Star 7

Have you ever heard of Star 7?

Here, watch and learn.

Helicopter crew gives ABC4 inside look at high tech rescue

Seriously awesome, yeah?

Well, that guy in the video, the one that knows so much? That is Luke. And he is awesome. And he is the main guy pilot for the state. And Luke along with his family are some of our very best friends. Kyle and Luke go way back – back to the days of the Police Academy POST of 2010. K so that wasn’t that long ago, but our families have done tons of fun things together since Kyle and Luke became BBF’s (best bro friends).

Kyle flies with the Highway Patrol (under the Dept. of Public Safety) for things like DUI blitzes, marijuana eradications, man hunts and complicated search and rescues (remember all the people that got lost in the Uinta’s and Southern Utah area this summer? Chances are they were recovered by first class pilot Luke and master tactical flight officer Kyle!)

Remember when we went up to Heber before Christmas? Well, one morning Luke calls up Kyle and says that if he can get me to the airport in SLC by 12 the next afternoon, he’ll take me up in Star 7 for a short flight before landing at Centerfield P.D. to teach a class. And to that Kyle said he certainly would get me to the hangar on time as long as he could take the return trip back. Typical.

Anyway, after a quick preflight lesson on the dos and don’ts of riding in a helicopter we were off. A few minutes ahead of schedule, we were able to go on a little joy flight. We flew north to Bountiful to buzz the home of one of the other pilots who was out shoveling snow in his driveway. Then we rose above the yucky inversion of the valley and flew east over the mountains. It was honestly breathtakingly beautiful! We spotted some bald eagles and just enjoyed the views.

After the world’s shortest lesson on flying a helicopter for dummies, Luke let go of the controls and had me take over. Talk about a good rollercoaster ride! I’m still hoping that I didn’t make our passengers in the back sick. Needless to say, I was not very good at flying. But it was fantastic pretending for a while anyway!

From the air everything looks so small. From the air you realize there is so much more beyond what you experience from the ground. With what you see from the air, it reaffirms to your soul that there is Someone much larger than life that is in control. From the air, it is easy to gain perspective.

Perspective was my ‘word’ for last year. And this was the most incredible way for me to wrap up my year of perspective.

Thank you Captain Luke!