Training helicopter pilots at tremendous cost

Student pilot Ryan Smith, right, flies an R-44 helicopter over the canyons and mesas near Sedona, Ariz., with Guidance Aviation instructor Jeremy Noland.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

An instructor and a student pilot prepare an R-66 helicopter for a morning flight from Guidance Aviation helicopter school in Prescott, Ariz.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Student Ryan Smith “flies” a helicopter in the Yavapai Community College flight simulator lab in Prescott, Ariz. The Marine veteran, with deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, now qualifies to have all his tuition and expenses fully covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Guidance Aviation flight instructor Jeremy Noland pushes a Robinson 44 helicopter from a hangar at Prescott Municipal Airport. Noland is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and recent graduate of the Guidance Aviation school.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Yavapai Community College flight students read and listen to an instructor in the school’s helicopter simulator lab. All are U.S. military veterans whose course tuition, room and board are fully funded through the Post-9/11 GI Bill.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Guidance Aviation flight instructor Jeremy Noland prepares an R-44 helicopter for an early morning training flight from Prescott Municipal Airport. Noland, a Marine Corps veteran, recently graduated from Guidance Aviation and was hired back by the school to be an instructor.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Guidance Aviation flight instructor Jeremy Noland tows a Robinson 44 helicopter across the tarmac at Prescott Municipal Airport in preparation for an early morning training flight.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Guidance Aviation students Ryan Smith, left, and Richard Lyman watch another student lift off on a training flight from Prescott Municipal Airport. Both are U.S. military veterans whose training, room and board is fully funded through the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Guidance Aviation instructor Jeremy Noland, left and helicopter student Ryan Smith lift off from Prescott Municipal Airport in Arizona.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Mechanic Josh Adler performs scheduled maintenance on a helicopter at Guidance Aviation in Prescott, Ariz.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Christopher Morris is a former U.S. Army sergeant and Iraq war veteran. He graduated from Guidance Aviation but has been unable to find a job. He believes there really aren’t many helicopter pilot jobs available, so he’s studying to be an air traffic controller.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Air Force veteran Rob Ardy graduated from the Guidance Aviation school in July 2012 and was hired back as an instructor. Now he flies a Bell 206 B3 turbine helicopter on inspection patrols along gas pipelines in Texas.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

John Stonecipher, president and CEO of Guidance Aviation helicopter school in Prescott, Ariz. The company’s 18-month pilot-training course is linked to Yavapai Community College, enabling U.S. veterans to have all training, room and board fully paid for through the Post-9/11 GI Bill.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

John Stonecipher, owner of Guidance Aviation, bought a six-bedroom, 6,344-square-foot house for $1.35 million, the third-most-expensive residential sale in Prescott in 2013. In just a few years, Stonecipher has become a multimillionaire running his company’s 18-month pilot training course.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)