Five Questions: Nick Moran

The couple loves to share their passion for Hawaii, and Nick offers not just helicopter instruction but sightseeing, aerial photography, and discovery flights. He’s charismatic, upbeat, and a lot of fun to fly with. “I love flying in Hawaii,” he said. “It’s truly amazing—whales, rainbows, waterfalls—and that’s all within five miles of the airport. It’s also challenging flying conditions. On Maui we have strong winds. The mountain valleys are always changing as the clouds drift in and out and we have a lot of water, waterfalls, oceans, streams. It’s part of what keeps flying so exciting and engaging.” 

How did you get started in aviation? My dad was in the Navy and flew jets and his twin brother, my uncle, flew helicopters. My goal was to get my pilot’s license before my driver’s license and I just about made it. I got my driver’s license very shortly before I finished my private pilot. I originally started with my fixed-wing license and transitioned to helicopters. I love the flexibility and diversity of helicopter flying.

What was your biggest challenge? Getting my first pilot job. When you finish flight school as a new commercial pilot you have around 200 hours. But most companies won’t even look at your résumé until you have at least 500 hours. The gap between 200 hours and 500 hours is huge. The second biggest challenge was starting our flight school. When you are running an aviation business there are a lot of elements to keep track of such as scheduling aircraft maintenance, scheduling and coordinating schedules, figuring out marketing and social media for the school, and then the entire business side like marketing and social media, bookkeeping, and accounting. It isn’t just all flying, although the flying is the flashy part that everyone sees. 

What’s your favorite aircraft? The Robinson R44 Raven II, MD 500D, Pitts S–2, and the Cessna Citation X are my top four. 

Do you have any advice for students? I have all my students complete and pass their written test early on in their training. Everyone wants to fly first and while that is the most exciting part, the book work is the foundation of the knowledge you need to know. They really do go hand in hand. Doing the groundwork before or at least along with your in-air flight training will also set you up to comprehend your flight training better.

Any tips for how to get started in an aviation business? Get a side hustle in the aviation industry if you truly want to be a professional pilot. It looks great on a résumé to have aviation-related skills and have experience working with people. I know a lot of pilots just want to fly. That’s only a part of being a professional pilot. Having good people skills, a great attitude, and strong work ethic will take you a long way in aviation. 

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