Apache Pilot Turned Entrepreneur Flies HondaJet

How does a former US Army Apache helicopter pilot come to be flying a HondaJet in support of their own entrepreneurial business activities? Tim Solms shares his story with AvBuyer…

Joining the army and becoming a helicopter pilot are two points in time that were very far apart for Tim Solms who grew up in a military family and was looking into attending the Military Academy.

He enlisted in the Army at 17, spending time as a soldier and then staying in the reserves while getting his BSc in Business Administration at the Citadel, the Military College in Charleston, South Carolina, which parlayed into being commissioned as a Lieutenant in the field artillery.

While on a deployment, and out of the blue, Tim (pictured left, center) got a call from the chief of Army Aviation and was asked if he'd be interested in considering Army Aviation. Tim had spoken many times to his brother, who was one of the early Army Apache helicopter pilots, and liked the idea of joining him. So, at 26 years old, Tim went to flight school and ended up staying in the army for 19 years.

Speaking of his most challenging experience during the war in Kosovo, he recalls: “I was in a NATO building, and the reason that was the most challenging was because I was not in a US environment. I was in a multinational environment.

“[There were things] I had to learn and unlearn very quickly, where national agendas and national styles [were at play] and we had to figure out how we were going to [achieve our goals] together and not make it about ‘what my country wants or what your country wants’.”

Tim says he learned a lot about working in the international environment during that time; finding the best in people, and looking past some of the obstacles that we may see from our own cultural upbringing and background. “It was probably the biggest learning experience I had as a soldier,” he reflects.

While in the military Tim had the opportunity to do some work in the Pentagon and, as he excelled in his work, word got out about his talents and abilities. One day, he received an offer to work with a technology company.

Though initially reluctant to leave the military, after meeting the people and understanding the opportunity, he went for it. He developed further skills in fintech, cybersecurity and technology, and it was during this time that Tim discovered a talent for turning companies and projects around.

Given the opportunity to work with a large software company in turning one of its divisions around, the first thing Tim did was define the mission, figuring out what needed doing. Next, he got the team organized so that the division could grow. He then established the metrics the team would use.

Tim honed his skills in re-optimizing organizations for growth which all developed into his playbook, allowing him to turn a series of other projects around, too. “It is always where somebody says ‘we have a gem here, but it just needs to be re-optimized’,” Tim says. “[They tell me] ‘We need to point it towards growth. We need to polish it. We need to get it performing and delivering to its potential’.”

Flying Private Planes for Business

Tim got his FAA Commercial Pilot’s Licence while in the army and added a fixed-wing rating to that. He loved being able to fly for himself away from a professional environment.

He bought a small Grumman American AA-5A. Then, shortly after he left the Army – and with his family growing – he upscaled to a Piper Cherokee 6 which he flew a great deal, immediately using it for business activities, including flying to meetings and other professional opportunities. And as those opportunities developed, he bought a Piper Malibu.

Asked whether his business endeavours enabled him to move up and eventually afford the HondaJet he flies today, Tim agrees they allowed it, “but they had also created the demand for that,” he clarifies.

“I'm flying a HondaJet right now, but if I had something that was a 40-minute flight away, and I thought I was going to be doing that twice a week, the HondaJet would not be the right aircraft for that mission set.”

Covid provided Tim with the ‘pivot point’. “Whereas everything slowed down, I figured this is an opportunity for me to speed up,” he recalls. “So, I went from spending a lot of time on the commercial airlines to flying my plane – probably [increasing from] a hundred, perhaps 120 hours per year to 260 or 280 hours per year.

“That's when I moved to the Piper Malibu,” he says. “It’s a great platform – a pressurized aircraft, flying in the flight levels, complex – but I realized very quickly that I was flying it right to the edge of the performance envelope almost every time. And my business requirements were going to keep me on that trajectory.”

After two years with the Piper Malibu Tim started looking for the next step. As part of his research he spoke to a man he was doing business with who flew his own Cessna Citation Mustang, and Tim started to consider the other single-pilot Light Jets on the market. It was here that he came across the HondaJet, deciding it was the right fit for his needs.

Why Fly a HondaJet?

With range and performance specifications that suited Tim’s mission profile, Tim compares flying the Apache helicopter to the HondaJet.

“[In the Apache] you are the integrator of incredible amounts of disparate information,” he reflects. “It was not a clean cockpit. There were different aviation systems, flight systems, weapons systems, communication systems, nav systems, forward-looking infrared, and you had to synthesize all that information. A two-hour flight would absolutely wear you out.”

By comparison, Tim says he can do a 4.5-hour flight in the HondaJet and he will feel refreshed. “I will feel rested when I finish the flight.”

Discussing the Garmin G3000 avionics in the HondaJet flightdeck and how it increases pilot situational awareness, there’s a good reason the panel is found in several other single-pilot jets. But the way the Garmin platform is integrated in the HondaJet was a key reason for his decision to buy that platform. 

“It is tied into every system on the aircraft so it's all centrally managed,” he explains.

“When I was flying the Piper Malibu, I was flying the piston-engine version, the Mirage. It had previously been retrofitted with a Garmin glass cockpit, and having that experience was really what pushed me to say, ‘I'm looking for a similar experience’.

“When I was looking at light jets, I was considering the Beechcraft Premier 1A and the Citation Mustang, but it was my familiarity and experience with Garmin that made the HondaJet so compelling to me.”

Look Beyond the Direct Cost of a Jet

Asked what advice he would give someone aspiring to buy their own private airplane, Tim says that you need to be very mission focused. “It’s not just about the cost. What more will you achieve flying your own jet?”

Despite his busy work life, Tim balances his time to enjoy his wife and five daughters, two of whom have taken an interest in flying and join him from time to time on his HondaJet flights that feature on his YouTube channel (@bluemaxsix).

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