4 Helicopter Pilot courses

The Flight Instructor Licence FI(R)(H) There is a shortage of Flight Instructors currently, so many commercial pilots train to be a flight instructor and get their first job teaching people to fly. The satisfaction of seeing a student’s enthusiasm as they learn to fly, coupled with knowing you are being paid to fly, is immense. Becoming a Flight Instructor is a challenge. The course begins with a pre-entry test to ascertain your flying abilities: after all, if you’re going to teach you need to have mastered the art of flying a helicopter. There are 125 hours of ground school and 35 hours of flight training. All of it is based around teaching a student to fly helicopters to gain their PPL(H). Good instructors understand how to make learning to fly safe and fun, bringing the classroom to the student, often 2500 feet in the air. The course is usually intense and held in small groups of 3 or 4. You will learn about the psychology of presenting information and how people learn. You will be taught how to measure how well a student is doing and what advice you can offer to help them achieve their dream of becoming a helicopter pilot. Throughout the course your instructor will be not only your teacher but a student to practice on, simulating a student pilot’s ability. You’ll be able to recognise common mistakes a student pilot makes, so you can correct them and teach them what works better. Giving lectures, briefing students and then taking them flying will become second nature as you learn to fly the helicopter and teach from the co-pilot's seat. Your final flight test will also be challenging as you brief your examiner and then teach the briefed exercise in the air. This will be followed by a number of further short impromptu lessons in the air, including an autorotational landing at the airfield. In the afternoon you’ll be asked to teach a range of subjects for four hours from the PPL syllabus, perhaps explaining cold fronts, how an altimeter works, rules of the air.......... If you would like further information about the FI (H) course and the other training available from Heliflight or, for our current price give our office a call and we will be happy to help.

Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL (H)) Imagine walking into an airport, hiring a helicopter and flying yourself and your friends to an hotel. You land in their grounds and walk into the restaurant. After a lovely meal you take off and fly home. You can turn this fantasy into reality with a Private Pilot's licence (PPL (H)). Getting a PPL for helicopter flying is a tremendous experience from your first flying lesson to getting your license at the end. The course is a combination of flying in the helicopter and learning about the theory of why helicopters fly and how to fly safely. There are nine practical subjects you need to study, each with a multiple choice exam that you have to pass to qualify. These subjects are Air law, Operational procedures, Meteorology, Human performance and limitations, Communications, Aircraft (general) and principles of flight, Navigation, Flight performance and planning. In addition you will need to pass a practical test on the correct phraseology to use when talking to Air Traffic Control (ATC) as you fly across the country. This is known as 'radiotelephony' and we have our own in-house instructor and examiner. Overall, the course is challenging and stimulating. You can study at home and make use of Heliflight’s ground school where we will teach you all you need to know and help you if you have any difficulties with particular aspects. To take your exams you will first need to set up a CAA customer portal. You will also need this for your medical,  The flying part of the course is exhilarating. Divided into 30 different exercises you will spend at least 45 hours in the air to gain your license. These excercises provide you with the skills you need to fly safely, anywhere in the world (subject to meeting any local licencing requirements). You’ll get a feel for how the helicopter handles when flying straight and level, turning, climbing and descending. And, as your training progresses, you’ll learn how to hover. It takes time. Co-ordinating all the controls to fly above the ground in one position is tricky to begin with, but, when you mastered it, you’ll just want to do it again and again. Once you are proficient in the hover you’ll also be taught to land and take off. Pretty soon you’ll be ready for a solo flight. This is one of those great experiences in life and every pilot remembers theirs. The day you pilot a helicopter with no-one else in the cockpit, perhaps flying a circuit around the airfield, be prepared to feel fantastic for a very long time: it’s that tremendous. You’ll spend at least ten hours of your course flying solo, often away from the airfield and eventually landing at others as you practice navigation. Towards the end of the course there is also a practical test on navigating cross-country. Finally you take a flight test, a day where you demonstrate all you’ve learnt to a friendly flight examiner. Heliflight has its own resident examiners. On successful completion of your flight test you apply for your licence and soon you’ll be a bone fide Helicopter pilot. You need to be 16 years old to fly solo and have to be 17 to apply for a license. You must also be reasonably healthy as you will need to pass a medical examination with a doctor recognised by the Civil Aviation Authority. There is a specialist Aviation Medical Centre at the airfield. If you would like further information about the PPL (H) course and the other training available from Heliflight We’ll be happy to help. Alternatively please call us.

The UK CAA Commercial Pilot's Licence (CPL(H)) If you want to fly professionally as a career, you will need a Commercial Pilot’s Licence (CPL (H)). This is the standard professional licence which can only be taken at Approved Flight Training Organisations like Heliflight.  Heliflight offers a modular flight training approach to obtaining a CPL (H) that helps you to train at your own pace and manage your finances. Before you start training for your CPL, you will need to hold a PPL (H), issued in accordance with Annex 1 to the Chicago convention and have logged 155 hours of helicopter flying including 50 hours PIC of which 10 hours must be cross-country. You will also be studying a range of theory in greater depth than for your PPL. This study can be done at home in your own time on a distance learning course. Heliflight will guide on where best to complete this ground school. There is also a compulsory ground school part of the course that lasts three weeks in total. This will also give you the opportunity to make friends with fellow pilots as you work towards passing your theoretical exams. These exams must be passed prior to taking your Skills test, but Heliflight recommends that they are passed prior to commencing your flight training. The theoretical knowledge exams cover the following subjects: - • Air law • Meteorology • Aircraft general knowledge airframe/systems/powerplant • General navigation • Aircraft general knowledge - instrumentation • Radio navigation • Mass and balance • Operational procedures • Performance • Principles of flight • Flight planning and monitoring • Visual flight rules (VFR) communications • Human performance The flight training will comprise of at least 30 hours of dual flight instruction, including 10 hours of instrument instruction and 20 hours of visual flight instruction. Your commercial flying course will hone the flying skills you developed on your PPL and build upon them. You’ll become adept at emergency procedures including practicing landing a helicopter without power. You will also need to complete at least 5 hours of night flight instruction, comprising 3 hours of dual instruction, which will include at least 1 hour of cross-country navigation and 5 solo night circuits, each including a take-off and landing.  You will not need to complete the additional night flight instruction if you already hold a night rating (helicopter). At the end of training, and when all requirements for licence issue have been met, you will need to take a skill test with an examiner. If you would like further information about the CPL (H) course and the other training available from Heliflight, please contact us. We’ll be happy to help. For current prices please call us.

Night Rating If you want to fly in the hours of darkness you will need to add a night qualification to your licence. This involves 10 hours of instrument flying and 5 hours of flying at night. You will practice night navigation techniques, in flight emergencies and how to deal with them, flight by sole reference to instruments, airfield night lighting and procedure and pre-flight decision making. Course Prerequisites Licence Held: PPL(H) Minimum Flying Hours: 100 hrs after licence issue which must include 60hrs Pilot in Command. 20hrs Cross Country. Course Duration: Must be complete within 6 months of starting. When is Night? It may seem like a silly question but there is a legal definition for aviation purposes, and that is half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.