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  1. Michael Bailey says

    An I con all the years traveling south to the museum we always looked for the plane in long lake was exciting to see .we are here now staying in long lake an wondered where the airplane went. Soo sad to hear rip

  2. Geoffrey Manganaro says

    Helms Aero service was an inspiration for me gaining a career in aviation maintenance….sorry to see Tom pass, he will be greatly missed !

  3. David Bower says

    We were just there at Long Lake last week, and wondered where the floatplanes were. Wishing clear skies to Thomas Helms, and condolences to his family.

  4. dennis hickey says

    Flew with Tom to Tirrell Pond and Trout Lake a few times when he first started taking over more flights from Herb in the ’80’s. A good man.

  5. Dave Wormuth says

    Got to know Tom when he taught at St Lawrence. Lucky to fly with him a few times. Once was a big loop down to Piseco and over to Elk Lake and back with the family. He had an innate sense of when someone was “getting green gills.”

    Will be missed for sure.

  6. Marty Hogan says

    I flew with Herb, Tom Helms and Todd Helms Junior. About 35 years worth of fantastic flights. I enjoyed his clever wit. He was such a fixture I will miss him and all my friends from California New York and Florida were sad to hear about this as well.

  7. Peter Jennings says

    Just read about his passing in the “Explorer”
    We used to fly in for a week of hunting each fall back in the 80’s with Herb& Tom. First time I ever went UNDER a bridge in a plane, or helped with maintenance prior to flying (while waiting for the fog to lift), or landed on ice for some Winter camping. So many stories!
    Best wishes for the Helms Family, and Rest in Peace Tom.
    God Bless,
    Peter Jennings
    Georgetown, CT

  8. William Christopher Lamb says

    So sorry to read that Tom has recently passed on.
    .
    I’m sure he had a great life, doing what he loved, and in one of the most beautiful places on earth. I was lucky enough to fly with Tom way back in 1998 and was able to get a photo of Tom’s dad at the plane’s controls which my mom had taken many years before (in the 1950s). I had an 8″X10″ copy of that photo made from mom’s, and sent it to Tom to hang in the lakeside office. I knew it was there after he’d hung it at home for a while first. I got to fly with Tom again in years past… there’s a picture from my old website — of my third wife and I in our gold shirts — on the dock right after a flight.

  9. Jeff Kirby says

    A flight with Tom in 2008 to pick up our daughter from camp in NH and return to the Adirondacks in time for a family reunion caused me to get back the flying bug after about 26 years away from it. Soon after, I got my seaplane rating. Have been flying a lot ever since. We have a framed Helms Aero poster in our camp, a gift from our kids. Tom was a legend and a fine person. Am sorry just now to receive news of his passing.

  10. Raymond J Mollica says

    I flew with Tom over 20 times to camp and hunt. Dry as toast , smart as a whip. He was a great guy who had my deep respect. Clear skies and a gentle landing to him among the heavenly clouds.

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