Dale Aviation has been one of Rapid City's premier aviation service providers since 1982. Five years later, owner Jerry Dale purchased Medical Air Rescue Company (MARC) and has since turned it into the region’s premier medical air transport service. For over 40 years, this family-owned and run company has grown and flourished into the most multifaceted aviation company in Rapid City. Growing from eight employees and under 20 flights a month to current operations running with 90 employees, four bases and over 150 flights per month—MARC has made a huge impact in our rural area.
Dustin Hunsaker is a local Rapid City resident–born and raised south of town. In high school he worked as a farmhand at the Triple 7 Ranch where they ran almost 2,000-head of buffalo. The operation needed another bush plane pilot to assist in locating buffalo grazing and miscellaneous tasks – and it’s something that Dustin raised his hand for.
“I was a junior in high school and I figured I’d give it a shot,” said Dustin. “From there, I took the lessons, got a private license, and realized it was much easier than building fences.”
Laughing at the thought, Dustin continued to explain that the idea of being a pilot as a career was planted. After high school, he was accepted to Spartan College of Aeronautics and packed up for Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It wasn’t until he was home in Rapid City after graduating with his degree in aviation science awaiting a job offer from a recent interview that he met Jerry and Steve Dale–the father-son duo operating Dale Aviation.
“They ended up seeing potential in me and gave me a shot right out of college–which is very rare in the 135 world and especially in the air ambulance world,” said Dustin.
In 2007, Dustin started working for Dale Aviation doing routine office duties, helping launch planes, and helping wherever a hand was needed. Eventually, he grew into a line pilot, the chief pilot and now the Director of Operations for Medical Air Rescue Company and Dale Aviation—a COO in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) terms–where he oversees the ins and outs of the company making sure they are on the upward path.
“Anyone you talk to in this industry will say that aviation is a disease, and they’re right,” said Dustin. “There is nothing like it in the world—the freedom you feel when you can go in every direction (forward, backward, left, right, up, and down).”
But the biggest highlight of flying is who he flies for.
“To know that your job has a purpose and there is a need is what drew me into air ambulance rather than corporate airlines. It’s a hard job, but it is incredibly fulfilling knowing that you are able to use a talent and skill that you have to help others.”
When an individual meets an air ambulance team, it is typically the worst day of their life. In South Dakota, the rural population and vast mileage between home and hospital is what makes air ambulance services a necessity. Dale Aviation / MARC is the only company that has been in Rapid City since the beginning in the late 1980s. Others come and go and set up bases in and around the area. But even through the growth, MARC has always considered Rapid City home.
“[This team is] a family,” said Dustin. “Working alongside our employee base and the crews is something I look forward to day in and day out. We have put together such an awesome team.”
When a call comes into the office, the workplace shifts into rescue mode. Everyone pitches in from helping pull airplanes and mechanics dropping what they’re working on to double check safety of the outgoing aircraft.
“It’s really neat to watch when you’ve put a team together like we have that is there to get the job done. They know how important their job is.”
Air rescue is hard work, but Dustin is able to rest assured that when he makes it home from a stint to another base helping transport patients in need, that his family is back in Rapid City, ready to greet him home.
“My parents have always been so supportive. When I have to go out of town, they take care of the chores and watch my four kids,” said Dustin. “They have always pushed us to be the best we could be at whatever we wanted to do, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”
Read more in the "Up In the Air" Issue of Elevate!