By Ben Forrest | April 11, 2016 Estimated reading time 5 minutes, 49 seconds.
Kim Mizera, left, stands with his late father Ken, co-founder of Rilpa Enterprises Ltd. Ken was an engineer, innovator and entrepreneur whose influence still reverberates through Canada’s helicopter community. Rilpa Photo
The late Ken Mizera’s uncle, Jack Nicolson of Alpine Helicopters, gave him a chance to enter the aviation industry when he was very young, a coal miner with a Grade 10 education whose parents had been coal miners.
Mizera made the most of the opportunity, becoming an engineer, an innovator and an entrepreneur whose influence still reverberates through Canada’s helicopter community.
“You could see that he always kind of rooted for the underdogs,” said Kim Mizera, Ken’s son and president of Calgary, Alta.-based Rilpa Enterprises Ltd., a helicopter maintenance, support and leasing company Ken co-founded in 1973.
“Despite never finishing high school, Ken was fortunate he was surrounded by highly-educated business managers, and I think that originally stymied him in the business world.”
“He was a mechanic, a very talented mechanic. He had a good read for people — whether it’s for people in business or for people in general, he always gave them a chance.”
Ken Mizera passed away March 22, 2016 after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 80 years old.
“He was a kind, gentle, caring guy,” said Kim. “He really cared about all of his employees. He cared about the people around him.”
“He was a real family man…. He was passionate about aviation, and the people that he wanted to surround himself with were passionate people.”
An engineer by training, Mizera will be remembered in part for his role in developing reverse scoop and auto relight technology for turbine helicopters.
“The engines were flaming out, so first they were trying to stop snow from getting into the engine by reversing the airflow by reverse scoop, and then relight it if it did flame out,” said Kim.
“Right after they did that, there were a couple of flameouts that people got their lives saved because of that kit.”
Mizera also designed a fixture to repair Bell 206 airframes, was a mentor to many young engineers and was active in the aviation program at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).
“A lot of the people that went on to be successful entrepreneurs in the helicopter industry were due [to] his input,” said Kim.
Mizera got his start in the helicopter industry with a job in the parts department at Spartan Air Services in Edmonton, thanks to manager Jack Strath.
The company went through various acquisitions and eventually became part of Kenting Aviation. Mizera stayed with the company from 1955 until 1973, when he started Rilpa and shortly thereafter Centurian Helicopters with his former employers from Spartan, Strath and Stan Armstrong. This relationship existed for the rest of their lives.
He also founded a company called Mira Helicopters with his partner Ritchie Rasmussen, who Mizera originally hired at Kenting. Rasmussen went on to buy Shirley Air Helicopters.
Mizera’s connections spread to many other helicopter companies in Canada, and Kim credits his father’s input for much of Rilpa’s success over the past 43 years.
The family is setting up a memorial scholarship in Mizera’s name at SAIT for aircraft maintenance engineer students. Donations to the scholarship fund will be accepted at an upcoming celebration of Mizera’s flight through life.
“It just felt like the right thing to do, to be able to have his legacy live on of what he was passionate about,” said Kim.
“He was passionate about people that gave him an opportunity and equally, he gave lots of people [an] opportunity.”
The celebration of Mizera’s flight through life will be held April 15 from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Aerospace Museum of Calgary (4629 McCall Way N.E.) for friends, family and the aviation community
Donations can be made to the Kenneth L. Mizera Memorial Scholarship, which has been established to preserve the legacy of Mizera’s impact on the aviation community.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the scholarship can contact Brett Windle at SAIT, (403-284-8908 or brett.windle@sait.ca), or mail a gift to his attention (referencing the Kenneth L. Mizera Memorial) to SAIT Polytechnic, 1301–16 Avenue NW, Calgary, AB, T2M 0L4, Office MA305.
As a close friend said, “Ken has closed his flight plan.”
This is where I got my start in Aviation as an engineer, back when life was simpler and the Edmonton Municipal Airport was still around. My how times have changed.