BRIAN JENSEN

Brian Jensen graduated from Bristow Academy in 1998. He now flies for Classic Helicopters in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"Classic Helicopters is a utility company. We do a lot of external load work, heli-skiing, powerline construction/patrol, movie/television work, radio/cellphone site construction and support. We also have a stand-alone EMS Operation located in Page, Arizona. Our primary work in the summer is fire fighting. Almost the entire fleet is used for firework. (5 L-3 LongRangers, 2 L-4 LongRangers, 1 B-2 A-star, 1 B-3 A-star, 1 407, 1 212, and 1 K-Max). I've had the opportunity to do some pretty interesting jobs recently from cruise missile tests, to participating in the recovery of the Columbia Space Shuttle. Being a helicopter pilot is one of the best jobs you could have."

PETE GOOKIN

Pete Gookin graduated from Bristow Academy in 1996. He now works for San Joaquin Helicopters in California.

"The type of flying I do is called "Utility" flying. The attraction for me is the variety of different work I get to do. My favorites are firefighting and construction lift work. Since I started working for San Joaquin Helicopters in December of 1999 as a flight instructor in a Bell 47 I have done quite a variety of missions. These include, Part 135 charter, photo, film, powerline patrol, dropping flowers on a parade, sightseeing, law enforcement recognizance, using the helicopter as an airborne platform for a laser spectrometer to identify minerals in the ground, among many others. As you can see it is very interesting.

As for my favorites, the fire fighting is the most fun. The people I work with, both pilots and fire service people, are great to work with. I get to see some of the most beautiful country in the U.S. On a fire I get to drop water, transport firefighters, recognizance, and perform long line resupply missions. Sometimes all in the same day, it's never boring. Last year I flew a UH1B Huey to Mexico and fought fires down there for a month. That was quite an adventure. The trip down and back was quite a sightseeing trip, but the work was very different from fighting fires in the States.

Construction lift work is very challenging and thus very rewarding. I've placed air conditioners and other building material on downtown buildings where you have to work closely with the FAA weeks in advance to secure permission to do the job. I've placed concrete blocks on bridge towers where the roadway is shut down so speed is important but safety is the biggest concern because you always have people working directly under you to place the load.

The work I do now is exactly the work I had hoped to do when I started flying helicopters."

Based in Delano, California, in the San Joaquin Valley, San Joaquin Helicopters offers a variety of services. From precision external load operations of 4,000lbs, to fire fighting, to assisting the movie industry San Joaquin Helicopters operates a fleet of aircraft including UH-1, Bell 212, 206, 206L, and Soloy Hiller Helicopters.

JEFF COOK

Jeff Cook graduated from Helicopters Adventures in 1999. He now flies for Central Helicopters in Bozeman, Montana.
Jeff Cook

"My job includes a huge variety of tasks from power line patrol, to fighting fires in the summer, to darting animals for the Fish and Game Commission. One of the pictures shown here is putting up radio repeaters at 9600 feet. Other jobs include photo flights, slinging ski lift towers, and occasionally search and rescue and law enforcement.

The idea of going to work and not knowing what could happen is a big reason I love this type of work. Most of the flying is done in some of the m