Helicopter Awareness Day

Helicopters are awesome! I can still remember my very first flight in a helicopter. I was 17 and the sensation was like nothing I had ever experienced. My dad took my sister and I on a flight around what was then Opryland. From the moment we lifted off the ground I was fascinated. I remember flying over the airplanes that were tied down and then over the tree tops. It was like we were on a magic carpet. The Bell 47H had great visibilty out of the front of the helicopter and we could see everything! Didn't realize it then, but that's when I fell in love with helicopters. It took me 5 years and a variety of other "careers" before I decided that becoming a helicopter pilot was what I would like to do with my life.

Fast forward to 2001, my father who was my mentor and who I had finally developed a great relationship with passed away from an aggressive form of cancer. For the first time I could ever remember my father had shown the effects of pain. Cancer is such a devastating disease. My father was no stranger to adversity, he had polio as a child and thanks to the East Tennessee Children's Hospital was cured. The amazing part is not that my father fought that battle, but that he had the help of ETCH. See, my grandparents were very poor and could have never afforded the treatment he received. ETCH's policy of treating children regardless of their parents ability to pay always impressed my father who told my sisters and I that the only presents he wanted for Christmas from us was to donate the money we would spend on him to ETCH. He had also told us several times as we were growing up that when he died for us to throw a party in his honor. Well, unfortunately I just could not do that after he died. So, every year around the anniversary of his passing, I have Helicopter Awareness Day in his honor and donate all the money from that day to ETCH. This year's event will be on April 25, 2009 from 11am to 5pm.

Spring is in the air!

Living in and visiting east Tennessee is mainly a pleasure, but sometimes the changing season of spring can be not so nice. It can go from 80 degree temps one day to highs in the 40's the next, from beautiful bright blue skies to nasty thunderstorms or even snow showers. Sometimes all these changes can happen in a single day, which always makes life at the heliport interesting.

After flying in and around these mountains for over 20 years I have seen a huge variety of weather conditions from the ground and air. Most of those have been quite beautiful and serene, but there have been those few times that the forces of nature have made me a better pilot and Christian! The best part of this changing season is the rebirth of our national treasure called the Smoky Mountains.

Starting at the lower elevations and moving up as the temperatures do the same the trees and shrubs bloom! The pears are first, with their white flowers, followed by the red buds and dogwoods. Everyone has had the pleasure of seeing these from the ground and they are equally impressive from above. But the really spectacular blooms come from the heath balds scattered throughout the park. These areas are dense patches of rhododendron, highbush blueberries, azaleas and mountain laurel that bloom in early to mid June, depending on their elevation.

To see these in full bloom is like looking at a floral arrangement placed on the side of the mountain! Pinks, purples, whites and occasionally oranges decorate the mountains for around one to two weeks in June and can not be fully described and done justice. If you are interested in getting a chance to see one of these balds just check in with us starting in early June.