Helicopter Pilot School

I am looking for a commercial helicopter pilot school near to Sacramento, CA
Does anybody know any helicopter fight school around San Francisco Bay area or Livermore?

Formerly Helicopter Adventures, (now HAI Bristow) is considered an excellent one in Concord.

Here's a link:
http://www.heli.com/prospective-student/ 8-flight-school-guide.php

2008-02-18 23:40:51 by mdasilva65

www.HelicopterFlightSchool.com Various testimonials from students attending Glacier Aviation Flight school in Olympia Washington with some local ...

Should someone join the ROTC in college and make the best grades possible, etc?

Or should you enlist right after high school?

What is the ideal career path for someone who wants to be a helicopter pilot in the Navy or Army or Marines?

For Army, look into the Warrant Officer flight program. You need a high school diploma.

To fly in any other branch you'll need a college degree and good grades.

I'm not demeaning the Army program, it is a very good program. Flying a helicopter or airplane really isn't that hard. Before WWII and into WWII Marine enlisted flew aircraft. I think enlisted pilots is a good idea.

2010-05-27 16:53:18 by Who is John Holmes?

Price: $7.45

I live just outside los angeles, so a local school is preferred. also, can i get a student loan to cover it, and will a student loan cover my car payment, or do i have to sell it? where did you go and would you recommend it? must be PPL, IR, CPL, CFI, & CFII. Thanks!

To find a helicopter school near you, you can refer to this website:

http://www.verticalreference.com/helicop terreviews/showcat.php?cat=2

Vertical Reference is also a great site for the helicopter industry in general, and the forum in particular is a good resource for many of your questions.

Choosing a Flight School:
There is no one best school out there. There are many good ones, and there are some bad ones. It will be up to you to find out if the school is good or bad, and you should do A LOT of homework before starting. Please avoid the schools that make grand promises about being a helicopter pilot and then require full payment up front for their program. Here are some other things to consider:

- There are many schools that allow you to pay as you go.
- Make sure the school will have enough aircraft and instructor availability to meet your needs. You don't want your training to take longer because you are unable to fly as often as you like.
- Many schools hire their own graduates, but do not assume that you will automatically get a job with them after graduating. There may not be enough positions available to accommodate all graduates.
- Many schools do not require a 70k contract to begin training.
- Delays will always cause you to spend more money, but try to find a school that will not penalize you for taking a break from flying, or for failing to complete the training for some reason. You never know what is going to happen, don't let yourself get stuck.
- With regard to safety, you can always check if the school you plan to attend has any accident records. Go to the NTSB website, and do a search with the name of the school, and see what comes up.
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp
- Read the section called "Avoiding the Rip-Offs" on this web page:
http://www.helicopterflighttraining.net/
- CAVEAT EMPTOR, when looking at ANY flight school. You're making a huge investment in time, effort, and money. Give this decision the careful consideration and research it deserves.

On Training Aircraft:
The two main civilian training aircraft are the Robinson 22 and the Schweizer 300. Investigate the differences between the two, as there are pros and cons to each. Some people prefer one or the other. Be sure to look a step ahead and consider the types of flight instructor positions available for someone with experience each one. Once you get to 1000 hours or so and start looking for a "real" pilot position, which one you flew becomes much less significant. Also, you can always consider getting some experience in both during your training.

Civilian or Military:
You will also no doubt also get this answer from someone: "Join the army, it's free", like it's the easiest thing in the world. The military is an awesome option for many people. It is not 'free', but they do pay for your training. Remember, not everyone who joins the military automatically becomes a pilot, so find out about that first. Civilian or military, you will be making a huge commitment and it will take a great effort to finish. Understand fully every aspect of what you are getting into before you start.

Flying Airplanes:
Some people make the argument that you should fly airplanes first to save money. They assume this to be true rather than actually tallying the costs to see if it holds true. In my opinion, if you really want to fly helicopters, then fly helicopters. Remember also when calculating costs that students often go beyond the FAA minimums, though most flight schools base their estimates on these minimums.

Financing:
As you have already discovered, paying for the training is the hardest part. There is no easy way to do it, and while there are some options available for financing, it will still be quite a challenge. Living expenses, car payments, etc. will all be in addition to the cost of flight training. Here are some financing ideas:

These two offer loans for training, but they may not be adequate to cover the entire cost, especially in a helicopter:

Pilot Finance
http://www.pilotfinance.com/pages/539359 /index.htm

AOPA
http://www.aopa.org/info/certified/funds .html

Sallie Mae offers student and career loans. Check if your flight school is set up with them:
http://www.salliemae.com/

Also look for aviation college programs like Utah Valley State College. You train at a flight school of your choice while doing UVSC's online classes. You don't need an aviation degree to be a pilot, but you may have better financing options through them:
http://www.uvscaviation.com/

I wish I could help you more, but the bottom line is financing is really tough, so look hard and you may find some options out there.

Aviation is an awesome and rewarding career, but you can get burned if just dive in head first. Talk to pilots, research schools, get information from several different sources, learn about the military option, figure the costs, and go into it fully prepared and knowledgeable about every possible path towards your goals. Don't start until you can prove to yourself that the path you have selected is the right one.

Good luck, and have fun!

2007-08-22 13:34:16 by man_hands542

Price: $3.50

As I mentioned in my first answer to you, they are the ones I am most familiar with however as I said then, I was not implying an endorsement.
I have heard good and bad about them. I know they do a lot of training in the Sacramento, CA area at McClellan Air Park. I have heard some of their grads brag about how good it was.

Now for the bad part. I have also heard that they sometimes have limited availability on their aircraft delaying your training at times. I have also heard that if you drop out of their program, you have a hard time getting your student loan money back from them. I also understand that they may employ you as an instructor after you graduate but you must be willing to relocate to any of their school locations that has an opening. That's not all bad because if you start out as a rookie helicopter pilot, you will probably have to relocate anyway. Working as an instructor is how you will start paying back your student loans which will probably be in excess of $50,000.

I'm sure they all have their good and bad sides; but look at as many as you can before making a decision. Ask about refund policies if you drop out for any training you may not have received. Its expensive; spend your money wisely.

2007-09-05 15:53:49 by scott06tx

If you are selected for a slot at helo training in the military, of course they will put you through their own training. If you want to have some civilian training under your belt BEFORE you apply to the Corps, well then any local flight training company that has helos will do. If you live in a large town, your chances are probably decent that you will find something...just go down to the airport(s) and look around, or look in a phone directory under Aviation or Flight Training. Since helo flight training is incredibly expensive, most centers use tiny little Robinson R-22 or R-44 piston powered helos. If you really got a load of cash and are lucky enough to come across one, find a helo with a turbine powered engine...that will be even more valuable, since that is what you are going to fly in the Corps.

Truth be told... previous flight experience is just icing on the cake in terms of improving your chances of getting a flight slot. They are going to be more interested in your test scores, your physical health (you better make sure your eyes are in excellent shape), and your references. If you have a ton of flight time, but don't have what it takes to pass officer training, you won't get it.

I wouldn't sink too much $ into training right now. Wait til you're already given a slot. Then you can go take a few lessons if you want to be ahead of the game before they ship you out for training.

2010-03-15 18:51:25 by Mike