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This is part 2 of the interview with British helicopter display pilot Dennis Kenyon. For part 1, listen to Episode 14
In this episode we delve deeper into the preparation, setup and mindset needed to be a display pilot.
Dennis is a CAA appointed Display Authority Examiner and does train and approve other pilots but its not something he takes lightly.
We also talk about a display crash that Dennis was involved in and some of the factors that contributed to that. If it can happen to someone as experienced and skillful as Dennis… the rest of us need to stack everything in our favor.
The Dennis Kenyon Junior helicopter scholarship was set up to commemorate the life of Dennis’ son. Its aim is to take someone that would not normally have been able to achieve a helicopter licence due to factors such as finance and to turn them into not only a pilot but an aviator and an ambassador for aviation.
Past scholarship winner Hannah Nobbs writes:
Being awarded the Dennis Kenyon Junior Memorial helicopter flying scholarship was a once in a lifetime experience. Learning to fly was fantastic, and something I had only dreamed off. The best part was learning from Dennis, his enthusiasm for flying is infectious and following him on his various flying adventures during training allowed me to see so many new places and meet new people in the helo industry.
The scholarship opened up a world of opportunities within aviation, nearly 10 years on I am working as an Aerospace Engineer for a leading Helicopter Manufacturer, have gone on to do the ATPL exams and flown in several parts of Europe.
To any companies that have the opportunity to support the scholarship fund I would say that the potential return from the scholarship to industry is immense. In my opinion it is not so much about encouraging young people to be commercial helicopter pilots, as the extra funds needed to get to a position where you are employable is huge, but about opening up a whole world of helicopters and aviation to a young person, and gaining a lifelong ambassador for the industry.
Dennis is looking to joint venture with interested companies for the future support of the Scholarship. Who knows, we might see a future TV series – ‘So you think you can fly!’
If you know of a company that would benefit from working with a living legend of the helicopter industry on a project like this then get in touch via the comments below or direct to Dennis through his website.
You’ll find links to resources and sites mentioned in the show further down the page.
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01:14 Show sponsors trainmorepilots.com
01:40 Routine before a display flight
03:38 How different is each display sequence
04:50 Salt Lake City crash review
10:44 Training(and suitability) for display authority
14:02 Chuck Aaron and B105
15:25 Warned of display flying due ‘Cavalier’ attitude
16:50 Display flying as a way of promoting type sales
17:59 Messages for Dennis – Dennis Martin, Hannah Nobbs
21:05 Dennis Kenyon Junior Helicopter Scholarship
25:00 Sponsorship and partnerships for the scholarship
26:50 Background to the Scholarship – Dennis’ son
30:10 Next scholarship planning
31:31 Application process via dennis-kenyon.com
35:45 More than being about just pushing and pulling controls
38:05 What type haven’t you flown that you still want to?
39:44 Tail rotor failures x 3 + safety certificate
44:40 A UFO story
48:15 Best advice you can give a pilot
Links from this week’s episode:
Dennis Kenyon – “The Aviation Bureau”
Dennis Kenyon Junior Helicopter Scholarship
Movember charity sponsor page
UK Huey page
Do you know a company that would like to partner with Dennis for his scholarship program? If you do, please point them to this episode and they can contact Dennis through the links above. Lets use our network to get behind Dennis
Salt Lake City Crash at high density altitude:
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