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Helicopter school, Silver State Helicopters plans to open in Butte

Butte has landed a flight training school for helicopter pilots.

It could mean 15 full-time jobs by the summer, some paying up to $50,000 annually.

By Gerard O’Brien of The Montana Standard

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2004/11/02/newsbutte/hjjfiijhjbifjc.txt

Silver State Helicopters http://www.silverstatehelicopters.com of Henderson, Nev., has signed a five-year lease with Butte Aviation at the Bert Mooney Airport Authority to use the Butte Aviation building and hangar for a flight training school.

The company, whose corporate offices are in North Las Vegas, has about 12 such academies around the West. One is to open this week in Pueblo, Colo.

Dick Krott of Jefferson City is the manager for the Montana operations. Krott was the former director of the Rocky Mountain Trade Corridor started by former Gov. Stan Stephens in the 1980s. That group helped bring the computer firm, Synesis7, to Butte.

Krott said Butte won out for the school over Great Falls and Helena because of the availability of space at the airport and the fact that Butte is within one to two hours’ commute for potential student pilots.

The school plans to offer evening classes two to three nights a week, so that students from the region can attend, even if they are working in Butte, Helena, Missoula, Dillon or Bozeman. Students who pass an extensive background check will train on state-of-the-art flight simulators in a three-month ground school before taking to the helicopter controls.

The company will lay out a flight pattern over the city so as not to disturb residential areas, Krott said, once it begins aerial training. About three to six helicopters will be on the site at one time.

Evan Barrett, executive director of the Butte Local Development Corp., said the school trains students for up to 18 months to get a private helicopter pilot’s license, commercial license and flight instructor’s license.

Part of the plan is contingent on the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners approving up to a $70,000 loan to be used to renovate the aviation building for classrooms and office space. The zero-interest loan would pass through the local government, backed by the airport authority, to Butte Aviation and Silver State. It would be paid off in five years.

Butte-Silver Bow’s Judy Jacobson said she’s glad to see Butte cement this deal and will push for approval of the two-part loan at Wednesday’s council meeting. The loan is for up to $50,000 from the Anaconda Arco fund — to be used first — and another $20,000 from Butte economic development funds if necessary.

The company, started by Jerry Airola, was initially used for police surveillance work in California. It has expanded into all sorts of commercial uses, in part because of a lack of private helicopter services.

Today, the helicopters are used for dropping explosives to control avalanches at ski areas, aid the Forest Service in fire suppression, inspection of powerlines and pipelines, movie filming, sightseeing, pleasure rides and law enforcement and border patrols.

"They began looking at locating a school in Montana because of the increased activity in border patrols and homeland security," Barrett said.

An initial public seminar about the school is set for Dec. 1 at the hangar. Details will be published later in The Montana Standard.

"Silver State Helicopters is another small but important diversification of our economy. It enhances our aeronautics-related activity and we hope it will help draw other businesses to the airport. Strong community support helped bring the project to Butte," Barrett said in a prepared statement.

Company background

Silver State Helicopters was formed in 1999. At that time, its primary operation consisted of flight training in two-seater, Robinson R22 helicopters augmented by occasional sightseeing charters.

It has 15 aviation sites in five other states. It is the most recognized helicopter flight training academy in the United States — its literature claims — with more than 1,050 students and 12 flight-training facilities between Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. By year’s end, facilities in Colorado and Montana will be operational or have construction under way.

The Washington, Oregon and Idaho facilities are set to open in early 2005.

Jerry Airola is the president and founder of Silver State Helicopters. He and his top management personnel combined have a total of 65 years of commercial aviation experience.

Its Web site is http://www.silverstatehelicopters.com

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