ABOUT US
Owners, Rebekah and Craig have over 7,000 combined flight hours including flight instruction, helicopter air ambulance, tours, charters, aerial photography, hog depredation, and fire fighting in many of the most challenging flying environments throughout the United States. Both are Commercial Helicopter Pilots and Certified Helicopter Flight Instructors with Instrument (CFII). Matt is not only a pilot himself, he has also worked on some of the most advanced aircraft in world from Boeing to Sikorsky to Airbus.
Rebekah Hunter
Owner/Chief Pilot
​
Rebekah “Bekki” was raised in Cleveland, Ohio and eventually made her way to Ohio State where she earned her Masters degree. She is also a non-aviation business owner and has been an administrator in dozens of Hollywood tv shows and movies. She decided to use these
experiences and talents to transition into the helicopter world back in 2007, moved to Idaho and earned all the certificates and ratings she needed to become a professional helicopter pilot. She furthered her career by moving back to the Los Angeles area where she continued teaching as a certified flight instructor and also conducted tours and charters over southern California. Her ultimate goal was to be able to fly over one of her favorite places, the Grand Canyon and she spent several years doing just that! Bekki’s most outstanding and precious memory of flying was the day she fulfilled the last wish of a lady who was ailing from cancer and had only days
left to live. It was this lady’s dying wish to be flown by helicopter over the Grand Canyon. Mission accomplished!
Bekki is also an accomplished gymnast and continues to compete when she’s not busy flying. Her career continued to flourish beyond LA and Arizona to Texas for aerial hog depredation. Next, into the helicopter air ambulance world which took her to places like St. Louis, Atlanta, Illinois and New York. She then traveled on to Hawaii conducting tours on the island of Kauai. She continues to fly air ambulance out of the western New York area and is eager to share her expertise and mentor others with the joy of flying at FLX Helicopters!
Craig Lounsbury
Owner/Director of Operations
​
“The only thing better than growing up in the Finger Lakes Region is flying in the Finger Lakes Region.” Craig was born and raised in Rochester, NY and raised his daughter along the shores of Cayuga Lake. His aviation career has led him to some of the most beautiful and challenging places to fly on earth from Hawaii, Los Angeles, Grand Canyon, Gulf of Mexico, Belize, Fort Rucker and of course upstate New York and just about everywhere in between. He has taught dozens of people how to fly a helicopter and many have moved on to their own professional pilot careers because of his influence and mentorship. Everything from flight instructor, helicopter air ambulance, aerial fire fighting/long line, the paparazzi aerial photography in LA and flying tours; Craig has done it and experienced so many valuable venues in his career. One of his favorite highlights was flying Space Ex engineers over Catalina Island for their rocket testing operations! His goal is to share his expertise and the joy of flying helicopters with the local community for many years to come at FLX Helicopters!
Matt Donnelly
Director of Maintenance/A&P Technician
​
In aviation, perhaps the most valuable asset to a company is an experienced, trustworthy and knowledgeable airframe and powerplant technician. Matt has demonstrated these traits throughout his career supervising and working on some of the most advanced aircrafts in the industry from the Sikorsky line of S76 and S92 helicopters to airplanes as large as the Boeing 777 and as small as the S300 helicopter. His expertise in avionics installation, quality assurance, general maintenance/modification as well as routine inspections and aircraft overhaul, gives FLX Helicopters a valuable asset with Matt as our team member. He is also a private fixed wing and helicopter pilot, working toward his helicopter commercial certificate and instrument rating. Matt’s earlier career also involved building custom, high-end cabinetry and has been the shop manager and senior cabinetmaker at local companies. He has resided in the Finger Lakes Region for decades and you can often see him flying the area in his very own Hiller helicopter!
Robinson R-22 Beta II-Coming Soon!
Aircraft
​
Robinson R-22 Beta II is the world's most popular 2 seat training helicopter with a 2 blade rotor system powered by a Lycoming carbureted O-360 engine. The passenger cabin provides a quiet comfortable space with good visibility for training a student pilot. Approved for Visual Flight Rules both day and night. Room for storage under both seats. Advanced avionics and gps for both VFR and IFR training.
​
-
Fuel Capacity: 26 gal
-
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 1370 lbs.
-
Useful Load: 480 lbs. approx.
-
Cabin seating: 1 pilot + 1 student/passenger
-
Baggage compartments: under each of 2 seats @ 50lbs per compartment
-
Cruise speed 96 kts.
-
Range at cruise speed 270 NM
-
Endurance at cruise speed (no reserve): 250 nm aprox.
Robinson R-44 Raven II
Aircraft
Robinson R-44 Raven II has a 2 blade rotor system powered by a Lycoming IO-540 fuel injected engine. The passenger cabin provides an open, quiet and comfortable space with excellent visibility. Room for storage under all 4 seats. Advanced avionics, Garmin 650 GPS and air conditioning. Approved for Visual Flight Rules both day and night allowing for passenger transport on tours, aerial work and flight instruction for both VFR and IFR training.
-
Fuel Capacity: 47 gal
-
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 2500 lbs.
-
Useful Load: 910 lbs.
-
Cabin seating: 1 pilot + 3 passengers
-
Baggage compartments: under each of 4 seats @ 50lbs per compartment
-
Cruise speed 100 kts.
-
Range at cruise speed 270 NM
-
Endurance at cruise speed: 3 hours