Sat, Mar 14, 2009
Leader Of Civilian Air Show Team Was 67
It was with sadness Aero-News learned this week of the passing
of Jim Cheatham, who pioneered advances in helicopter-mounted
aerial photography and headed the world's only civilian helicopter
demonstration team, Showcopters.
Cheatham passed away Wednesday of a sudden illness, reports the
Monterey (CA) County Herald. He was 67.
Once an instructor at Verticare Helicopters and Airplanes in
Salinas, Cheatham eventually took over the fixed-wing and rotary
flight training, sales and service business. He started Showcopters
in 1996, and soon the three-ship team -- flying Robinson helos --
attracted a following at air shows throughout the country.
Cheatham's company also utilized the the rotating 'Sky Eye'
camera, using the gimbal-mounted system to record aerial
photography at the Reno Air Races and AirVenture. In 2008, one of
Cheatham's specially-equipped helicopters was provided to the
Monterey County Sheriff's Department for aerial recon work, though
that program fell victim to budget cutbacks this year.
Born in Arizona on January 5, 1942, Cheatham learned to fly as a
teenager... taught by his father, a B-24 pilot during World War II.
Cheatham later served as an Army warrant officer, flying
helicopters in Vietnam and South Korea for four years in the 1960s.
Along with combat missions, Cheatham also tested helocopter
gunships, according to the paper.
The County Herald notes a memorial service for Cheatham will be
held Monday morning at Verticare's facilities at Salinas Municipal
Airport
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