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Benjamin Fouts is an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, who conducts practical tests exclusively for helicopter ratings. His path to flight began on an Illinois farm, where childhood rides in agricultural spraying helicopters sparked his interest. After a brief stint at the Coast Guard Academy that was cut short by a medical discharge, Fouts moved to Hawaii in 1996 to attend university, where a Yellow Pages advertisement prompted him to begin civilian helicopter flight training.
Fouts has been a helicopter flight instructor for over 20 years and previously worked as an offshore commercial helicopter pilot for Era Helicopters. While he owns an experimental Glasair III fixed-wing aircraft, his DPE authority is strictly limited to rotorcraft, and he does not conduct checkrides for airplanes. Operating out of the Honolulu FSDO, Fouts is authorized to administer practical tests for Private, Commercial, ATP, Instrument, CFI, CFII, Ground Instructor, Military Competency, and Foreign Pilot Conversions.
In addition to his role as a DPE, Fouts is the Owner, President, and CEO of Hawaii Pacific Aviation Inc. (doing business as Mauna Loa Helicopters), which operates across campuses in Kailua-Kona, Honolulu, and Lihue. He has been active in safety standardization, participating in the Robinson Helicopter Company's Instructor Pilot Standardization Course in 2024. He was named the Hawaii SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006, and his flight school's training standards were highlighted in 2013 when one of its leased R22 helicopters executed a successful emergency autorotation onto a Honolulu street.