A Lifetime in Aviation

A family legacy

My dad, Robert E. Trimble, along with partners Hjertager and Matthews, started Aetna Helicopters in the early 1950s in Northern California. The company was one of the first to operate the Alouette, which made high-altitude mountain work much easier.

A mechanical failure forced Robert Trimble and a passenger down the side of a mountain, ending both of their lives. The Helicopter Association International “Salute to Excellence” award honors his memory every year with the Robert E. Trimble Memorial Award, given to a pilot especially distinguished in mountain flying.

Learning the trade

I received my fixed-wing CFI in March of 1976, then was invited to Indonesia, where I flew a Bell 47 at Budiarto. After 80 hours of Bell 47 time, I came back to Oregon and flew about 7 hours of prep in a Bell 47 G4A. That 47 was set up for agricultural spraying, so every time I flew we had to remove the spray rig.

I was working for the operator Herb Henderson on an earn-while-you-learn basis — mixing chemical and driving the mix truck. I made $3.50 per hour, and the Bell 47 cost $250 per hour to fly, so I didn’t receive my Commercial Add-On rating until October of 1976. It took a long time to pay Herb back for that flight time. I’m glad he was patient. I earned my A&P certificate at Northrop University in Inglewood, California, in 1978.

The Robinson years

I started working for Frank Robinson as an A&P mechanic in January of 1979. My first day on the job, I was selected to fly with Frank in ship s/n 002 — serial number 001 had done a nose dive into the ocean before I got there, so we were flying the backup. It was really something to be the unqualified flight-test engineer with Frank Robinson flying the prototype on my very first day.

I spent two years with Robinson and worked my way up to production test flying. Bob Golden, one of Frank’s certification test pilots, flew with me to help me earn my CFI Helicopter in September of 1980, in an R-22.

Building a company

In December of 1980, I started Hillsboro Helicopters in Hillsboro, Oregon. I was a one-man band in the beginning. By 1992, when I sold the company to Ed Cooley, we were over 40 people strong with more than 25 aircraft.

Since then I’ve flown corporate turboprops, fought fires in the Sky Crane, and flown EMS in the BO-105 and EC-135. I’ve been a Chief Pilot, Director of Operations, Director of Maintenance, and a Chief Flight Instructor for both airplanes and helicopters.

Why we’re here

In all that flying, I discovered that some of the most enjoyable work I’ve done is helping pilots become flight instructors. I believe our knowledge gene pool is compromised when inexperienced teachers teach new pilots how to teach.

Now, working as a mom-and-pop operation, I can give each of my students 100% of my attention to help them reach their goals. This is why we’re here. I don’t need any more time in my logbook — my goal is to make our students the best, in the most efficient manner possible.