Brainerd Helicopters, Inc. was founded in 1973 by Chuck Brainerd, In 1987 Brainerd Helicopters operated S58Ts and began assisting in fire suppression for the USFS (United States Forest Service) and OAS (Department of the Interior Office of Aircraft Services). The company progressed to the S70C in 1995. Brainerd Helicopters was the first commercial company to obtain and operate the Sikorsky Blackhawk and established the company and the aircraft under Firehawk Helicopters. In 1999 Brainerd Helicopters diversified their fleet with the addition of a Eurocpter SA-319 Alouette III. It operated the Alouette III until 2003 and transitioned into Eurcopter AS350 B3s with its class leading and unmatched performance. Currently Firehawk Helicopters operates a fleet of 4 Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawks and 4 Airbus AS-350B3’s.

A 14 CFR Part 133, 135, and 137 Operator specializing in the Utility Industry. My day to day operations consisted of, training/evaluating our pilots, communicating with and marketing to our customers, interfacing with the FAA and other regulators.

I operated Bell 214, Bell UH-1, Bell 407, Bell 206 series, and MD 500s for: Power-line Construction/Maintenance (Customers include; Pacific Gas and Electric, So-Cal Edison, PAR, United Power Contractors, Diversified, Henkels and McCoy, ILB, etc.), Fire Suppression, and Law Enforcement. I also provided training for Bell 214/UH-1 transitions, 135 renewals, and other new pilot transitions.

Provided flight and ground instruction primarily in Schwiezer300 and MD500. Also flew external load operations, tours, photo flights, and agricultural support.