–There’s no stopping this maverick; especially if challenged
THERE is absolutely no one happier than Michael Charles that government has decided to refurbish the Bell 412 helicopter he loves so dearly. Government has spent about US$1M to have the repairs done, after the aircraft was sitting idly in a hangar at Timehri, East Bank Demerara. Mike told the Chronicle Friday it was depressing to him that the aircraft was in such a deplorable condition, but now there are hardly any words to describe how he feels about being able to fly it again.
“It feels good to see that it (the aircraft) will be able to serve the nation once again, and that I have a chance to be a part of it. It’s truly a remarkable aircraft,” he expressed. It is presently undergoing inspection at Timehri, and will make its way to Georgetown soon.
This “national asset,” worth about US$5M, was used in countless search-and-rescue operations, and can fly day and night in any weather, except in icy conditions.
Mike has shared many exciting adventures with this aircraft, hence he feels that it was one of the best aviation decisions made to keep the helicopter. “As part of the military fleet, it makes economic sense, aviation sense. It’s like a dream — speed and smooth.”
In an interview with this newspaper a few years ago, we reported how adamant Mike was that the helicopter should not be sold or traded, as was intended, because he considered it to be the best helicopter Guyana has ever owned, and one that can still serve the country for many years to come.
He crusaded for it to be retained by the government because he was fully convinced that the aircraft would be hard to replace cost wise, and because of its peculiar capabilities. Mike had said that he would consider it a historic aviation mistake if the helicopter was got rid of.

Flight Safety International
Mike is currently a civilian contracted pilot with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). He spent 30 years with that institution before he retired. Immediately after, he was re-employed to work as a civilian pilot. “So I am the maintenance test pilot for the aircraft, meaning that I am a trained pilot who can test the aircraft to its limits, and that’s very serious business,” he explained.
He spent 25 years flying as a military helicopter pilot in Guyana. In 1981, at the age of 18, he enrolled in the GDF as an officer cadet, and graduated as a Second Lieutenant one year later.
His early military career saw him serving in the infantry in the Pirai Battalion for two years; and in 1984, he joined the Air Corps and commenced his formal aviation training one year later in the United States of America.
He attended the Flight Safety International, where he achieved his commercial airplane and helicopter licences. He regards this institution as the most recognised aviation school in the world. As soon as he returned to Guyana, he began flying.
From then to now, he has acquired a lot more training, and is now a certified flight instructor, a certified flight instructor instrument, and an airline transport pilot. “There is no other qualification for me in helicopters. I have completed everything that the world has to offer,” he said.

‘Wild Oats’
Mike has just turned 50 (his youthful looks wouldn’t reveal this), but in his younger days, his friends called him “Wild Oats”.  There was nothing that he wouldn’t do, especially if he had been dared to do something that the other person felt he couldn’t. “When I de young I de wild baad! Not nothing to do with woman, though,” he said with a dead serious face.
As a youth, he had been into the jungle a lot of times. “I used to be hunting, and fishing, and catching monkeys. I still do that now, except the catching monkey part and the shooting of the deer and so. Nah nah! I don’t do duh now. But you can find me out there (the jungle) very often.”
Mike views himself as a very ordinary individual. He had always wanted to fly, and is enjoying every moment of it to this day. What makes it more enjoyable is the fact that he gets paid to do the very thing he loves!
This love grew in his heart since his childhood days, when each plane leaving the Timehri Airport would fly over his house. He was born and raised in Soesdyke. Nowadays, he would hardly see the planes passing over his house because, “They have different procedures now. I used to see it for years and so I am always into it (flying).
In addition to flying in Guyana, Mike has also done some international flights, ferrying helicopters to other countries. The last trip he made was from Guyana to Miami. Over the years, he has also flown presidents around, and would aim to do some teaching each time he flies the aircraft.
Mike said if he could not be a pilot, he would definitely be into some other form of aviation. He loves the field that much.
The advice he has for people wanting to get into it is: “Know what you want! Anybody can become a pilot, but a lot of people believe that you can replace experience with skill. That’s not true. Experience is experience. Death is at your nose when you fly any aircraft.”
Mike has observed that a lot of people get into the aviation field only because they feel it is glamorous. And so more and more people continue to drop out of it once they get a taste of what it truly is like, he said.

Many cameras
Mike said that over the years he has invested in acquiring many cameras, while pursuing his hobby of photography and videography. He was able to document a great portion of Guyana, to the point where he has been able to produce four DVDs showcasing the country’s rich flora and fauna.
He was awarded the Medal of Service in October 2011 for his contribution to aviation, photography, and videography in Guyana.
The Guyana Tristate Alliance Inc, the Consulate General, and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Guyana to the United Nations hosted an awards ceremony and reception to commemorate Guyana’s 46th Independence and Georgetown’s 200th anniversary, at the Brooklyn Borough Hall on June 8, 2012.
Thirteen Guyanese were awarded “The Golden Arrowhead of Distinction”, among them Michael Charles. He received this award from Dr. Mathieu Eugene.
Again, during the Guyana Folk Festival awards ceremony at the Brooklyn Borough Hall in Brooklyn, New York on September 2, 2010, Mike was presented the 2010 Guyana Cultural Association Award for his extraordinary work in photography.