The chopper man

But Nicholas Bayotas has a sure-fire way of helping you find his house. "Wait for a chopper to land outside and guide you," he says with an almost straight face.

He isn’t kidding. "You see, it’s not uncommon for people here to see a Tora-Tora on the front lawn," he explains.

Bayoitas’ Modular Gas Turbine Services (mgts) is one of only two firms in the country and the only Filipino company engaged in the maintenance and repair of helicopter engines (the other is Rolls Royce of England in Clark).

Bayotas’ regular customers include some of the most prominent groups from the government and private sectors, like the Philippine Air Force, the Philippine Navy, Tropical Airways, jaka Transport, Royal Star Aviation, and even First Gentleman Mike Arroyo’s personal helicopter, among others.

Each project usually runs up to the millions, and can go as high as the eight-digit mark. One time, mgts inked a whopping P16 million contract with the Philippine Air Force to repair and overhaul 70 of its series engines. The firm also trades in engine repair equipment, even exporting machines and devices to Australia and New Zealand.

The profits are expectedly handsome, and Bayotas, now 71, and his family can now enjoy its benefits. He breaks way from the interview to confer with his wife Marcelina about getting a new car "Yung malaki para makahiga tayo sa mga road trips natin," he suggests. The couple discuss this so casually you’d think they were talking about buying fruit.

Bayotas, looking fit in a tight shirt, seems pretty cheerful today. In the middle of the discussion he takes out a white pad and scribbles a few notes regarding some unfinished repairs. It’s work as usual for Bayotas, and his only complaint, he says with mild amusement, is that his children were all down at the "slots", burning his hard-earned cash.

"And so early in the morning!" he laments with a chuckle. "I tell you... dati, I couldn’t even afford to breathe the air inside a casino."

Born and raised in Nuevo, Iloilo, Bayotas’ earliest memories consisted mostly of troubles and hardship. He was sickly as a young boy and had little nourishment, but he still had to walk several kilometers everyday to go to school. His mother Irenea sold suman and her measly earnings barely kept food on the table, but it became their only source of income following the death of his father Juan in 1945.

"My elementary and high school days were hard simply because of our lack of funds," Bayotas recalls. "We didn’t even have enough money to buy food. It was really depressing."

One time, a teenage Bayotas felt so woozy for having missed breakfast that he had to be escorted from class to get a glass of milk. "I can still vividly remember my mother one day on the verge of tears, telling us ‘Hindi ko na alam kung saan ako kukuha ng pera para sa pagkain natin bukas’," he sighs. "Those words struck me so hard that I still carry it to this day."

Such struggles as a youngster contributed to Bayotas’ poor health–something which plagued him through adulthood. But it also contributed to his determination and foresight to succeed in life. Poverty opened his eyes to reality early on, and it prevented the weight of the world from crushing his spirits.

With the help of his eldest sister Estela, Bayotas enrolled at the Iloilo City College, where he took up Mechanical Engineering. But when Estela got a job in Manila the following year, she urged him to accompany her and study at the all-male Feati University. He dutifully complied, but later transfered to the University of Sto. Tomas because "there were lots of girls". Unfortunately, Bayotas dropped out after only one semester when Estela suddenly fell ill and had to return to Iloilo.

Ang mahal ng gamit ko na ’yan," Bayotas shares as he turns on the Schenck Balancing Machine for a quick demo. "This is imported pa from Germany."

The machine, placed at the far end of his office, makes a continuous swirling sound followed by a metallic squink. In another room, which doubles as his storage area and office extension, is the rest of mgts’ equipment: lathe, milling, welding and thermospray machines. The devices all look as complicated as the next and sound just as dull.

These "investments"–as Bayotas calls them–along with other equipment, parts catalogs, operations and maintenance manuals, are the tools of his trade, but the crucial factor is still Bayotas’ skill and knowledge that is the foundation for mgts’ solid reputation in repair and overhaul in the field of air transport. Fortunately, he is passing on his knowledge to his family. mgts is pretty much a family corporation, with Marcelina and the kids now playing significant roles in the company.

"I personally taught them everything there is to know–from dealing with the main rotor transmissions and engines, to marketing and sales," Bayotas says proudly. "And they’re doing a good job so far because our customers keep growing in number. Kaya naman nakakatulong ito sa mgts to expand further as a business."

Behind this enormous success, however, lie many years of hardwork, grave risks and frequent disappointments. Soon after Bayotas and his sister moved back to Nuevo in 1959, the family departed for Lanao del Sur to till a seven-hectare land assigned to them by the government. Sadly, however, the living conditions there went from bad to worse. And with no signs of improvement in the area, Bayotas decided to return to Manila.

"I wanted to try my luck anew there," he says. "And sure enough, it turned out to be the best decision I ever made."

He landed a job with Philippine Airlines the following year, first as a canteen helper, then as an "expediter" of aircraft parts, and later, as a full-time mechanic–all in a span of three months. It was his obvious flair and his proficiency in service which got him promoted, and that definitely opened a lot of doors for better opportunities.

At the height of the Vietnam War in 1966, Air America lured Bayotas away from pal and assigned him to their office in Saigon. He was paid $320 a month (a large sum in those days), even though the constant gunfire didn’t exactly sit well with the peace-loving promdi.

"I just wasn’t able to handle it," Bayotas recalls. "It was a risk. I could’ve gotten shot. And I had a nervous breakdown because of that." The Vietnam experience certainly had a jarring effect on him, and living dangerously took its toll on his character, both physically and emotionally. But if there was anything positive that came out of this experience, it was the surprise enrichment of his knowledge in air transport technology. Upon his return to the country in 1968, Bayotas didn’t have to wait long to find work.

"Nahasa talaga ako ng mabuti sa Saigon," he says. "Kaya naman nakapagtrabaho ako sa Filipinas Orient Airways at sa Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation ng walang kahirap-hirap. And not only were they financially-rewarding jobs, they were good skill enhancers as well. It further improved my methods in helicopter repair."

After securing a mechanic’s licence from the Air Transportation Office (ato), Bayotas, along with colleague Romeo Quilatan, cut a deal with Airspan Helicopters owner Archie Po to do repairs on his units. They were paid P90,000 for the job, which Bayotas then used to construct his home in Cavite. It was the start of something big for mgts, and pretty soon, the partners were able to secure other contracts from various transport groups.

"I’m particularly proud of our fast and reliable service," Bayotas says. "We usually need just a few days to complete a huge task. Yung iba kasing facilities, umaabot pa ng ilang months bago matapos yung trabaho. And that’s why most people prefer MGTS above the rest. Ganoon lang ka-simple ’yun."

The road to success has certainly been a long and difficult journey for Bayotas. And even now that he’s achieved so much, his story still hasn’t reached an end.

"Marami pa akong gustong gawin sa buhay ko," he shares. "Balak ko kasi mag-enjoy naman; gusto ko rin pumasok sa iba pang negosyo tulad ng real estate." Bayotas is currently planning to build a seven-door apartment complex nearby.

"Tiyaga lang naman, eh, at siguradong mararating din natin lahat yan, kahit saan pa," he says with a big smile. "Narating ko ito, di ba?"