Who We Are

Mr. Kevin Shields, President

Kevin Shields has 35 years of aviation maintenance experience with 33 years in a management role in support of helicopter maintenance and flight operations. Kevin has established two FAA Repair Stations and has held the positions of Mechanic, Shop Foreman, Chief Inspector, General Manager, Vice President and is currently President of Trans Aero Ltd. Kevin holds an FAA mechanic certificate and has in the past held IA and ODAR certificates.

Mr. Charles Reid, Director of Operations

Mr. Charlie Reid has 26 years of experience as a commercial helicopter pilot with Instrument and CFII ratings and with flight hours totaling over 23,500, including over 4,000 hours of Mountainous terrain and over 2,600 of vertical reference. Charlie has previously held positions of Chief Pilot, Check Airman and Director of Operations. Specific flight experience includes FAR 135 / 133 Operations, fire fighting, initial attack, aerial ignition, seismic, agricultural, SAR and EMS.

Mr. Jeff Bakker, Director of Maintenance

Jeff Bakker is an FAA licensed Airframe and Powerplant mechanic with nearly 10 years of experience. He has held the position of Lead Mechanic with Air Methods Corporation and Heli-One American Support, leading teams of mechanics during deep level maintenance evolutions. Additionally, he has completed field assignments including USFS fire contracts, DOD Navy VERTREP, Seismic, Powerline and Film. He is currently USFS Carded on the AS350 and the SA315B. Mr. Bakker has successfully completed numerous Airframe and Engine manufacturer’s training programs including Eurocopter AS350 & AS350B3 and Turbomeca Arriel 2B/2B1.

Mr. James Hennessy, Chief Pilot, Company Check Airman

Jim Hennessy is a Commercial Rotorcraft, instrument rated helicopter pilot with over 40 years of aviation experience in FAR 135 operations involved with USFS/OAS contract performance. In addition to his current positions, he has held the positions of Director of Operations, Anti-Drug and Alcohol Manager, ISO 9001-2000 Program Manager and is a graduate of the USC Safety Management Course. Jim has also held the position of Safety Officer on a US Navy VERTREP program, overseen by the US Department of Defense.

All Trans Aero Helicopters pilots are highly skilled High Density Altitude, vertical reference qualified, and most are USFS/NBC carded. All Trans Aero Helicopters pilots are seasoned seismic pilots highly trained in the use of the Kodiak GPS system, carousel and bag runner. Several of our pilots have several years experience flying high production drill operations.

All Trans Aero Helicopters mechanics average over 5 years of maintenance experience on the type of aircraft operated by Trans Aero Helicopters. They are all A & P licensed, USFS carded and are CDL qualified to drive fuel trucks. A mechanic accompanies every Trans Aero Helicopters aircraft deployed in the field.