airport. Before I started flying, I set my goal do the job I'm doing now. I used everything Guidance had to offer to get there, and the mountain environment really helped with my...

U.S. ARMED FORCES

I'm currently an officer (Lieutenant Junior Grade, LTJG) and pilot for the United States Coast Guard, flying the HH-65C Dolphin from Air Station New Orleans. On average I fly about 300 hours a year on a 1:4 duty rotation. My main mission is inland and maritime Search and Rescue (SAR), but the United States Coast Guard aviation also conducts Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations (AMIO); Airborne Use of Force (AUF) flights; drug interdiction operations; Rotary Wing Air Intercept (RWAI) flights; and Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security (PWCS) patrols.

I completed my Private and Commercial certificates with Guidance Helicopters and had about 200 hours when I left for the Coast Guard. Being a rated pilot played...

OFFSHORE - WORKING IN THE REAL WORLD

"After instructing at Guidance Helicopters, Inc. for almost two years, I began flying the Bell 206L3 for PHI in the Gulf of Mexico. I have flown many different missions using the VFR aircraft - everything from the regular flights out to the oil rigs, NOAA to spot turtles and dolphins, and resupply missions for a land based oil crew surrounded by floodwaters. While my training at Guidance Helicopters, Inc. prepared me for working in the real world, there are still situations that you never envisioned you would be facing. When you are on your own, 200 miles south of the nearest solid land, on one-way fuel, looking through the haze for a boat you have to trust hasn't moved, it takes you back to the nervous feeling of your first...

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES

After leaving Guidance in the fall of 2007, I went to Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters located in Northern Arizona. After one season with Papillon, I acquired an EMS position within the Atlanta, Georgia area. EMS (Emergency Medical Service) is a challenging environment on any stage, but being located in Northern Georgia possesses unique challenges that only Guidance Helicopters could have prepared me for. Most of our EMS calls require frequent flights into mountainous terrain towards the Tennessee border. Once our patients are loaded, we then transport them into the heart of Atlanta Georgia (some of the busiest airspace in the world).

Once downtown, most of our approaches are executed to very tall hospitals with the helipads positioned on...