Meet Our Passionate Team

As one of the founding partners of Rainbow River Aviation, Chad Hewitt has been a pilot in Southwest Alaska for 25 years and is already looking forward to the next 25! With a passion for flying and for serving the Lord, this Oregon native has followed his calling to the bright blue waters of Bristol Bay. His wife, Nicole, and two beautiful daughters, Taylor and Brylie, spend the winters together enjoying hunting fishing, flying and serving God in their local church.

Forrest Carpenter grew up in an aviation family as a third-generation commercial pilot. From the time he was young, he knew he wanted to be a pilot, but it wasn’t until his first day as a guide for Iliamna River Lodge that he fell in love with floatplanes. He later became a flight instructor, and found his passion for that, which led him to his position as Chief Pilot for Rainbow River Aviation. Forrest spends his offseason in Colorado with his beautiful wife, Brooke, and son Forrest enjoying hunting, fishing, volunteering at their church, and spending time together.

Chris Hartis fell in love with aviation while restoring his family’s Cessna 170 in college. After graduating from Gonzaga University, he went to work for Boeing in Seattle for several years until he moved to Alaska to pursue flying full- time as a commercial pilot. While flying for Lake Clark Air, Chris was introduced to the team at Rainbow River Aviation and decided to pursue float flying full time. He has since taken over as the Director of Operations for the air taxi, and the Manager of Rainbow River Lodge which he operates with his wife Brianna. When Chris and Brianna aren’t in Alaska, you will find them teaching country dancing or working out together at their favorite CrossFit gym in Jacksonville, FL.

Benjamin’s aviation history began in the Amazon jungle where his love for flight grew as he watched his father fly floats for 17 years for a missionary organization in Brazil. He earned his A&P while flight training in East Texas before moving to remote Alaska and working as an aircraft mechanic for 3 years. While in Alaska, Ben completed his IA license and completely restored a PA-12 that he used to gain flight experience.

Ben is the Director of Maintenance and a DHC-2 Pilot in Command for Rainbow River Aviation allowing him to showcase his talent both inside and outside of the cockpit. When he’s not fixing or flying planes, Ben loves fishing, diving, hiking, buying flowers for and camping with his beautiful wife Abby.

As one of the few TRUE Alaska natives on our team, Danny was born and raised in a small village in Western Alaska. During the off season, Danny works for a company that provides aviation service to villages in the remote regions of Western Alaska close to where he was born. When he is not working, he loves to spend time with his wife Karin and his dog Beau. During the summer season, Danny flies both the Cessna 185 and the DHC-2 for Rainbow River Aviation as well as assisting the DOM with in-season inspections and preventative maintenance on the airplanes.

Dawson Simmons, from North Carolina, has been a pilot for nearly 20 years. With a commercial resume covering a broad scope of jobs from US Forestry pilot, to flying floats in the demanding North Country of Maine, to flying skydivers, there are few things he hasn’t seen. Dawson also enjoys flying with Debbie, wife of 31 years in his Piper PA-18 Super Cub out of their private home air strip. Dawson loves the Lord, and in his free time, Dawson enjoys hunting, fishing, and hiking, as well as riding motorcycles.