Flying M Air is owned and operated by Maria Langer who is the Managing Member of the LLC and its Chief Pilot.
Maria is a graduate of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, where she received a BBA degree with highest honors in accounting in 1982. She worked as an auditor and financial analyst for the City of New York and a Fortune 100 corporation before leaving her job to start a freelance writing career in 1990. Since then, she has written more than 70 technical books and hundreds of articles about using computers. She has also written articles about aviation topics for HeliNews, Sport Aviation, SW Aviator, and AircraftOwner Online. She continues to write part-time today.
Maria began flying helicopters in October 1998, fulfilling a dream she’d had since her first helicopter flight at age 7. As a part-time student, she did not obtain her private pilot certificate until May 2000. She began her commercial pilot training in October 2000 and received her commercial certificate a year later. She immediately began offering tours and other services with Flying M Air’s R22 helicopter, which was later replaced by a factory-new R44 Raven II helicopter. She has accumulated over 2,800 hours of flight time, all in helicopters.
Maria meets Robinson Helicopter Company’s strict requirements for ferry pilots. She has given rides in R22 and R44 helicopters at a variety of events, including county fairs and other public outdoor gatherings in Arizona and Utah. From April through September 2004, she worked as a seasonal Grand Canyon tour pilot flying Bell 206L Long Ranger helicopters. Starting in 2005, she began accumulating extensive experience conducting aerial photography and video flights, over still and in-motion subjects. She began conducting multi-day excursions by helicopter in October 2007; these trips were featured in the May 2009 issue of Arizona Highways and mention again in the August 2009 issue. In the summer of 2008, she began performing agricultural work during cherry drying season in Central Washington State. This work was expanded to include winery tours by helicopter in the summer of 2011.
Maria is serious about safety. She has attended the Robinson Helicopter Company Factory Safety Course three times since 2000. She also practices emergency procedures with a certified flight instructor at least once a year in addition to her required annual Part 135 check ride with an FAA examiner.
Maria uses her imagination, business background, and communication skills to attract customers and open new markets for Flying M Air. It is her goal to provide high quality, personalized helicopter tour and charter services for individuals and organizations throughout Arizona and the southwest.
But Maria hasn’t lost sight of what brought her into the business in the first place: the wonder and excitement of rotary wing flight.
