The Doug Doty Vertical Flight Foundation,
The website says it best:
Our mission
The Doug Doty Vertical Flight Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization (pending), was founded by Jesika Doty in 2010 after the death of her husband, a flight instructor, in a helicopter training accident. The foundation is dedicated to helping helicopter pilots pursue their dream of flying, keeping Doug's dream alive through them, as well as bridging a gap between the time spent as a flight instructor and getting the first turbine job.
The Doug Doty Vertical Flight foundation's mission is to help where help is needed most. Our focus currently is on providing scholarships for turbine transition certification (after all we need to start somewhere), however, we are always on the look-out for other opportunites. Opportunites where we can have a positive impact on the industry.
and why
Today, the industry requires a minimum of 1200 hrs if not 1500 hrs of total flight time along with turbine experience. Many schools are releasing their flight instructors at 1,000 hrs.
This is the gap.
This is what the foundation hopes to help fill. Being able to provide scholarships for turbine transition time will help these pilots find their first turbine position. It won't do all the work for them, as they will need to find ways to continue building flight hours, but it will help where help is needed most. It will help those pilots that are determined and skilled, so that one day, they may be helping you.
Prior to his death, Doug wanted to eventually become an EMS pilot. Both Doug and Jesika saw that this path would be difficult as the helicopter industry was changing. There were not as many opportunities to gain valuable experience such as turbine time, if you had less than 1500 hours. They saw this gap, that was created in the industry, and were working on ideas of how to bridge this gap for themselves when Doug's accident occurred.
Moving forward, Jesika felt that helping other pilots would enable her to continue the legacy that Doug left. She is not ready to get in the pilot's seat but has a strong belief that if we do not help the pilots that are in this gap, then, not only the industry will suffer in the long run, but we, as individuals, will suffer.
Have you read the story about the sick child needing the services of Life Flight? Or maybe on the news you saw someone being air lifted from an accident site? What about those that fight forest fires or fly mountain rescues? All of these pilots have thousands of hours of turbine experience. The majority of them may not have had to deal with this gap. They went from being a CFI to sitting in a turbine helicopter receiving training at their first job and probably only had 1,000 hrs under their belt. This doesn't happen anymore.
we need you
This is why we need your help and support. Doug wanted to help people. He wanted to make a difference and he relished in the fact that he could make a difference while doing something that he loved.
He made a difference in many people's lives as a flight instructor, a husband, a father and a person. The contribution that you make to this foundation makes a difference not only in a pilot's life but possibly a life down the road. A difference that Doug would be proud to see and humbled by.
