Posts Tagged ‘Arizona’

Arizona Helicopter School Performs Search and Rescue

Friday, January 13th, 2012

Guidance Aviation Instructor Pilots Shannon Bowman (PIC) and Ben Lewis (Spotter) took off at approximately 0900 on Thursday, January 12, 2011 to search for a man who was low on fuel and lost while driving through mountainous terrain.  Heading south just west of Black Canyon City to the GPS coordinates that were provided to the Guidance Pilots by YCSO, the Guidance crew made contact with Sheriff Tom Frank (Frank51) and quickly located the jeep and driver.  The Guidance crew then began searching for a trail that the jeep could use to exit the area.

Arizona helicopter school search and rescue pilot

Shannon Bowman piloting the Guidance R44 in Search and Rescue

A trail for the jeep was quickly found by the Guidance helicopter crew and the jeep began to exit.  As the jeep did so, a driver and passenger of another vehicle with a flat tire were founding walking and the jeep was able to give those people a ride out of the mountainous terrain (a two for one!).

After about an hour on site, the Guidance crew departed from the scene.  As they did so, they viewed Frank51 making contact with the jeep and occupants, assisting them the rest of the way down the mountain.

Click here to learn more about Guidance Aviation.

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Posted in GI Bill and Flight Training, helicopter training | No Comments »

Yavapai College / Guidance Helicopter Students Get Turbine Transition Course

Monday, November 21st, 2011
Guidance Aviation Helicopter Training Arizona

Guidance Aviation Helicopter Training Arizona

On November 17, the new R66 Turbine (Jet) Helicopter program kicks off at Guidance Aviation, Prescott Municipal airport. The start of this program is being celebrated by Guidance Aviation staff, faculty and helicopter flight students in the Yavapai College – Guidance Aviation Professional Pilot Program – Helicopters.

John Stonecipher, CEO, Guidance Aviation states, “This is an important milestone not only for Yavapai College and Guidance Aviation, but also for Prescott and the State of Arizona. This Turbine Transition Program at Guidance Aviation is the very first turbine helicopter dedicated to a collegiate program in the state of Arizona.

Additionally, this jet powered helicopter is the type of aircraft that most students will be flying in industry once they graduate and begin their careers.  The R66  helicopter’s Rolls Royce turbine power plant provides increased reserved power and improved altitude performance.

Yavapai College and Guidance Aviation are very proud to share this development with the community.”

Guidance Aviation is the first FAA Part 141 High Altitude Helicopter flight training facility in the U.S., specializing in helicopter and airplane flight training.  The Yavapai College Professional Pilot Program, Helicopters, is VA Approved, Chapter 33 benefits for veteran helicopter flight training.

Learn more about Guidance Aviation Helicopter Training

Media Contact:
G Roginson
Guidance Aviation Marketing / PR
6565 Crystal Lane
Prescott, AZ. 86305
Tel: 928-443-9370
Email:  guidancepr@gmail.com
Website: www.guidance.aero

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Posted in School Updates, Turbine transition training, helicopter jet transition training, helicopter training | No Comments »

Guidance Helicopters Crew Finds Missing Man in AZ

Thursday, July 21st, 2011
By Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, Scott Mascher – Sheriff, Dwight D’Evelyn Media Coordinator,(Pictures by Guidance Aviation)
Guidance Helicopters R44

A Guidance Helicopter Robinson R44 hovers over an Arizona landscape

On Monday, July 11, 2011, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office was notified by a man in Tonopah, AZ, that he had just received a distressed phone text from his friend. The caller identified his friend as Gary Smith, 62, from Phoenix. The text received this past Saturday night read, “If you get this, it’s important you call Yavapai Search and Rescue. I’m stranded on Rd 14A about 8 miles from RD 269.” No other communication from Smith was received since Saturday. According to friends and family, Smith was delivering flowers in the Cave Creek area on Saturday morning shortly before he phoned a friend and said he was going to be late for his next appointment because he was lost on a dirt road. Smith’s friend initially phoned the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to report him missing based on the initial call.

MCSO crews could not locate Smith. YCSO gathered information from Smith’s cell phone carrier which placed Smith’s phone in an area 17 miles northwest of a cell tower in Strawberry, AZ. Smith was last seen driving a tan Ford Explorer. Smith requires a cane to walk.

When YCSO received the report on Monday, it had already been two days since the disappearance of Smith. The YCSO Forest Patrol supervisor immediately organized a Search and Rescue effort utilizing the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Response Team (YCSRT), Yavapai County Jeep Posse, Yavapai County Air Group, and a helicopter provided by Guidance Air, to focus on Forest Road 14A off of Forest Road 269. This is in the Bloody Basin area and the search effort was based on the text information initially provided to Smith’s friend. After extensive search operations, it became apparent that Smith was not in the location he had described.

Refocusing on the cell phone tracking information, SAR personnel were directed to search roads within a 17 mile radius of the cell tower in Strawberry. Utilizing four wheel drive vehicles, quads, and a Guidance helicopter, teams began saturating forest roads north of the Bloody
Basin and approximately 40 miles northeast of the previous search area. During the second operational period, SAR teams worked all night with four wheel drive vehicles and quads.

On the morning of July 12, 2011, at approximately 11:19 AM, a Guidance Helicopter crew, acting as YCSO volunteers, spotted Smith’s vehicle off of Forest Road 16A and was able to set down and hike over to the vehicle. Smith was found “barely alive” according to the pilots. An EMS Helicopter from Native Air was immediately launched and was able to get Smith within 20 minutes as DPS Ranger had an extended arrival time. Smith was treated on scene and transported to John C. Lincoln North Mountain hospital where he was reunited with family. Smith remains in ICU as of this morning. Further details as to his condition were not available. Deputies are attempting to determine factors related to Smith’s travel, timeline, and what may have caused him to lose his way.

Deputies believe Smith mistyped his location, road 14A instead of 16A, in the text to his friend.  Fortunately, his cell phone GPS functioned properly and provided our SAR teams with coordinates and a search radius.

YCSO would like to thank the involvement of Guidance Helicopters who provided a critical lifesaving link to Smith. The Robinson R44 helicopter used in this search effort is the same model donated to YCSO and currently being refurbished for use in future YCSO search and rescue efforts.

A clarification from SAR personnel – Smith was found about 2 miles from where his vehicle was located by the helicopter. He was resting underneath an umbrella when located and very dehydrated. He apparently thought at the time, Phoenix was “right around the corner.” Smith remains in ICU in stable condition. Nearly 80 volunteers were involved in this search effort and we are very pleased Smith is expected to recover. dd

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Posted in Learn to Fly, School Updates, helicopter training | No Comments »

Arizona Flight Training – Five Reasons to Train in the Grand Canyon State

Saturday, January 8th, 2011
Cessna 172 over runway

Photo courtesy of Brandon Farris, copyright 2011, http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahawks7757/

Arizona’s diverse geography and exceptional weather do their parts to create a perfect location for flight training, but there is so much more.

Considering traveling to complete your flight training? Maybe you should head to Arizona. Perhaps your home isn’t located in a good area for flight training or the nearest flight school is 300 miles away, traveling to Arizona for flight training can save you time and money.

What makes Arizona so ideal for learning to fly? In the third of a series of articles, we cover flight training in Arizona. With almost 80 airports, including one of the busiest general aviation airports in the nation, Arizona is home to more flight schools than you can count. Arizona is home to a network of airports that create a perfect flight training environment. Additionally, the highly-varied geography in Arizona allows for some of the best training opportunities including desert operations and high-altitude airport operations.

If that’s not enough, Arizona’s proximity to Mexico and the Grand Canyon create some interesting extra-curricular flying destinations. You can learn to work international flights and have some nice down time by slipping down to one of Mexico’s resort towns. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a paying job to exercise your new commercial pilot certificate, there are hundreds of tourists lining up everyday for a scenic, aerial tour of the Grand Canyon.

Interested in learning more about flight training in Arizona? Read Flight Training in Arizona – Five Reasons to Train in the Grand Canyon State.

For more information on flight training and choosing the right school, check out our Flight Training Resource Center or find flight schools in Arizona.

This article was written by Matthew Everett, a private pilot, aviation writer, and frequent contributor to AviationSchoolsOnline.com. You can follow him on twitter @leaving_tf or find his blog at http://leavingterrafirma.com.

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Posted in Finding a Flight School, Flight Training Info | 1 Comment »

Flight school fees: a growing trend?

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
By Matthew Everett

On Thursday the 24th of August, the Arizona State Board for Private and Postsecondary Education met to discuss the regulation of flight instruction in Arizona. Many instructors and advocacy groups feared that this would create a host of new fees and regulatory hurdles. With the number of flight training providers located in Arizona, this had the potential to be very problematic. The announcement was of particular concern to the National Association of Flight Instructors.

“We are concerned that Arizona may be considering similar fees (to California),” says NAFI Executive Director Jason Blair. “As a state that has a significant number of flight-training providers, we’re concerned about the chilling effect those fees may have on those businesses. We’re encouraging our members in that state to get involved in this issue, so we don’t have a repeat of the California situation.”

According to further reports however, the state board unanimously voted to reject the proposal to consider Part 61 flight schools as “vocational schools.” This is likely very good news to many, but does this indicate a growing trend? Should advocacy groups and instructors be concerned that other states may pass regulations similar to California?

The California law, which recently took effect, has remained fairly unpopular. According to the California lawmakers, the law is intended to protect students. While that may be true enough, the new law does have noticeable adverse effects on flight training operators, including new registration fees and very strict financial regulation. The fear is that such laws will only drive up training costs and force smaller schools out of business.

These fees are an important issue that advocacy groups should continue to discuss. There are some important questions that need to be answered, because regardless of how unpopular the new California law may be, it looks like the issue is spreading.

What’s your opinion, do the benefits outweigh the costs? Is there a better way to protect students?

View a complete list of Arizona flight schools

Sources:
http://www.avweb.com/avwebbiz/news/
Arizona_Flight_School_Fees_203180-1.html
http://www.generalaviationnews.com/?p=28137
http://www.eaa.org/news/2010/2010-08-26_nafi.asp
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/
Arizona_Rejects_Flight_School_Fees_203198-1.html

Matthew Everett is a private pilot, aviation writer, and frequent contributor to AviationSchoolsOnline.com. You can follow him on twitter @leaving_tf or find his blog at http://leavingterrafirma.com.

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Posted in Flight Training Info, School Updates | No Comments »

New Ruling Keeps Mesa, ASU Program Airworthy

Monday, August 23rd, 2010
By Matthew Everett
A recent ruling in bankruptcy court aims to keep future pilots in the air. According to the deal, Mesa Air Group, Inc. will continue teaching students enrolled in the Arizona State Unversity’s Airline Bridge Training Program. The program is designed to provide students with a bachelor’s degree and all pilot qualifications required for entry as a Mesa first officer.
Mesa, based in Phoenix, is a regional airline operating connector flights for US Airways and United Airlines. Early this year they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Under the deal Mesa will operate the program for another year, until August 15 2011, and that they will pay $22,885 owed to Arizona State University.

The training is performed at a joint ASU Mesa facility at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Upon completion, trainees with the required qualifications are granted a preferential interview for a position as a first officer at Mesa.

Under a separate agreement, Mesa will extend another program with a private college in Machida, Japan whose students also enroll at Arizona State.

For more information see:
http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2010/08/19/mesa-pilot-training-course-cleared-for-takeoff/

View a complete list of Arizona flight schools

Matthew Everett is a private pilot, aviation writer, and frequent contributor to AviationSchoolsOnline.com. You can follow him on twitter @leaving_tf or find his blog at http://leavingterrafirma.com.

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Posted in Airline News, Flight Training Info, School Updates | No Comments »