Resource Hub Versatile operator provides charter, corporate/VIP, and aerial photography and videography services. Sweet Helicopters of Goshen, Indiana, provides personalized charter services to operators in the midwestern United States as well as air ambulance services for Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Chuck Surack, a local businessman best known as the founder of musical instrument and audio equipment company Sweetwater Sound, founded the operator as Indiana Helicopters in 2012. Five years later, Indiana Helicopters merged with Helimotion to form Sweet Helicopters. Versatile Fleet Sweet Helicopters operates seven helicopters—three Leonardo AW109SPs, three Airbus H130s, and one Airbus H125. It primarily focuses on providing FAA Part 135 VIP charter services, aerial photography, and aerial videography throughout the region, including in Chicago, Illinois, and Indianapolis, Indiana. One of the Airbus H130s in the Sweet Helicopters fleet. As the official helicopter service provider of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the company offers charter services to and from the racetrack for the Indianapolis 500 and other popular races. It transported 450 people to the 2024 Brickyard Weekend at the track, a new record for helicopter passengers shuttled to the annual event that precedes the Indianapolis 500. Sweet Helicopters provides a service that picks up passengers at their homes and places of businesses if a safe helicopter landing area is available. The company typically flies to locations anywhere within 300 miles of Goshen, including picking up passengers from Fort Wayne International Airport (KFWA) and flying them to a vacation or business destination. The operator’s aircraft feature leather seats, air-conditioning, and Bose noise-canceling headsets for passenger comfort. The company’s operational standards follow three pillars—safety, convenience, and exceptional service. It highlights a highly trained staff and a rigorous safety program combined with the personal touch of a midwestern company as a combination that delivers dependability and experience. The company employs numerous high-time pilots and veteran maintenance technicians. The team also includes two FAA designated pilot examiners along with military veterans and an experienced feature-film pilot. Focus on Safety Sweet Helicopters focuses heavily on its safety culture, which the company credits for its perfect safety record to date. Its safety culture has led to partnerships with organizations that include Fox Sports, NBC, Red Bull, the University of Notre Dame, Andretti Global, and Haas F1 Team. The company is often contracted to help film scenes and provide support at sporting events. “Sweet Helicopters is an important part of our Notre Dame home football and large-event safety and traffic-management plan,” says Keri Kei Shibata, assistant VP for campus safety and chief of police at the University of Notre Dame. “They are a trusted partner that helps us have eyes in the sky.” Air Medical Support Sweet also partners with Parkview Health to help operate two Parkview Samaritan Medical Transport helicopters—an Airbus AS365 N2 Dauphin and a Leonardo AW169—that serve northern Indiana, northwestern Ohio, and southwestern Michigan. The company provides pilots and mechanics to operate and maintain the aircraft. A Parkview Samaritan Medical Transport Airbus AS365 N2 Dauphin takes off for its next mission from the helipad at a Parkview Health hospital. A helicopter and airplane pilot and owner, Surack blended his business savvy with his aviation passion in creating Sweet Helicopters. Since starting the company, he has expanded his aviation businesses to include Aviation Specialty Insurance, Enstrom Helicopter, and Sweet Aviation—a fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter flight school with bases in Fort Wayne and Auburn, Indiana. His companies also support the annual Rotors ’n Ribs Fly-In every summer in Goshen.
