Hillsboro Aviation

[wannabe87]

Well, after further reading about Bristow I really dont think it is the school for me. That and I would really like to get a degree. Now, before I go on, if anyone knows of any helicopter college degree programs that also have an A&P school please let me know, and also some info on the programs as well.

I am now looking at Hillsboro Aviation and PCC for a degree and Pro helicopter pilot training. Does anyone know about this program and how it all works? What about the negatives to this program, I know that they do the foriegn student training, and that really doesnt bother me. Are their any bad sides to this program? What about the good sides to it? Also, has anyone lived in that area? I am a big outdoors person, so being in an area that has hiking, camping, backpacking etc.. is important to me as well.

I am just looking for an overview and any info on this program that anyone can give me. I have looked up prior post on this site, but most of them are dated a long time ago, so I just thought I would get the most current info, which seems to be important in aviation so I'm sure everyone understands.

Also, one other question, does Hillsboro allow its students to rent their helicopters to take friends or family flying after you get your Private?

Well, I look forward to hearing back from you...

 

Thanks

[lelebebbel]

Generally I can recommend the school - it all worked for me as advertised and I would do it again. I sent you a PM with a more detailed review.

 

I didn't have a whole lot to do with the PCC program though, someone else will have to answer that.

 

Also, one other question, does Hillsboro allow its students to rent their helicopters to take friends or family flying after you get your Private?

 

Yes, no problem. Done it plenty of times while I trained there. They want to see 10hrs beyond your private checkride before you take passengers though.

You can actually also rent the helicopters without having trained there, but then you do need to do a "renter checkout" with a CFI, which can be a couple hours of flying depending on your experience.

Edited October 3, 2009 by lelebebbel

[mrjibbs]

Look into Leading Edge out in Bend, OR. They are linked up with COCC and the lifestyle in Bend is unreal if you like the great outdoors and they do let their students rent the birds, at least they did when i was there last year. The weather in Portland sucks this time of year and only gets worse over the next 4-6 months, trust me i lived there for 20 years. Bend has over 300 flyable days a year. do yourself a favor, call them and ask for Jason Baller, it will be worth your time.

[tattooed]

I did my PVT and most of my Comm thru Hillsboro. I know several people that went thru Leading Edge. I had good and bad experiences with Hillsboro...unfortunately enough bad that I left and completed training down in McMinnville.

 

I would recommend coming out here and personally checking out both schools. All schools have their pros and cons. You need to find out which works best for you.

 

 

I'm not sure if Precision does any work thru any local college.

 

The Pacific NW in general is about as "outdoorsy" as it gets. Hiking, skiing, rafting, hunting, dirtbikes/4x4, fishing, surfing, etc etc etc. I'm born and raised here!! I LOVE IT!!!

[crashed_05]

I just started my training in Bend, OR at Leading Edge Aviation this fall...no complaints thus far. Its a small school with one-on-one instruction and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Even with the surge of veterans drawn to the school this fall from the new GI Bill, they still were able to put me down on the flight schedule 4 days a week. They have a 2-year degree program through COCC which can be catered to accommodate a transfer to Embry Riddle, Oregon State, or OIT for a bachelors.

 

Bend is a somewhat small town with only a very small commute to whatever outdoors activity you want.

 

As for the A&P school...not so sure about. Any questions, let me know.

[Helibear]

I did my training with Hillsboro and currently work for them.

I'm also enrolled in the PCC program and perfectly happy with both of them.

PCC has also an A&P program and is accredited for the new VA program.

 

The Pacific NW is a blast. The nature plus the friendly openminded people. For me it is defenitely the best part of the US to live in.

The only other part on this planet I have seen and would consider living there would be Tasmania.

 

Have a nice day

 

Helibear

[wannabe87]

Hey everyone. THanks for the help. Also, does anyone know how hard it is to get hired on by Hillsboro after training? I also have seen where they have some S300's, is this true?

[kodoz]

does anyone know how hard it is to get hired on by Hillsboro after training?

 

Assuming the school is replacing instructors as they leave (and not reducing or expanding their staff), your chances of getting hired there are never better than 20-25%. (It takes 4-5 new students to get an instructor to his 1000 hours, and therefore to free up a CFI job.)

[rick1128]

With Hillsboro, you will need to keep in mind that if you do get hired, they will terminate your employment after you reach a 1000 hours. This seems to have come about recently. And yes I do know this for a fact as I have talked with 3 former Hillsboro instructors, that were let go after they reached a 1000 hours.

[wannabe87]

Really!? They let you go after 1000 hours, I cant say I like that at all. Do most schools do this to their students, let them go after 1000 hours? This whole finding the right school thing is getting hard, lol, it doesnt help that I'm overseas right now and cant go visit.

[tattooed]

Yes, it's a fact. The idea is to keep moving people thru so that new CFI's can be hired on and get their career "launched". That's good for the new guys, but bad for the existing guys.

 

And in these times, 1,000 hours means nothing. Many companies are hiring at no less than 1500 hours.

 

In my very personal and "green" experience (I'm working CFI with only 250 hours), I don't like the idea of a company "letting go" their 1,000 hour CFI's, just as they are really starting to be good. I finished my Commercial and CFI with a 30,000k CFI.....HUGE difference in quality, type and speed of training. I have alot of respect for Hillsboro's training system...very, very good...but (and sorry to any HAI CFIs that are currently training CFI's...not meant to insult), but I do not want to have a low time CFI (and yes, under 1,000 is low time) giving me my CFI training. Just my 2 cents.

 

There are lots of schools with 2,000-5,000 or more hour CFIs. I'd look into those...or do what I did and "mix-n-match". There's plenty of good experience to be had at HAI....I do not regret the training I received.

 

Keep asking those questions!!!! Lots of different opinions and experience on this forum.

[vertrefadmin]

Check out Upper Limit Aviation. They are associated with a college in Salt Lake City (can't remember the name) that has an A&P program with a track specifically for helicopters.

[navigatornow]

I did all my training at Hillsboro Aviation a while back. Overall I had a pretty good experience, no issues with payments or money, and I went all the way to CFII for just a couple of thousand dollars more than they estimated it would be.

 

I did have a few issues while there, as I think you will get with any school. Scheduling got to be a problem at times as they are a BIG school with alot of students, so I always didn't get to fly at the times I needed. As stated earlier the weather in Portland during the winter is pretty bad, low cloud ceilings and bad visibility will limit your flying. So you will more than likely spend alot of time in the traffic pattern or at home reading. It can get frustrating. Personally I think I would have liked to gone to a smaller school for my training....somewhere you can really get to know everyone there.

 

Hillsboro produces a lot of CFIs so naturally there will be alot of competition for the job openings, and yes that is true about CFIs getting laid off at 1000hrs.

 

I recommend you look into Leading edge Aviation in Bend, OR. I've heard great things and Bend is an awesome town for an outdoors person (plus good weather). And they are based at around 3500 ft so you will get some high altitude training on a daily basis. I've also heard good things about Glacier Aviation and Helicopters NW up in Washington. The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful area to fly in so I definitely think your looking in the right place.

 

Best bet is to call all of them, and visit each one when you get back over here. See which one feels right for you and don't be afraid to ask ALL of your questions. Best of luck.

[choppedair]

To the original poster, I sent you a private message. I figured I would reply here for others who are considering Hillsboro Avation.

 

I also trained at Hillsboro and work as a CFI there.

 

Overall it is a good school. They have a pretty well structured program and tend to produce good CFIs. There are plenty of checks in place to be sure that no one is left behind or is getting treated unfairly. They are very experienced with VA benefits/GI bill. No problems with payments or money, etc. Larry Altree is an instructor for PCC and everyone raves about how great he is.

 

Any of my complaints that I had as a student and CFI were related to the size of the school and quantity of students. There are always pros and cons of a big school. Scheduling could be difficult at times, but they had worked to improve this a lot while I worked there by limiting scheduled flights and over-booking, etc to make everything fair. Everyone was getting 4-5 flight per week and those who took initiative got more.

 

The weather can be bad in the winter, but it isn't always un-flyable. However the traffic patterns at the base airport are limited and it causes some drama when the weather isn't good enough to leave the area. This is just something you have to learn to be flexible with. And again the students who had the real initiative were flying the patterns because they were always the ones who waited.

 

Keep in mind that anywhere you train, you are being evaluated from the beginning. If you tend to whine and complain and not be flexible, no one will want to hire you. However this does not mean that you should not be able to voice your opinion as a customer. Keep that in mind and there is no reason you would not be considered as a CFI when the training is completed.

 

Hillsboro is "laying off" instructors at 1000 hours, which is sad. Keep in mind, this is not something they enjoy doing or like to do. This came about as the economy slowed down, and the "high time" CFIs were not getting further employment as they had been. What this means is that there were fewer opportunities for new CFIs to get work, and some of the foreign students had packed their bags and moved home because they lost hope. So this was done to give more people opportunity. 1000 hours isn't as much as most people want, but it is better than 200 hours, right? This is more or less how it was explained to me.

 

The students and instructors at Hillsboro are a pretty close group, lots of of gatherings and support, etc. The location is great for anything outdoors, 20 minutes to downtown Portland, 30 minutes to the Tillamook State Forest (hunting/camping/four-wheeling), 1 hour from the beach, 2 hours from snowboarding, 3 hours from the desert.

 

 

Leading Edge in Bend is another school I would talk to also. They are a friendly group out there, and a smaller school where things can be more personalized. My experience with them was good. Central Oregon is beautiful and there are a ton of outdoor activities. They are linked with the community college, and being based at 3500 ft means you will get more high altitude time which will be valuable to you.

[crashed_05]

Check out Upper Limit Aviation. They are associated with a college in Salt Lake City (can't remember the name) that has an A&P program with a track specifically for helicopters.

 

Salt Lake Community College...I was looking into ULA a few years back.

 

wannabe87, are you overseas for military reasons? If so, Hillsboro, Leading Edge, and ULA are all approved for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, being that they are affiliated with a college.

[wannabe87]

Hello. Thanks again for the replies! This is really helping me out a lot. I think a small personal school would be the best for me, as I am a very laid back person, and think it would just be more enjoyable. Leading Edge does look good to me too, I do plan on visiting these schools when I get home. My ideal career track right now is: Flight school(and college), Flight instruct, Temso(I have wanted to work for these guys for a while, I have even read the book "Nine Lives of an Alaskan Bush Pilot" comming up on three timew, written by the guy that started Temsco. After that I do not know where I would want to go... So if anyone knows a good school to go to that could help me out with that career track then please let me know. Thanks so, much everyone!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Also, yes I am overseas with the military.

[autopilot]

Let me begin by informing you of my bias. I am employed by Guidance Helicopters, Inc. If you choose not to read this post at least read the 5th paragraph. It will save you a fortune!

 

That being said, take a look at Yavaipai College in Prescott, AZ. Embry Riddle also in Prescott, recently signed a reciprocity agreement with Yavapai concerning transfer credits.

 

ERAU operated for a number of years as a satellite of Guidance Helicopters approved helicopter school. Guidance Helicopters Pioneered high altitude pilot training 12 years ago in Prescott and has placed hundreds of pilots into industry. Check our site at www.guidancehelicopters.com

 

Yavaipai College is in an exclusive partnership with Guidance Helicopters and they collectively offer an AS Professional Helicopter Pilot Degree. the degree is a very cost effective way to acquire a Commercial Certificate with an Instrument rating l CFI and CFII certificates Student loans and both Chapter 30 and Chapter 33 Veterans benifits are available.

 

Save as much as $100k, Yes, a hundred grand!!!! (ERAU is not cheap) wherever you chose you should seriously consider attending a community college and transferring to Embry Riddle. This is how I am requiring my boys to do it. Plus you have the potential to work as an Instructor pilot building experience while you complete your last four semesters of college.

 

Best of luck!

[aclark79]

edit: its not worth it.

Edited January 28, 2010 by aclark79

[Lance Turbue]

edit: its not worth it.

 

Hmmm... Embry Riddle, hey? Aren't those the folks who have a leg up with Bristow? Well, I guess that completes the circle.

[aclark79]

My post had nothing to do with Embry Riddle. I edited my long winded rant about people coming into school specific threads (any school, not just Hillsboro threads) so they could direct you to their school instead.

 

Then I realized, who cares.

[Trans Lift]

but I do not want to have a low time CFI (and yes, under 1,000 is low time) giving me my CFI training. Just my 2 cents.

 

Most schools that you find will have CFI's under 1000 hours. There is nothing wrong with low time CFI's, they are usually more willing to fly and teach than ones over 1000. The most important thing is that you get on well with your instructor and that he or she is actually good at what they do, irregardless of hours!

 

Any school you choose to go to will have good and bad sides. I went to Bristow and instructed there. Good school but it more like a corporation now. I would stick with a smaller school if I had to go back, just make sure that they have more than one aircraft.

[lelebebbel]

he said he doesn't want a under 1,000 instructor giving him his CFI Training.

 

I think that is a reasonable demand.

[Trans Lift]

Oh right, he said CFI a lot and it got confusing!

For that portion I would agree, it is nice to have someone with some experience.

Edited June 13, 2010 by Trans Lift