On Friday, Oct. 1, the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott Campus was treated to a spectacular sight in the afternoon hours. The crowd that arrived at the C and D parking lots to witness an MD Helicopters MD902 was treated to a thrilling landing, all performed in a light shower. People waited anxiously for the aircraft’s arrival until the faint sound of rotor blades and jet engines appeared in the distance. The twin jet-powered helicopter circled the campus beckoning others to follow it to its destination and scouting the landing zone before touching down for the crowd.

The sleek helicopter’s efficient engines seemed to call out to the crowd, announcing its arrival to ERAU. The pilot made his final adjustments prior to landing and slowly set the helicopter down. At this very moment, a seemingly hurricane-force wind blasted towards the crowd. The throttles were cut and the engine spooled down, as the cabin doors opened and the honored guests arrived. The crowd was even allowed to speak and chat with the crew of the flight and admire the helicopter; the lines and overall shape were an impressive aircraft to behold.

Dwayne Williams came along with the crew, as a representative of MD Helicopters and guest speaker at ERAU. Williams is an accomplished pilot, having flown for various companies and in the Vietnam War as well. He shared with the audience his extensive experience as test pilot for many helicopter types and companies, most notably his nearly 30 year stint with Bell Helicopter Company. There he flight-tested many aircraft, including a model called the Super Hybrid, which was capable of doing aerobatics, including hammerheads, barrel rolls, and other flight maneuvers. When asked about whether or not he wanted to do these flights he responded: “I’ve never done aerobatics before in my life… let’s do it!” He also did all of the weather-influenced flight testing for Bell aircraft. At one point, he was part of an operation in International Falls, MN, during the mid-1980s where a Bell helicopter was subject to operations in temperatures as low as 31 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. All went well, and the aircraft was fully certified for these weather conditions. Williams also talked about his favorite place to do flight testing while showing photographs of his forays. “If there’s a more beautiful place to do test flights than Leadville, Colorado, I don’t know of it,” remarked Williams.

Williams also was the chief test pilot of the Bell XB-15, the experimental precursor to the modern V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. He told of how fun this aircraft was to fly. Williams also told stories of the time he spent flying for an oil company where he flew to offshore oil rigs. When working on oil rigs, “you’re either gonna land on that 65 by 65 helipad, or you’re going over the edge.” There were divers situated in a rescue boat on the water at all times just in case this happened. Williams said: “I met and made sure I loved those divers.” Dwayne Williams ended his inspirational speech with a familiar quote to the people of aviation: “stay the course, it is a journey, but the destination is worth the journey.”