Helton received his private pilot’s license in 1947 after completing flight training at Bertram Flying School in Greensburg, Kansas. He earned both his commercial and flight instructor licenses in 1961, and flew as a crop duster in the Liberal, Kansas area during the early 1960’s. Helton Flying Services was born in 1969 at the Santana, Kansas airport, where Helton was instrumental in upgrading the grass strip to a hard surface and personally installing the lighting and rotating beacon. Along with his chattering and pilot instruction work, Helton has donated time in his Cherokee Six airplane transporting medical emergency patients. He is a commercial glider pilot, and multi-engine instructor. He has accumulated a staggering 11,500 flight hours, of which 8,500 were flight instruction.