Each year before the annual Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo show, I try to log some helicopter time. While I’m not (yet) a certified helicopter pilot, I find that getting my hands on the controls is a great way to prepare for the show and gain further insights into these wonderful machines.
Flying a helicopter is nothing like flying an airplane. One major difference: you can put a helicopter right where you want it, within its flight envelope of course. This was demonstrated to me again when I flew on February 23 with Mark Robinson, founder of Revolution Aviation at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif. Mark and his wife, Anna, who as director of operations helps run the back office at Revolution Aviation and is about to begin learning to fly, are part of the up-and-coming breed of young entrepreneurs who are the future of general aviation. While some of us gray-hairs might grumble about how general aviation is shrinking and costs are rising, the Mark and Anna Robinsons of this world are busy launching new companies. Who knew that there was room for another helicopter flight school in Southern California?
Mark learned to fly at HeliStream at John Wayne and worked as a flight instructor there. He has taught the instructor safety course at Robinson Helicopter (there is no relation with the family that owns the manufacturer) and spent a year working for Goodyear and flying the company’s blimp before deciding that he preferred to develop his career in the rotorcraft segment.
The result is a unique flight school with a sharp focus on breaking the mold of the typical general aviation operation. The company’s motto is “eat, sleep, fly,” and this is indeed what Robinson and his students do, both in real life at the airport and in the ether of social media, where many people seem to spend so much time these days.
Part of the reason I wanted to fly with Mark was because he was so persistent. He first called to introduce himself and Robinson Aviation last year, and since then calls almost every month with updates, invitations to the social events held monthly at the Robinson Aviation office adjacent to the airport and, of course, requests that I come visit the school. There was another reason: I wanted another go at the Robinson R22, which I last flew in 2011. At the time, I found it almost impossible to hover. Since then I have logged a handful of hours in a Hughes 269 with my friend and super-talented instructor Pete Gillies, and he helped me learn to hover. I wanted to see if I could tame the R22, which is a much lighter and more responsive helicopter. Also, Frank Robinson, the now-retired founder of the legendary manufacturer, told me back in 2011 that I was “too old” to learn in an R22 and would be better off in the heavier R44.
So I set out to prove Frank wrong and, more important, to have some rotary-wing fun.
I met with Mark in the lobby of Signature Flight Support at John Wayne Airport, and we walked over to one of his two hangars, where he stores the helicopters and also has built small classroom areas for pre- and post-flight briefings. There is a classroom at the off-airport office, which is used for more formal training. The office classroom provides a less distracting environment for the students, Mark explained. When they get to the airport, they want to fly.
Mark took off in the R22 and hover-taxied over to the compass rose in the middle of the airport, a good place to practice hovering. He turned the controls over to me, and after a little over-controlling, caused mainly by my tense hold on the controls, Mark had me hovering the R22. So there, Frank!
I find flying helicopters wonderfully concentrating. It takes most, if not all, of my mental effort to make the helicopter do approximately what I want. And I sure wonder if I can ever get near Mark’s skill level; after one excursion away from the compass rose, Mark quickly turned the helicopter and flew back and planted it right above the rose with admirable precision and grace.
I practiced some more hovering, then took off and flew around the pattern and returned to the rose for a halfway decent arrival. Mark then flew us around the pattern and did an autorotation demo.
Revolution Aviation is not even two years old and already has five R22s, one R44 and a turbine R66 coming in May. The company is working on FAA Part 141 certification, and Mark plans to welcome foreign students once that is achieved.
I got just a brief taste of flying with Revolution Aviation, and I was impressed by Mark and Anna’s enthusiasm and efforts to make aviation a welcoming place for new entrants. It’s all about saying thank you, Mark explained, and making the customers feel appreciated. Add to that tours of the airport tower, taking students on ferry flights, trips to nearby Santa Catalina Island for buffalo burgers and the social nights and Revolution Aviation is, as Mark says, “keeping the energy going.”