Not “Just” a Mechanic

July 28, 2019

For almost 2 decades now when people find out I work in aviation, hands-down the most frequent question I get is, “Oh, so you’re a pilot?” The easiest response is to simply say, “No, I’m a mechanic.” That saves the time of explaining that I actually do hold my commercial, single-/multi-engine, & instrument ratings and […]

Not My Fight…

April 10, 2016

A mix of relief, excitement, and fear swept over me as our Director of Operations broke the news to us last week…13 May 2016 will be our last official day working/training here at the NTM Aviation headquarters in McNeal, AZ! RELIEF…They were words we’d been waiting to hear as we’d already begun looking ahead to […]

T-minus 5 & Counting…

March 2, 2016

We knew it was coming, at least we were pretty sure it was coming, well, 99.9% sure, and you can’t be much more sure than that. It wasn’t super dramatic, not dramatic at all really, I mean if you had in mind there might be a media player of some sort announcing a mission (should […]

Freedom

November 9, 2015

“So there I was…” I know, it’s a bit cliché to start out a story that way but I will nonetheless. I was hanging out on a peak in the Swisshelm Mountains, marveling at the rugged grandeur of the landscape surrounding me. It was part of an advanced helicopter training flight for one of the […]

“Head Up!”

August 23, 2015

Though it was 20 years ago, I can still hear my cross-country coach’s voice booming, “Head up, Imie!” Why the exhortation? Well, there are a lot of reasons that was sage advice. With every step I took, head bowed and eyes fixed squarely on the ground beneath my feet, all that was about & […]