Iowa Helicopter Staff

“Copter” John McLaughlin
Owner/Chief Pilot

John McLaughlin is the chief pilot and assistant flight instructor for Iowa Helicopter. He is also the FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) for rotorcraft and fixed wing aircraft. John holds commercial, flight instructor and instrument flight instructor ratings in rotorcraft and single/multi engine fixed-wing aircraft. He has accumulated more than 5,500 flight hours in a variety of single and multi-engine aircraft. John has attended the Robinson Helicopter Flight Instructor Safety School and the Advanced Flight High Altitude R44 Training. He has more than 1300 hours in Robinson helicopters. He is also the Chief Meteorologist for KCCI-TV in Des Moines and specializes in Doppler radar systems. He is a frequent lecturer for the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. When severe weather strikes central Iowa, John uses his helicopter skills to work with National Weather Service damage survey teams. John resides in the Des Moines area and can be contacted at copterjohn@gmail.com

Matt Horn
CFII

Matt Horn is a part-time flight instructor at Iowa Helicopter. Matt was our chief flight instructor for nearly two years until hired by Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI) where he flies Bell Long Rangers to numerous oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Matt has more than 1000 hours in Robinson helicopters and is certified to teach instrument helicopter flying. Contact Matt at 605-359-8879 or CFIIMatt@gmail.com

Jason Hohanshelt
Pilot

Jason Hohanshelt is a former Army National Guard aviator with more than 500 hours experience in the UH-1 Huey and Bell Jet Ranger, many of those hours under night vision goggles (NVG). He has attended the Robinson Helicopter Factory School and is certified as a commercial pilot in the R22 and R44. He is currently working on his helicopter flight instructor rating with Iowa Helicopter. Jason and his family live in Ankeny, Iowa. Drop him a note at hohanshelt_av8r@yahoo.com