Business: Nanco Helicopters
Young Pilot Gives Aerial Experience
Not many 24-year-olds fly a commercial helicopter several times a week, and few own their own business. Taylor Nancarrow does both.
A third-generation Santa Barbaran with aviation in his blood — his dad and grandfather were both pilots — Nancarrow started fixed-wing flight training when he was 14 years old at Red Baron Aviation in Goleta. Two years later, his father — then owner of Elephant Bar and a recreational pilot — died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving Nancarrow devastated. Flying planes was put on hold.
However, in the past several years, Nancarrow has resumed flying, focusing on helicopters. “[As a kid] I noticed a lot of the pilots were always really stressed out, flying from one place to another. I noticed that the helicopter pilots were the most cheerful.” Copter pilots get to go home at night instead of staying in “Milwaukee overnight,” he reasoned.
