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Mike Kuhn
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La Isla Bonita has grown to become one of the most visited
destinations of Belize. Visitors come to our island for relaxation and
fun and even though they enjoy the laid-back style of the island, they
also expect top-quality service. Many businesses on the island have grown
and include the latest technology in their machinery and daily operations
so as to provide quick, reliable service to their clients. But even state
of the art machinery cannot take the place of the personalized service
that is such a very common part of San Pedro business. A fine example is
this week's personality who plays a vital role in the daily operations of
one of San Pedro's most successful businesses. Allow us to introduce to
you Mr. Mike Kuhn, Chief Pilot of Tropic Air.
Mike was born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, on December
4th, 1956 and soon
after moved to Nigeria, Africa with his family where his father worked as
an engineer. His family lived there for four years and then moved back to
his birthplace where he attended elementary and high school. Mike's mom
was a flight instructor and owner of a flying service in St. Claire,
Missouri. He grew up among air crafts and soon developed a keen interest
in aviation. At the young age of seventeen, he learned to fly and in 1974
earned his Private Pilot License. Mike enjoyed flying immensely and soon
after pursued his Commercial License, earning it in 1976. He
continued his education at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.
Immediately after college Mike went back
to Missouri and worked flying freight and crop dusting. He never guessed
he would someday fly for a commercial airline in the tropics. But as
destiny would have it, he suffered a tragic accident and found himself in
the hospital. It was there he became acquainted with personnel from Wings
of Hope and was offered a job to fly for them in Belize. Mike threw
caution to the wind and accepted the offer. In 1991, he moved to Belize
and started his new career. He also received his Air Transport License,
the highest achievement a pilot can earn. When his contract with Wings of
Hope expired, he saw an opening for a pilot at Tropic Air and immediately
jumped at the opportunity. He was hired as a Line Pilot and Training
Captain, flying Twin Otters and Cessna 207's. In 1995, after three years
of dedication to the company he was promoted to Chief Pilot. Mike had
finally achieved what he set out to do and was very happy with himself
and his job. As Chief Pilot he is in charge of all the pilots
administration, training and scheduling.
Mike has seen Tropic Air expand to a fleet of nine air
crafts and the amount of passengers grow to almost double their original
numbers. Mike, now a Belizean citizen, is in charge of overseeing the
daily performance of fourteen permanent pilots at Tropic Air. He told the
San Pedro Sun, "My number one goal, as
well as Tropic Air's, is safety. Then comes the smooth running of
daily operations, passenger's comfort and reliability." Mike says he has
received many opportunities to return to the USA to work, but by simply
looking around, seeing the natural beauty and peaceful environment of
where he works and lives, he is not willing to give it up. He continued
by saying, "San Pedro is a nice place to live and the people are
wonderful. I thoroughly enjoy my job and Tropic Air has been very loyal
to me, as I have been to them. Steve and Johnny have an open door policy.
They allow their employees to have a lot of say in matters. This makes
for a good working relationship."
As many other people living in San Pedro, Mike also
makes the most of the wonderful water sports that are available. In his
spare time he enjoys a little diving, fishing and has recently started a
windsurfing course. Together with Hildy Dawson, his companion of many
years, they have raised four children.
Mike's knowledge in the flying business has enhanced
the security and reliability of this airline. Through his good
administration he has inspired many others and in return has the
customers feeling comfortable and secure while riding the airways of
Belize. Way to go Mike, and thanks for flying into "Our Community."
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