Maciej Dominiak - Bo105.Pl Pilot

Aug 2

Thank you for your time, would you mind introducing yourself and telling us about your aviation background.

Thank you, my name is Maciej Dominiak and I am a commercial helicopter pilot and private airplane pilot. I have a type rating for Robinson R44, Hughes 269 and BO 105. I have also flown several other types like AS350, Mi-2 and Ka-26. I accumulated over 1000 FH in helicopters and over 300 FH in airplanes.

Could you tell us a little bit about the helicopter you fly?

I fly ex German military BO105 P1M helicopter. My version was an anti-tank heli armoured with six TOW missiles. After Berlin Wall fell helicopter was converted to a passenger version. BO105 was the first rotorcraft to have a rigid rotor system. It enables flying aerobatics manoeuvres in the -1.0 G to +3.5 G range.

What makes your display different compared to the Red Bull example which is quite popular on the European Airshow circuit?

Red Bull is focused on aerobatic flying on BO105 during the daytime. Our display is focused on the manoeuvring capability of BO105 and underlines what helicopter can fly in opposite to airplane. During our night display with pyro, we fly a dynamic military-style show with a lot of fireworks involved. We are very happy that we are doing such different shows on such similar helicopters. We hope to visit colleagues from the Austrian hangar in the near future, not only to see their unique hangar, but also to exchange experiences.

Besides you as the demo pilot how many people is there in the team?

The standard team beside me is 3 people. If we take our semi-truck for show additional drivers join our team. Preparing such a complex show as combining a helicopter with pyrotechnics requires a lot of work. The show takes about 10 minutes, while the preparation for it takes about 6 ... hours. A key element of the success of our organization is a well-rounded crew. We often help each other so that the show is at the highest possible level, not only of the show, but also of safety. I think our team will grow over time, but you have to remember that these are our beginnings in such a project. We are glad that on our way we meet many people who, without being in our team, often want to help us implement our plans.

Do you have any more displays planned for this year?

We are negotiating 3 other displays for this year but this is our first season and we expect to be much busier next year. Unfortunately, due to some adventures at the beginning of the season, we started our campaign quite late, which delayed the talks with many organizers. We also know that the night show is not a cheap attraction, so we are planning to do a European tour next year. Additionally, we have some secrets up our sleeve to reduce the cost of ferry flights We have several inquiries for private shows such as weddings and birthdays; these are the possibilities of airshows only being explored by people.

What are your plans for the future?

We would like to make our display one of the best in the helicopter segment and to be present on best Air Shows in Europe. The possibilities of our helicopter are in many respects unlimited. I think that each winter we will be preparing another upgrade of our helicopter so that each next season will be even better. When it comes to pyrotechnics, our pyrotechnician Mateusz devotes every free moment to finding new products that can light up the sky. Additionally, we want to work not only on the helicopter. I spend a lot of work on improving my skills. Each show is many hours of my training at the controls of Bolkow and other helicopters. At this point, we are also starting to consider options for recruiting a co-pilot who would undoubtedly be a big help in the upcoming air show seasons.

What’s the Bo 105 like to fly/display?

I very much like the control sensitivity of BO105 and the powerful two M250-C20B turbine engines. Flying display in BO105 is a great pleasure. As I mentioned, our helicopter is limited by your imagination and ... documents the possibilities offered by this helicopter are the definition of the beauty of flying in three dimensions. It's not about acrobatics (chapeau bas Red Bull), we love the freedom this helicopter gives in dynamic flying. We decided to add pyrotechnics (and smoke during the day), which was probably quite a nice show!

Any airshows outside of Poland you would like to display at?

Of course, we would like to fly in the Oshkosh night show block, but I don't know if before or after Aeroshell Aerobatic Team Each show is different and unique for us. We would definitely like to show our possibilities at the biggest air shows in Europe, although for us also small events have a certain magic! Our big dream was to go to Antidotum Leszno and that's where we started our season. We are talking to a few large shows, but we are focusing on the 2023 season. Maybe then not only outside Poland but also outside Europe?

What types of planes or helicopters have you flown and what experience do you value the most?

I have experience in R44, BO105, HU269, AS350, Ka-26, Mi-2 and Cessna 150, 152, 172, 175, 182, Da-20, and Zlin 526F. From a perspective, all experiences have their own place in building you as a pilot. Of course some of them I remember better but I can not judge the value. I think that the most valuable experience is the one that awaits us. Each flight is a new experience, a new observation, which is why I attach so much importance to preparing for the flight.

You are one of the very few helicopter pilots in the world to perform night pyro displays in a helicopter. How did you come up with this idea and how long did it take you to accomplish this?

The idea to start flying with pyro started more than 3 years ago. We have an ex-military helicopter equipped with factory brackets for holding the TOW missile launching platform. It enabled us to make a development of military-style external mounted trays with a very big capacity for pyro. As a result, we have a nice, aggressive-looking system which has the possibility to install a massive amount of different types of pyro works for a long and rich-looking display. We are flying 2 person crew - pyro operator and pilot to be flexible during the display. The system has in total more than 64 channels for firing pyro which is unique. Developing the system, manufacturing, testing and obtaining CAA approval took more than 2 years. Covid-19 was an important factor which postponed all projects.

When you do not perform as a display pilot, what do you do? What does your week look like?

Well, I am running my own business in transportation and I spend quite a lot of time in the office. Preparing a helicopter for display, making training flights and taking care of all necessary things around flying is very time-consuming so days are rather very busy for me, the "air show" week starts on Thursday when the team is preparing a trip to the show site and I am preparing the helicopter for ferrying. On Friday, we try to be there before noon so as to rest after the flight and do one more training in order to get acquainted with the zone and the place of the shows. After training, the whole team spends a lot of time briefing so that every detail is matched. Saturday and Sunday we devote all our energy to presenting a beautiful show to the public! On Mondays, there is usually a return from the show, and this starts a series of jumbled days of full-time office work with a second-time preparation for the shows and the next weekend. It can be hard, but it is the most beautiful job!

Do you have a website or social media page where fans or the airshow organizers can reach you?

Yes, we do. Welcome to Bo105.pl website (We are actually modifying it a bit so that there are more photos.) or our Facebook page. We always respond quickly

Thank you very much for your time! Any final words to our readers?

Thank you very much for being interesting in our BO105.pl team and let's meet at the Air Shows!