January 2019 Student of the Month
Meet Max Shumway, age 21, from St. George, Utah. Currently in Private Pilot training.
After an exciting student gathering at the Honolulu base on January 25th, Max was awarded Student of the Month for January. We caught up with Max and was able to ask him about his time at Mauna Loa Helicopters.
At what point in your life did you know you wanted to fly helicopters?
My dad would always take me to the airport when I was young to watch helicopters. I would always tell him how awesome it would be to fly for a living one day. We would talk about my dreams and wishes of actually pursuing a career when I got old enough. Years later of trial and error, I decided to make it a reality.
What is your favorite helicopter to fly?
R22 only ever flown that one!
What obstacles have you had to overcome to get where you are today?
I can say I’ve been very fortunate of how smoothly everything has fallen into place for me to be training on Oahu! Hard to be away from family and friends but all in all, no major obstacles.
Where do you hope your training will take you? Goals?
I plan to fly helicopter tours/aerial photography one day. I love meeting new people and getting to know them. And making a flight for someone enjoyable and rememberable is what I will strive to achieve!
What advice would you give to people just starting out in their training?
HAVE FUN!! School is school and yes, there’s book work and lots of it. But keep in mind, that you’re here for one reason and one reason only. And that’s to be the best helicopter pilot you can be! Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you think it’s a really dumb question. That’s the worst thing you can do. We are human we make mistakes, but we also “learn” through our mistakes. Take advantage of training at MLH. Remember, one day you will be making the decisions.
What has been your favorite experience while flying with MLH?
When Stephan and I flew up the leeward side and landed on top of a mountain in “Makaha”.
How did you pick MLH?
Research after research. Very good reputation school, part 141. At HNL base you train in class B airspace. And the main reason, who doesn’t want to fly in Hawaii!
What is your favorite thing about training in Hawaii at MLH?
How much one on one attention you get. This has played a huge factor in my training so far. Some schools have a registration date and you start school with many more students, it can be challenging.
Congratulations to Max on being awarded HNL January 2019 Student of the Month, keep up the good work!