2020 SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS

2020 SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Nominee:      Kenny Keller
Award:        Communications
Nominator:    Holley Gardel, Utility Inspection Pilot, HeloAir, Inc.

Nomination Text:

I believe no one has worked harder in our industry, when it comes to communicating
safety standards and providing ground instruction for helicopter pilots, than Kenny
Keller. Kenny started the Helicopter Online Ground School (HOGS) in 2012 and since
then it has grown to include 4,496 subscribers with 3,647 current and active members.
This includes 1,497 Private Pilot members, 877 Commercial members, 280 Instrument
members, and 718 CFI members. There are 1,965 people who have participated in his
Free Radio Communication Course, and hundreds have purchased his Top Ten Check
Ride Tips and Helicopter Check Ride Books. Beyond the paid purchases, he has given
away a considerable amount of books and memberships for free, or with large discounts
to those who need them. He also offers 744 free instructional and informational videos
on the HOGS YouTube channel, which has nearly 19,000 subscribers. Kenny has been
providing helicopter training for 20 years and has worked in various capacities in the
industry, but he has found his calling with HOGS. What started as a ground-up, low
budget, self-taught online project has grown into an easily accessible tool that I believe
should be recognized and awarded.

Kenny’s selfless act of kindness and willingness to help others is something all pilots
should strive for. He is dedicated to the helicopter training environment and will do
literally anything to help anyone seeking to become the best pilot they can be,
personally returning phone calls and emails to anyone who contacts him with questions
whether they are members of his courses or not. He has spent countless hours,
sacrificing everything he has to build HOGS into the one place helicopter pilots can go
to further their knowledge base. Kenny utilizes guest instructors and introduces real
world scenarios.

He started Coffee With Kenny as an informal project on YouTube in January 2019,

produced a few videos, and then he just kept going. As of August 27th, he is on day
232– in a row! Every day he puts out a video to discuss a topic in the industry, with an
emphasis on safety. Most notably, he discusses pressures put on pilots (be it external
or internal), he reviews accident reports, he talks about maintenance and what is
absolutely not acceptable, he discusses how to make solid aeronautical decision
making, go/no-go weather decisions, and even went through each point brought up on
the most recent USHST report in detail, dedicating one video to each point.

HELICOPTER FATAL ACCIDENTS on the rise 2019
https://youtu.be/nODVL4YjB4o

Know How Much Fuel You Need or “May” Need
https://youtu.be/ZyO9yYpUYR0

"Take Time for a Walk Around and for Checklists" Helicopter Safety Team
https://youtu.be/wcUj0zLLYXA

AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS medication usage a factor in 10 to 13 percent
https://youtu.be/bb6rIBNO258

Stop the Scud Running – Lowering your altitude to avoid clouds or bad weather is
dangerous!
https://youtu.be/41nLtzYdQzE

Visual Flight Rules in Instrument Conditions can Lead to Death
https://youtu.be/5VnpNg0n87E

Don’t Succumb to Get-There-Itis – This "disease" is common among pilots.
https://youtu.be/1N-15dGsnNU

Don’t be Afraid to Divert, Turn Around or Land

https://youtu.be/WDxXpJMoZa0

Coffee With Kenny, full playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKQ9FHtslrv2VH4jMQSPoK7d_AP4maJ_7

I have included links to the YouTube channels mentioned above, and specific videos
that I think are pertinent. However if you click on the Coffee With Kenny channel and
view the full playlist to scroll through the topics, you will get a feel for the general tone of
the information he is providing: SAFETY. Because these topics are told in a casual
setting, as opposed to a classroom type instructional video, they capture the attention of
an audience that may otherwise not seek out this specific information. His audience
loves it and looks forward to more on a daily basis.

I truly have not met a more dedicated and passionate advocate for helicopter safety,
and Kenny has proven excellence in communication of this very important topic. This
man has dedicated his life to helicopter education, and to making information as easy
as possible for anyone to access. I believe whole-heartedly that he is deserving of this
award, and I encourage you to consider him for this great acknowledgement.

Support Material: Video, audio and attachments

Signed Acknowledgement Form:                       Yes

 
                                                                     CHRISAIR AVIATION, LLC
                                                                            6810 Gray Horse Street, Las Vegas NV 89149
                                                                                  dan@chrisair.net | 605-877-1787
	
  
                                                                                                                                                                         25	
  August	
  2019	
  
To	
  whom	
  it	
  may	
  concern,	
  
	
  
I	
  was	
  first	
  introduced	
  to	
  Kenny	
  Keller	
  back	
  in	
  2016	
  while	
  searching	
  YouTube	
  for	
  helicopter	
  instructional	
  videos.	
  	
  I	
  
stumbled	
  across	
  	
  one	
  of	
  Kenny’s	
  video	
  on	
  Autorotation	
  tips	
  and	
  tricks,	
  
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBxL4NBxTZ8)	
  and	
  was	
  immediately	
  hooked!	
  	
  He	
  has	
  a	
  teaching	
  style	
  that	
  is	
  
relaxed	
  and	
  easy	
  to	
  understand.	
  	
  The	
  more	
  I	
  watched	
  his	
  videos	
  the	
  more	
  I	
  excelled	
  in	
  my	
  training.	
  	
  I	
  soon	
  learned	
  
that	
  he	
  was	
  based	
  out	
  of	
  an	
  airport	
  only	
  20	
  min	
  away	
  from	
  my	
  hometown.	
  	
  I	
  bought	
  a	
  copy	
  of	
  his	
  Amazon	
  #1	
  
bestselling	
  book;	
  “Helicopter	
  Check-­‐Ride”	
  and	
  read	
  it	
  in	
  one	
  sitting.	
  	
  It	
  was	
  through	
  his	
  book	
  I	
  learned	
  about	
  
philosophy	
  on	
  flight	
  training.	
  	
  I	
  was	
  amazed	
  at	
  how	
  similar	
  our	
  views	
  are.	
  	
  I	
  made	
  it	
  a	
  point	
  to	
  stop	
  by	
  and	
  express	
  
my	
  gratitude	
  to	
  him	
  the	
  next	
  time	
  I	
  was	
  in	
  town.	
  
	
  
The	
  following	
  August	
  my	
  wife	
  and	
  I	
  made	
  the	
  trip	
  back	
  home.	
  	
  I	
  contacted	
  Kenny	
  and	
  he	
  graciously	
  agreed	
  to	
  meet	
  
me	
  at	
  his	
  studio	
  on	
  his	
  day	
  off.	
  	
  He	
  showed	
  me	
  around	
  and	
  even	
  gave	
  me	
  a	
  copy	
  of	
  his	
  videos	
  on	
  DVD	
  (which	
  are	
  
now	
  collector’s	
  items).	
  	
  He	
  mentioned	
  that	
  HOGS	
  needed	
  an	
  instrument	
  course	
  and	
  asked	
  if	
  I	
  would	
  be	
  willing	
  to	
  
help	
  out.	
  	
  Since	
  I	
  was	
  a	
  dual	
  rated	
  Instrument	
  instructor	
  I	
  jumped	
  at	
  that	
  chance.	
  	
  He	
  gave	
  me	
  some	
  tips	
  on	
  video	
  
production	
  and	
  sent	
  me	
  home	
  with	
  one	
  of	
  his	
  microphones.	
  	
  	
  
	
  
Over	
  the	
  next	
  6	
  months	
  I	
  worked	
  with	
  him	
  daily	
  to	
  produce	
  the	
  instrument	
  course.	
  	
  I	
  would	
  write	
  and	
  film	
  the	
  
course	
  in	
  Las	
  Vegas,	
  then	
  send	
  him	
  the	
  raw	
  footage	
  to	
  edit.	
  	
  During	
  this	
  process	
  we	
  became	
  good	
  friends	
  and	
  we	
  
started	
  planning	
  our	
  future	
  “exploits”.	
  	
  HeliExpo	
  2018	
  was	
  scheduled	
  to	
  be	
  in	
  Las	
  Vegas	
  and	
  was	
  first	
  on	
  our	
  list.	
  	
  I	
  
was	
  amazed	
  at	
  how	
  many	
  people	
  came	
  up	
  to	
  thank	
  him	
  for	
  all	
  the	
  videos	
  he	
  made.	
  	
  Some	
  were	
  HOGS	
  members,	
  
while	
  most	
  had	
  just	
  used	
  his	
  free	
  content	
  on	
  YouTube.	
  	
  Every	
  one	
  of	
  them	
  had	
  a	
  story	
  about	
  their	
  struggles	
  with	
  
ground	
  knowledge	
  and	
  how	
  important	
  he	
  was	
  to	
  their	
  success.	
  	
  	
  	
  
	
  
2018	
  proved	
  to	
  be	
  a	
  great	
  year	
  for	
  Kenny.	
  	
  Helicopter	
  Online	
  Ground	
  School	
  (HOGS)	
  got	
  a	
  website	
  makeover	
  and	
  
also	
  saw	
  a	
  record	
  number	
  of	
  new	
  members.	
  	
  Kenny	
  had	
  started	
  a	
  Live	
  Training	
  Tuesday	
  program,	
  where	
  he	
  
covered	
  a	
  safety	
  topic,	
  or	
  helicopter	
  procedure	
  free	
  of	
  charge.	
  	
  This	
  free	
  training	
  was	
  an	
  hour-­‐long	
  program;	
  
streamed	
  live	
  on	
  Facebook,	
  YouTube,	
  as	
  well	
  as	
  the	
  HOGS	
  website	
  for	
  over	
  6	
  months.	
  	
  	
  
	
  
We	
  had	
  such	
  an	
  amazing	
  time	
  at	
  HeliExpo	
  2018,	
  that	
  we	
  knew	
  we	
  had	
  to	
  attend	
  HeliExpo	
  2019	
  in	
  Atlanta.	
  	
  Once	
  
again	
  Kenny	
  was	
  inundated	
  with	
  members	
  expressing	
  their	
  gratitude	
  at	
  what	
  he	
  does.	
  	
  A	
  few	
  weeks	
  before	
  the	
  
Expo,	
  Kenny	
  started	
  a	
  New	
  Daily	
  video	
  blog	
  called	
  Coffee	
  with	
  Kenny	
  (CWK).	
  	
  This	
  raw	
  unscripted	
  video	
  answers	
  
viewers	
  questions,	
  or	
  presents	
  safety	
  topics.	
  	
  Again,	
  all	
  provided	
  free	
  of	
  charge.	
  	
  Kenny	
  is	
  currently	
  up	
  to	
  233	
  
videos	
  as	
  of	
  this	
  letter,	
  with	
  no	
  end	
  in	
  sight.	
  	
  	
  
	
  
Kenny	
  Keller	
  is	
  most	
  likely	
  responsible	
  for	
  more	
  helicopter	
  safety	
  and	
  training	
  videos	
  than	
  anyone	
  else	
  on	
  the	
  web.	
  	
  
Kenny	
  has	
  the	
  only	
  pure	
  helicopter	
  training	
  program	
  available	
  on	
  the	
  internet.	
  	
  He	
  is	
  personally	
  filling	
  a	
  void,	
  that	
  is	
  
sorely	
  needed	
  in	
  the	
  helicopter	
  industry.	
  	
  As	
  the	
  2018	
  National	
  Flight	
  Instructor	
  of	
  the	
  Year,	
  I	
  can’t	
  think	
  of	
  anyone	
  
who	
  would	
  be	
  more	
  qualified	
  than	
  Kenny	
  Keller	
  for	
  the	
  Excellence	
  in	
  Communication	
  award.	
  	
  If	
  you	
  have	
  any	
  
questions	
  please	
  feel	
  free	
  to	
  contact	
  me	
  at	
  dan@chrisair.net	
  or	
  605-­‐877-­‐1787.	
  
	
  
                                                                                                      Daniel	
  P	
  Christman	
  
                                                                                                      ChrisAir	
  Aviation,	
  LLC	
  
                                                                                                      2018	
  FAA	
  National	
  Flight	
  Instructor	
  of	
  the	
  Year	
  
                                                                                                      	
  

 
       CHRISAIR AVIATION, LLC
        6810 Gray Horse Street, Las Vegas NV 89149
              dan@chrisair.net | 605-877-1787
	
  
                                                     	
  

 
       CHRISAIR AVIATION, LLC
        6810 Gray Horse Street, Las Vegas NV 89149
              dan@chrisair.net | 605-877-1787
	
  
                                                     	
  

 
       CHRISAIR AVIATION, LLC
        6810 Gray Horse Street, Las Vegas NV 89149
              dan@chrisair.net | 605-877-1787