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Can anyone talk to me about their experience at Helicopter Academy?


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HelicopterAcademy.com is the best school in the world, and a 141 school. They have the cheapest rates and a job guarantee. They are the only school that can guarantee you a job because the owner also owns this huge nationwide boat photo company. Almost all turbine jobs require that you carry people that might be unfamiliar with helicopters and to protect the flying public (executives, medivac) the insurance companies require that the pilots have a lot of hours. This isn't true for flight training or photo and that's why if you have a CFI and 100 hours doing the contract they can get you into a job. This isn't a VA approved school but if you want career flying a helicopter your first job is guaranteed at this school and most others schools will tell you to walk when you get your cfi. If that happened to you there is hope by clicking on "jobs" on the website.

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I had fun building a handful of hours with them,...lets see,...I think 4 yrs ago?

 

I'm not crazy about how they market themselves, but considering they are one of the very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,... :huh: , very, very, very, very, very, few options for low-time pilots, if you're a CFI and can afford to buy 100hrs in a Mariner,...go for it.

:D

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I had fun building a handful of hours with them,...lets see,...I think 4 yrs ago?

 

I'm not crazy about how they market themselves, but considering they are one of the very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,... :huh: , very, very, very, very, very, few options for low-time pilots, if you're a CFI and can afford to buy 100hrs in a Mariner,...go for it.

:D

 

 

If you had your CFI you wouldn't have to pay for hours...

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HelicopterAcademy.com is the best school in the world, and a 141 school. They have the cheapest rates and a job guarantee. They are the only school that can guarantee you a job because the owner also owns this huge nationwide boat photo company. Almost all turbine jobs require that you carry people that might be unfamiliar with helicopters and to protect the flying public (executives, medivac) the insurance companies require that the pilots have a lot of hours. This isn't true for flight training or photo and that's why if you have a CFI and 100 hours doing the contract they can get you into a job. This isn't a VA approved school but if you want career flying a helicopter your first job is guaranteed at this school and most others schools will tell you to walk when you get your cfi. If that happened to you there is hope by clicking on "jobs" on the website.

 

 

Funny, my flight school hired 14 guys this year, one down the street hired a few, theres a couple down in the Pheonix area hiring. I haven't seen anyone "walk" yet. If anything this is the best time to get your CFI at an actual flight school, especially one that does the GI Bill since thats where the growth is and more students = more instructors. Lots of biased information that really doesn't mean crap to be honest.

 

 

OP - If you're going to choose a flight school, choose one that guarantees you a job for more than 100 hours (if you pay for 100). Theres not a lot you can do with a CFI and 300 hours that you can't do with a CFI and 200 hours.

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I can say that my time with Helicopter Academy was great so far. It is more commercial style flying then you will get at almost any other flight school (even when working as an instructor). You learn how to fly in unfamiliar areas and airspaces and how to be confident with commercial style operations. you also get to fly in a lot of different areas. most flight schools dont really leave their area very much but with helicopter academy you will get to know various different areas of the US and maybe even beyond.

 

to the posters saying that hiring isn't a problem right now I have to say that my experiences are different. sure there are openings but for every opening there are 20-50 people applying and not everybody can get a job. I now numerous people who have been trying to find a job for a long time and didn't make it so far. Helicopter Academy is the only flight school that actually guarantees you a first job.

 

Best Regards,

Yannique

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If you had your CFI you wouldn't have to pay for hours...

 

Not all good pilots make good teachers! However, its good to know that there are no unemployed CFIs out there.

;)

 

P.S. Even if I were a CFI, with Boatpix, I would still have to buy 100 more hours in a Mariner,...but I'm sure you already knew that.

B)

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Can anyone talk to me about their experience at Helicopter Academy?

 

Tom, it would look much better if you would let someone who is not, you, yourself, Mr.McDermott or now DUSTIN_BOATPIX answer the question. The reason why you have to, is that that there are not many out there who want to.

 

I would also agree that there are much much much better schools out there than helicopter academy. They are also not the cheapest for hour building either.

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The reason why you have to, is that that there are not many out there who want to.

 

I'm always happy to discuss my experience with Boatpix via PM.

 

p.s. I met Yannique a few weeks ago, flying up and down the coast between Friday Harbor and Astoria.

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...get your CFI at an actual flight school, especially one that does the GI Bill since thats where the growth is and more students = more instructors...

 

Actually, if you think about it. More students = more instructors = the need for more students = the situation we're in right now!

 

The exponential growth of the instructor pool, with no possible way for the student pool to keep up, which = Too many instructors and not enough students to get everyone too 1000hrs!

 

One good thing you can say about Boatpix is,...if they do actually get their CFIs to 1000hrs, they do it without creating mass quantities of new CFIs!

;)

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One good thing you can say about Boatpix is,...if they do actually get their CFIs to 1000hrs, they do it without creating mass quantities of new CFIs!

;)

 

Yeah, if in fact they do keep you on that long. Chances are they do not since no one seems willing to answer that question. :angry:

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Tom, it would look much better if you would let someone who is not, you, yourself, Mr.McDermott or now DUSTIN_BOATPIX answer the question. The reason why you have to, is that that there are not many out there who want to.

 

I would also agree that there are much much much better schools out there than helicopter academy. They are also not the cheapest for hour building either.

 

And now Yannique. It's funny that the only members on here that promote or have anything good to say about Boatpix are brand new. Every pro boatpix post is that person's 1st post.

 

OP: Go to a flight school where you don't have to take pictures for half the time you're paying for. It may cost a bit more than Boatpix but you'd get better training if you do your research before you picked a school. If you treat your whole time at school like an interview than you should have no problem getting a job at that school. Tom hires everyone "guaranteed." Even the people that you wouldn't want to stand next to a helicopter with. That person could be your instructor. Think about it.

 

Tom: You have no class!

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Actually, if you think about it. More students = more instructors = the need for more students = the situation we're in right now!

 

The exponential growth of the instructor pool, with no possible way for the student pool to keep up, which = Too many instructors and not enough students to get everyone too 1000hrs!

 

One good thing you can say about Boatpix is,...if they do actually get their CFIs to 1000hrs, they do it without creating mass quantities of new CFIs!

;)

 

 

From what I have seen that has not been the case (first hand experience > your "=" signs theory), the school where I am currently had to hire from outside the school this past year just because they couldn't fill all the slots for the increase in students, and they have hired almost twenty new ones over the past couple of years.

 

What you clearly don't understand is the student pool from the GI bill is far from drying up. Infact its harder to purchase aircraft fast enough to keep up with student growth. When lending is not an issue at all, the student pool is literally anyone who discharges from the military and wants to fly. The military isn't going anywhere, its still going to suck and people are still going to join and discharge at alarming rates. With any luck the GI Bill isn't changing again anytime soon either. This paragraph is also firsthand experience as well.

Edited by CaptainDune
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True, I only have second hand experience with the CFI situation.

 

Like the CFI I met a while ago, who had been trained at the same school as myself,...and yes, he did get hired (like they promised), but after several months he had to find work elsewhere because there weren't enough students to go around.

 

Or when I heard at the first HeliSuccess that they had calculated that there was around 700 unemployed CFIs out there. I'm still not sure if I actually heard that, or missheard that,...or if it was just a nightmare?

 

I will agree though, that the supply of military pilots is never-ending, and if someone does get in with a GI-Bill school, they'll probably be set for students.

:mellow:

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And now Yannique. It's funny that the only members on here that promote or have anything good to say about Boatpix are brand new. Every pro boatpix post is that person's 1st post.

 

OP: Go to a flight school where you don't have to take pictures for half the time you're paying for. It may cost a bit more than Boatpix but you'd get better training if you do your research before you picked a school. If you treat your whole time at school like an interview than you should have no problem getting a job at that school. Tom hires everyone "guaranteed." Even the people that you wouldn't want to stand next to a helicopter with. That person could be your instructor. Think about it.

 

Tom: You have no class!

 

 

I can assure you I am not Tom. It may be my first post but that is only because I didn't actually care to defend anything that I am not part of before.

Boatpix is a great opportunity to get some real commercial experience. you might not be flying 100% of the time (but probably 90)you do however get some experience that you would never get in any conventional flight school. how often do you get a chance to do x/c over half the country and figure out where to go and how to get there on the move? In most flight schools you will stay close to your home base and even if you get hired you will end up with 1000 hours within 100nm of your home airport...

 

besides that I feel like most people that talk bad about boatpix never actually had anything to do with it. there are some guys here that actually talk from own experience. how is it that everybody complaining never brought any argument from own experience.

 

and by the way, there are a lot of ex-boatpix pilots that are working in all kinds of turbine jobs all over the world, from the grand canyon to china!

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I can assure you I am not Tom. It may be my first post but that is only because I didn't actually care to defend anything that I am not part of before.

Boatpix is a great opportunity to get some real commercial experience. you might not be flying 100% of the time (but probably 90)you do however get some experience that you would never get in any conventional flight school. how often do you get a chance to do x/c over half the country and figure out where to go and how to get there on the move? In most flight schools you will stay close to your home base and even if you get hired you will end up with 1000 hours within 100nm of your home airport...

 

besides that I feel like most people that talk bad about boatpix never actually had anything to do with it. there are some guys here that actually talk from own experience. how is it that everybody complaining never brought any argument from own experience.

 

and by the way, there are a lot of ex-boatpix pilots that are working in all kinds of turbine jobs all over the world, from the grand canyon to china!

 

 

In my opinion the problems are; 1. The way Boatpix tries to promote themselves here. 2. The way the company conducts business/blackmail with the boating community. 3. The fact that no one will answer the question about what happens after your guaranteed 100 hr contract. 4. The fact that you are paying to work for someone. 5. Why does it take a school 100 hrs to train a licenced pilot to fly a R22 with floats?

 

Will you be the first to address these issues?

 

 

Also of all these ex-boatpix pilots that are working throughout the industry, did 100% of them get hired onto these jobs straight from boatpix, or did they have to finish the grind at another school?

 

 

What is the starting wage after you paid your $20,000 for the training period?

 

How many hours do you fly on average once on contract?

 

What does the company safety record look like?

 

How much down time do you deal with for maintenance?

 

What is the FMC/NMC rate for your ACFT?

 

What percentage of people that complete your program get hired?

 

Is the 100hr float training VA aproved? (want to put a smily face here, but who knows, other schools have gotten crazy stuff aproved).

 

Do you fly PIC 100% of the time for these 200 hrs? or are you taking pictures while learning the effects of the fixed floats?

 

If flying with floats requires such intense training, how does your instructor take pictures at the same time he is training you?

Edited by gary-mike
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Do you fly PIC 100% of the time for these 200 hrs? or are you talikng pictures while learning the effects of the fixed floats?

 

From my own experience, I can tell you that, they both take pictures depending on who's on the side most favorable to the Sun and the boat. That's why they only hire CFIs, so they both can log PIC time (otherwise no one would pay to do it)!

:rolleyes:

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From my own experience, I can tell you that, they both take pictures depending on who's on the side most favorable to the Sun and the boat. That's why they only hire CFIs, so they both can log PIC time (otherwise no one would pay to do it)!

:rolleyes:

 

I must be missing something. Truly, let’s be real…

 

If you pay a fee to do it, then it is not a job…. A job is something you are paid to do…..

 

If it is not a job, then you are not “hired” to perform it…. Being hired for a job is an approval by the employer for you to be paid for your labor and/or time….

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I must be missing something. Truly, let’s be real…

 

If you pay a fee to do it, then it is not a job…. A job is something you are paid to do…..

 

If it is not a job, then you are not “hired” to perform it…. Being hired for a job is an approval by the employer for you to be paid for your labor and/or time….

 

AMEN !!!!!

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Actually, I just paid to do it as a time-building thing, to get to 500hrs, and to have something on my resume other than "farting around the local area" (and, as I mentioned, they only hire CFIs).

 

I do recall that the guy with whom I flew was getting paid. However, I don't think there is a situation where both of the people in the helicopter are being paid?

 

As far as I know, they don't hire professional photographers, which is odd for an arial photography company?...I could be wrong though?

:huh:

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In my opinion the problems are; 1. The way Boatpix tries to promote themselves here. 2. The way the company conducts business/blackmail with the boating community. 3. The fact that no one will answer the question about what happens after your guaranteed 100 hr contract. 4. The fact that you are paying to work for someone. 5. Why does it take a school 100 hrs to train a licenced pilot to fly a R22 with floats?

 

Will you be the first to address these issues?

 

 

Also of all these ex-boatpix pilots that are working throughout the industry, did 100% of them get hired onto these jobs straight from boatpix, or did they have to finish the grind at another school?

 

 

What is the starting wage after you paid your $20,000 for the training period?

 

How many hours do you fly on average once on contract?

 

What does the company safety record look like?

 

How much down time do you deal with for maintenance?

 

What is the FMC/NMC rate for your ACFT?

 

What percentage of people that complete your program get hired?

 

Is the 100hr float training VA aproved? (want to put a smily face here, but who knows, other schools have gotten crazy stuff aproved).

 

Do you fly PIC 100% of the time for these 200 hrs? or are you taking pictures while learning the effects of the fixed floats?

 

If flying with floats requires such intense training, how does your instructor take pictures at the same time he is training you?

 

I'd like the answers to theses questions too. Anyone? Tom, here's your chance to promote yourself again.

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I need to start selling flight time in our helicopters in 100hr blocks and "hiring" the purchaser to fly me to work and back every day. It would be excellent "experience." Oh wait, I have these things called "ethics" and "integrity." They always get in the way of making money in this industry.

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I have been with the Helicopter Academy for a few months now and been doing photo's with Boatpix for about (2) months now and absolutely love it...I stay at the triplex in Pompano, but have to been traveling state-to-state doing photos!!! I have been to PA, OH for a sail-boat race, MI back to OH and then to Lake Cumberland KY for the Off-shore Racing boat Poker Run....TONS OF FUN!!! I am currently in Alabama, taking pics for Fishing Tournaments of which the last was the Snag Proof Tournament and will be doing the FLW Tournament next weekend..then headed back to Florida...I have meet numerous students and CFI's and glad I choose this school!!! Feel free to contact me!!! I also have a page with some of the events we just did, look below my name.

 

Fly Safe,

 

Dustin_904 554 2727

www.facebook.com/boatpixusa

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I have been with the Helicopter Academy for a few months now and been doing photo's with Boatpix for about (2) months now and absolutely love it...I stay at the triplex in Pompano, but have to been traveling state-to-state doing photos!!! I have been to PA, OH for a sail-boat race, MI back to OH and then to Lake Cumberland KY for the Off-shore Racing boat Poker Run....TONS OF FUN!!! I am currently in Alabama, taking pics for Fishing Tournaments of which the last was the Snag Proof Tournament and will be doing the FLW Tournament next weekend..then headed back to Florida...I have meet numerous students and CFI's and glad I choose this school!!! Feel free to contact me!!! I also have a page with some of the events we just did, look below my name.

 

Fly Safe,

 

Dustin_904 554 2727

www.facebook.com/boatpixusa

 

hey dustin, why dont you write a book about your wonderful experience with Helicopter Academy?

 

It seems like your life is all about boatpix and apparently there is no other/better company out there that pays you more than 20$ an hour, flying a complex STATE OF THE ART R22 MARINER.

 

Dustin, people like Spike have been around in this industry for more than 20 yrs. Sometimes it makes sense to listen to high-timers like him, since most of us have been in your situation as well.

 

It sounds like you have just landed your first "job" We are happy for your but keep in mind you haven't spent a lot of time in this industry to know/determine what its like working for a good or bad company.

 

I am sure once you move on to couple other operators out there you will understand what some people on VR were trying to tell you.

 

 

falko

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