Moving On

Leaving Jetcopters by my own choice was not an easy one.  I think most working people can tell when it's time to "move on", when things don't look too good down the road.  This was a great company that had great ownership, but like all growing companies, their will always be a few hiccups along the way.  The McKerrnan family were great people and in the short time they had been in business, they created what many considered at the time, the best and biggest helicopter operation in the western part of the United States.  Again, I give credit to Jim Deeth, who gave up a career of many many years of service with the California Highway Patrol.  His ideas and vision, along with the McKerrnan's resources, made this all happen.  Anybody who flew helicopters, including myself, wanted to be a part of this company.  In the two years I worked for them, I can say this was one of the best jobs I have had.

My decision to go back on board with Helitac was an easy one.  I had worked for Mike Dresman before and I knew I would like being a part of that operation again.  I also knew  that I did not plan for a long time stay with them.  When I came back, I took the position of Chief Pilot and most of the work they were doing was pretty much the same as before.

While there are a lot of helicopters in the greater Los Angeles and Orange county areas, it is not always possible to leave one flying job and get another.  In my case, I was lucky again. The timing was right and having been with Helitac before certainly helped.  It was good to be back with friends.

In this post I won't go in to great detail about my time spent at Helitac.  This time around, I was only back with them less than six months.

I had kept in contact with Jim Deeth over at Cine Exec in Burbank, CA, and then luck struck again.  Jim decided to put a satellite operation in Long Beach, CA and offered me a position with Cine Exec.  Naturally, I jumped at the chance.  No more long commutes to downtown Los Angeles via the crowed freeways.  I was back close to home, less than six miles.  Jim has formed a great company with a great group of pilots and other staff people. So, this was a better situation for both Jim and myself.  What goes around, comes around!  I'm back in Long Beach for at least the fifth time.
More in the next post. . . . . .