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The Allure of Aloha

By Guy R Maher

story & photos by Guy R. Maher | July 31, 2014

Published on: July 31, 2014
Estimated reading time 17 minutes, 36 seconds.

For many helicopter pilots, the beauty, culture, and lifestyle unique to the Hawaiian Islands are all the reasons they need to make flight seeing here their career end game.
For most of us, the word Aloha is generally understood as being the Hawaiian term to use when saying either goodbye or hello. But for Hawaiians, it’s far more than that simple definition. Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, peace, compassion, and mercy. Accordingly, the “spirit of Aloha” can mean a way of life — an inner feeling that is so much more than a simple greeting.
I have been blessed to have travelled to many beautiful locations, foreign and domestic, and I’ve been lucky enough to see many of them from the air. But a 10-day visit to Oahu this past winter demonstrated to me — more than anywhere else — how different of a perspective one gets of a location from up above.
Don’t get me wrong; even on the ground the Hawaiian experience was quite nice. However, it wasn’t until my wife and I toured the island by helicopter — especially with the likes of the pilots we flew with — that the beauty, aura, and “ah-ha, Aloha” factor hit us like a two-by-four.
This is why, for many of the helicopter tour pilots in Hawaii, the job is more than just an occupational stepping stone. For them, as well as the individuals who founded and run the companies for which they fly, from the largest to the smallest, it’s a total lifestyle choice — a career end game.
To get the most complete picture of what it’s like to make a career of helicopter flightseeing in Hawaii, I visited operators at either end of the spectrums of both size and longevity. Firstly, I spent time with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, which has operations on each of the major Hawaiian Islands, and utilizes a total of 26 helicopters. I then visited Novictor Aviation, which (at press time) had a single Robinson R44 Raven I. Novictor is based in Oahu at the Honolulu Airport — right next door to Blue Hawaiian.
We begin with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, or simply “Blue,” as the locals call it. The company began life as South Seas Helicopters, but was renamed after Dave and Patti Chevalier bought the company in 1985. The couple had relocated from Green Bay, Wis., to Maui the previous year, with Dave flying tours for the company and Patti taking a position as a high school teacher. When the owner of South Seas decided to sell, Dave and Patti put it all on the line, and bought the business.
Today, Blue Hawaiian operates on each major Hawaiian island. Its five bases include Waikoloa and Hilo on the island of Hawaii; at Kahului Heliport on Maui; the facility at the Honolulu International Airport that I visited; and at the Lihue heliport on Kauai.
Blue currently operates an all-Airbus Helicopters fleet of 26 aircraft: five EC130 T2s, seven AS350 B2 AStars, and 14 EC130s. These aircraft fly a combined total of about 40,000 hours per year; from the creation of Blue Hawaiian in 1985 through 2013, the company had accumulated 600,000 hours in total. Blue has over 200 employees, which includes 45 pilots and 69 maintenance personnel. Late last year, Blue became a part of the Air Methods Corporation family of HEMS and heli-tour operations.
A Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 135 approved company, Blue is Department of Defense certified and performs a few jobs with the government every year. It is also Part 133 certified for external loads and does some utility work, including power line patrol and firefighting. Filming rounds out its offerings, with aerial support being offered usually for a couple of movies per year. But all of this “non-tour” business only accounts for about five percent of its total revenue stream. Blue’s core business has always been, and will continue to be, tour operations.
“Hawaii is a terrific place for a helicopter,” said Dave Chevalier. “However, it’s a place where you either love it or you don’t.” This is an important consideration given that with most main land heli-tour operations, an aspiring pilot can find a job and move about when they desire a change — but because of the effort involved in relocating to and landing a job in Hawaii, the decision and ability to leave is made that much more difficult. This is why for Hawaii tour pilots it’s a career and lifestyle decision, with longevity being a key component.
Adam Ifill, a three-year line pilot with Blue, moved to Oahu from Michigan. “I love living in Hawaii and it’s a very stable job. What we share with our customers makes their day.” In terms of the financial rewards of flying in Hawaii, he said it was a lucrative place to work. “I’ll have my flight school loan paid off in a couple of months,” he said.
At Blue, pilots are paid a base salary plus a flight rate. Longevity and performance means pilots can expect salaries in the $80,000-to-$100,000 range, which helps mitigate the higher cost of living in Hawaii. With 401(k) matching, profit sharing, and full individual healthcare coverage (family coverage requires employee contribution), the compensation package can support a pilot’s desire to make a career out of flying in Hawaii.
The pilots work a three-on, four-off, then four-on, threeoff schedule — providing plenty of time away from the hangar to enjoy the Hawaiian lifestyle.
“We require at least 2,000 hours of helicopter time — 1,000 hours of that in turbine helicopters — for pilot applicants,” said Chevalier. “We also require an instrument rating and prefer a college degree, or at least some advanced education. We also consider the quality of the experience of a candidate. We want to see that the candidate has been sufficiently challenged to prove good judgment over time.”
Besides the flying aspect, social graces are critical for those who expect to last in Hawaiian tour operations.
“Our pilots are expected to connect with the passengers,” said Chevalier. “They interact and talk to them when not in a sterile cockpit status. This is all fresh and new for their passengers and the pilots get their energy from that. If not for that aspect, it would be a burnout job.”
Ifill added, “It’s not a boring job. Besides feeding off of the energy of the passengers, we are quite busy with constantly changing weather decisions, running the A/V system, position reports, and ATC requirements; there’s a lot going on.”
Besides providing customers with a nice DVD keepsake, the A/V system is also an effective way for Blue to review the performance of its pilots. These reviews are daily at first, then gradually become less frequent and eventually shift to quarterly. “I like to watch my own videos for self-improvement,” said Ifill. “The pilots are not afraid of these reviews. They are usually a positive experience, with kudos when deserved.”
Julie Fung, who is nearing six years with Blue, is the pilot supervisor at the Oahu base. “When I flew Canyon tours, burnout was definitely a factor,” she said. “You flew in a daisy chain and with no deviations. Here we have flexibility in our routes predicated on factors such as the season, varying weather, and wind patterns. We can tell what the weather is going to do and don’t get into a corner. No waterfall is worth the risk.”
Indeed, safety is the cornerstone of any operation and Blue’s record is considerably better than the tour industry average. Regardless, the sting of two fatal accidents in the company’s history will never go away.
The first of these, in 2000, was identified as controlled flight into terrain. Then, in 2011, there was a highly publicized crash that killed the pilot and four passengers. In July of this year, the National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of the crash to be “the pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from mountainous terrain while operating in marginal weather conditions.”
The company has also had one engine failure, following which the pilot put the aircraft down near a stream. Nobody was hurt, but, as Chevalier stated, “The aircraft didn’t fare so well.” Blue uses power recoveries for most of its engine-out training, but also periodically hosts factory instructors who then train the pilots with full touchdown autorotations.
All of Blue’s helicopters are equipped with terrain awareness warning systems. They are converting to Garmin G500 systems with synthetic vision. “Our safety starts with our pilots,” said Chevalier. “We require them to have instrument ratings and equip them as a base line to handle the worst case scenario — inadvertent IMC [instrument meteorological conditions].”
Another challenge for tour pilots in Hawaii — like so many other locations — is noise mitigation. “Years ago the noise issue was a real problem,” said Chevalier. “This was a big reason for us going to the EC130s. . . . [And] the response was immediate — especially from the hardcore complainers. We knew that the public appreciated it.”
What the tourists appreciate are the enthusiastic, knowledgeable tour pilots who make a trip in a helicopter pure joy. And to find the epitome of “off the hook” friendliness and pure Aloha spirit, one need look no further than Nicole Vandelaar, founder and owner of Novictor Aviation. Novictor (derived from November-Victor — Vandelaar’s initials) operates a single R44 from its base in Honolulu. Born and raised in Michigan, Vandelaar began flying fixedwing while in high school in 2000, then started on her helicopter ratings in 2008.
In July 2011, armed with all the necessary ratings, Vandelaar moved to Hawaii and formed Novictor Aviation. “I always wanted to own my own business,” Vandelaar said. “I moved to Hawaii to begin that process because it’s such a beautiful place. I love the values here in Hawaii — it’s such a positive environment.”
For the first year, Vandelaar flew fixed- and rotarywing aircraft under contract for another company. She broke out on her own in 2012, when she acquired the R44 and started flying tours under the Novictor banner.
By the end of 2013, Novictor had flown an average of 75 hours per month, with December 2013 seeing it reach 115 hours. By mid-June of this year, the monthly use of the R44 had rocketed to 150 hours.
Vandelaar was the primary pilot until the huge jump in activity took place this past spring, during which time Novictor went from maintaining a small support crew to having a staff of 12. Besides Vandelaar, Novictor now has four pilots — two full-time and two part-time — plus two full shuttle crews requiring five people, two reservationists, and an operations manager.
Novictor’s phenomenal growth means its number one priority is getting another R44 to share the load.
“We continue to exceed the expectations of the tour business,” said Vandelaar. “I need to find the right R44, buy it, and get it shipped out here as soon as I can.” She hoped to have this second R44 in service by the time Vertical went to press.
Novictor’s success is no surprise. Vandelaar grabs you with that first handshake and 1,000 Watt smile — and her sincere love for the Hawaiian Islands is infectious. “The best part about doing this is the passengers,” she said. “They are all awe-inspired by the scenery — the aura of the land and water. They are so impressed with our culture of protecting the land. When I land with them [at preapproved locations], they are so moved and they often comment on the new perspective this gives them on life. I know it sounds deep, but it’s true.”
Vandelaar was an absolute blast to fly with. We felt like were being taken for a helicopter ride by a good friend to see her island paradise home — it was that personal.
What impressed me most, however, was as we were flying into a narrowing canyon to see a waterfall, I asked her, “What would you do right now if you had a mechanical problem?” She immediately answered, “Right behind you there is a clearing where we’d go. This is where I draw the line for myself and my other pilots at this location — for that very reason.”
The growth of Novictor means that Vandelaar can no longer be the sole primary tour pilot. However, her influence can be felt in the company’s crews, who have taken on the personality of their leader to such a degree that it has become an internal joke. “The feedback is great,” said Vandelaar. “This is the standard here — excited and happy.”
Vandelaar’s long-term goal is to have a fleet of turbine helicopters for inter-island charter work. However, her plan to acquire a new Bell 407 will now be delayed until next year because of the company’s dramatic growth. “My team and I continue to set goals and it’s working — too well,” she said. “My initial plan was not to need another R44, but with having to buy a second one to handle the tour growth, I’ll have to delay the 407 a little.”
At Blue Hawaiian, Chevalier said the company has no plans to expand its operations beyond fleet replacement and growing its business at its five established bases. “We will remain a separate operation from Air Methods but will certainly take advantage of certain aspects such as maintenance, aircraft buying power, and pilot resources along with the political and safety expertise,” he said.
Blue Hawaiian and Novictor Aviation are two completely different styles and sizes of operation. Yet both were started by their respective founders for the same reason — the allure of Aloha and the desire to earn a living from sharing it with the islands’ visitors.
Watching Novictor and Blue’s friendly interaction with each other could make you think they were the same company. The continued growth and success of these companies and those like them spells good news for not only their owners, but their employees, too, who found that the spirit, beauty, and lifestyle of Hawaii was just too good to leave.

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