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 my enjoyment out of my career.”
And it’s in solving the new challenges of each day that Helm said makes him grateful to have fallen into aviation.
“Every day is something different. And that's what I really enjoy. The 9 to 5 and working in an office setting wasn't for me and I knew that from a very young age. I just didn't know it was going to be aviation maintenance, and that's where I broke out and grateful that I did,” he said.
