July-August 2022 - 20

Nathan Hewitt
Manager on Duty, Envoy Air
Age: 35
Hometown: Branch,
Michigan
Alma mater: Texas State
Technical College
Someone I look up to in the
industry: Ragan Riley
Favorite hobby: I've really
found a passion in body
building.
Favorite thing about
aviation: Everything
required to make an
operation successful.
Nathan Hewitt started his career in aviation when
he was 19 years old. Originally planning to pursue
a career in information technology, he instead was
bit by the aviation bug.
" I moved to Abilene, Texas, to live with my brother.
While I was there, he got me a job as an aircraft
cleaner, and probably within two months, maybe
less, I had elected to change my career field from
information technology over to aviation to get my
airframe and power plant license, " he said.
After three years as a mechanic, Hewitt elected
to step up into more of a leadership role as a crew
chief, which he undertook for roughly a year and a
half, before deciding to advance his career into a
management role. Continuing to rise through the
ranks from his origins as aircraft cleaner, aircraft
mechanic, to lead technician, then crew chief, and
supervisor, MOC controller and MOC manager
on duty, Hewitt eventually landed a position as a
maintenance manager at DFW, where he is today.
" And so now I'm responsible for over 200 mechanics.
We have over 200 flights daily and I have a
supervisory staff of 16 supervisors that I'm
responsible for. We establish manning requirements
for all of our scheduled and unscheduled
aircraft. So out of those 200-plus flights, we're
Bryan Helm
Director of Maintenance, Ball Ventures
Age: 36
Hometown: Logan, Utah
Alma Mater: Utah State
University
Someone I look up to in the
industry: Joe Horton and
Hal Jackson
Favorite Hobby: Fishing,
hunting, dirt biking, the
outdoors in general.
Favorite thing about
aviation: It's just amazing
to watch how the machines
fly; how such big aircraft
actually fly through the air.
20 JULY/AUGUST 2022
Bryan Helm initially wanted to be a helicopter pilot.
" I always wanted to fly helicopters, but the cost of
flying helicopter was so outrageous, so I needed
something to help pay for it. And so, I went into
maintenance and got my A&P, " he said.
From there, Helm bounced around jobs, rising
through the ranks with each turn, eventually becoming
the director of maintenance for Ball Ventures.
" I started out as a mechanic and worked up from
there. I just interviewed with the chief pilot at that
time, that gave me a chance. I was 27 years old
when they offered me the job. It's kind of been a
unique experience to be such a young kid and
have that opportunity, " he said.
Helm manages the maintenance of three aircraft, a
G-280, CJ-4 and Kodiak, by himself. When he started,
Ball Ventures had only two aircraft and Helm
participated in the acquisition of the third, as well
as the building of a new hangar for the company.
" I've always enjoyed, especially corporate aviation
now that I've found this little niche, I've loved
corporate aviation, because I always deal with
top-of-line stuff. The computers, the airplanes we
fly are top of line. I just enjoyed the technology
advancements of aviation, " Helm said.
When Helm started working for Ball Ventures over
seven years ago, the flight department was relatively
new with just two pilots and two airplanes
sharing a hangar with another flight department.
Now in addition to the new hangar and new plane,
the company has expanded to five pilots.
" I like the troubleshooting, like when airplane
comes in from a flight and has an issue, and to
be able to work with the engineers from either
Cessna or Gulfstream to solve the issue, figure
out what it is, replace the component or computer
or whatever that entails, to get the job done and
doing it, and then watching it take off and fly again, "
he said. " That's where I get me enjoyment out of
my career. "
And it's in solving the new challenges of each day
that Helm said makes him grateful to have landed
in aviation.
www.AviationPros.com/21274332
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
doing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance
in a 24/7 maintenance operation. We also have an
overnight operation, where we have up to eight
aircraft at night that we're continuously working on
and ensuring that they're ready for their kickoffs, "
Hewitt detailed.
On any given day, his role sees him tackling many
different and varied challenges.
" Aviation is so very diverse in the challenges that
you encounter. The amount of challenges and
aspects that I get to deal with on a daily basis
vary anywhere from troubleshooting discrepant
aircraft, to dealing with logistics regarding
the flight schedule and coordinating with other
departments. We work with logistics in road trips,
and then I get to deal with personnel issues, as
well as positive reinforcement through coaching
and counseling, and mentoring. It goes literally
anywhere from aircraft to people, to socializing,
to professional networking, to communicating,
to investigations, and there are new and unique
challenges every day, " he said.
Hewitt said he wouldn't have it any other way, and
thrives in the fast-paced, challenging world of aviation.
He enjoys most being able to make a positive
impact on the people and operations he oversees.
www.AviationPros.com/21274357
http://www.AviationPros.com/21274357 http://www.AviationPros.com/21274332
July-August 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July-August 2022
