Journey to the Golden Hour: My Path to the Most Dangerous Job in America: Flying a Medical Helicopter (ePub)

Randy Mains, at twenty-one, was a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War Mains where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, 27 Air Medals and the Bronze Star Medal. In 1982, he received the first annual Golden Hour Award, recognizing his contributions to furthering the helicopter air ambulance concept in America. In 2013 he was awarded the prestigious Jim Charlson Safety Award for his efforts to promote safety in the helicopter air medical field. Following his deep passion to become a writer, while working full time as chief pilot for Life Flight, Mains attended San Diego State University earning a degree in Journalism and a minor in English Creative Writing. In December 1984 Mains was offered a job in the Sultanate of Oman as a uniformed Major in the Royal Oman Police Air Wing to set up a country-wide HEMS system. Mains lived and worked in Oman for thirteen years flying as a line pilot and head of their flight training department. Desperate to get the word out that if something was not done to stop the terrible HEMS accident rate back in America to put an end to more flight crews losing their lives Mains set about writing his first book, a novel inspired by actual events entitled The Golden Hour, published in 1989. In 1989, while working in Oman, he began writing what would become his highly successful second book entitled, Dear Mom I'm Alive—Letters Home from Blackwidow 25 detailing his one-year tour in Vietnam as a combat helicopter pilot that has now been optioned to be made into a movie. Mains was brought out of retirement two years later when he was recruited by a friend to fly a twenty-place Bell 214ST as a HEMS pilot for the king of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah off the kings 500' yacht which he did for three years. Mains left Saudi to take a job with Abu Dhabi Aviation where he was a company type rating instructor and flight examiner operating the 412 EP flight simulator in Dubai training and examining pilots for the company. A year ago his company