Colorado

[deanathpc]

Hello folks... Done some research again and just wanted to touch base with everyone here to verify my info just in case things have changed and the websites do not reflect it or I just don't know about it yet..

 

Looks like I'm finally getting my life long dream to get to Colorado. While it will only be for a week or so (as long as everything works out) I'm still gonna get out there.

 

Now I have found 3 Helo schools. Elite Helicopters, Rotors of the Rockies, and Colorado Heli Ops. Are these the only 3? Good thing for me is I'll be in / near Denver which these schools are so that is to my benefit!

 

Are there others that might have come up? Or maybe any of the ones I listed no longer? I know Heli Ops is still active after the talk on here. Just want to make sure. I plan on doing some Demo time while I'm out there. Which means I gotta save save save! Looks like the demo flights out there are only 30 mins. compared to 60 mins. in my area but that's o.k. I'll take what I can get!

 

With any luck while I'm out there my wife will fall in love with it (not holding my breath though)! I'm not holding my breath but maybe a slim chance! Since I have a best friend who lives in that area it will make life easier. I'm sure only 1 week won't be enough but I'd like to see the state regardless. I'm looking at the month of May next year. Gives me time to get some money saved. Airfare seems pretty damn cheap right now too for a round trip ticket (could I get lucky enough not to need the return trip!? lol ).

 

Any thoughts is much appreciated. And if any one is available for coffee or something while I'm there then all the better!

[BOATFIXERGUY]

There are a couple more in the area:

 

Rocky Mountain Rotorcraft (Mountain One) in Erie, CO and Front Range Helicopters in Loveland, CO.

 

Go to ALL of them and check them out. Make the decision that fits YOU best. They are all within 30 minutes of each other.

[helicopterdan]

Nice Enstrom in the pic

[deanathpc]

Ahh BoatFixerGuy I knew either you or Goldy would chime in! lol Thanks! I'm glad I asked now. I probably would have found them eventually but who knows how long it would have taken me! Word of mouth is so much better!

 

HelicopterDan: That Enstrom is a 1981 Enstrom 280F. I did my first demo flight with the Owner, Ray. His website is: http://www.bac-helicopters.com/ but unfortunatly for me he moved his operation further away.. He was only mins. away from my in-laws house. Story of my life though! Great 60 min. demo flight though! Loved every min. of it! I even paid for an extra 30 min. ride and took the wife up with us! She fell in love and asked when I was getting my license and my own bird! Yeah she supports it but just can't get the money to support it yet! lol

 

Thanks for the replies thus far guys / gals!

[ADRidge]

Hey congrats on getting out to colorado. It's a beautiful place, and a great place to fly. I was looking at moving up there to finish training, but I've had to put that on hold. One thing I'd always wondered about when I was looking to finish up was why Rotors' prices were so much higher. 380/hr for the 300C is quite a bit higher than what I'd been paying down here in Texas. The whole "solo insurance" thing kind of puzzled me too.

 

Nice thing is, you'll have choices up there. Always handy.

Edited November 23, 2009 by ADRidge

[clay]

all of the schools in Denver have plus' and minus'. I used to work at one of them, make sure you check out all of the schools in Denver. Fly with them all and make your decision.

[deanathpc]

ADRidge: Funny you should mention that... I was wondering the same damn thing.. I did some printouts of some of the school and I think that's why I dismissed them so quickly. I did go and reprint just so force myself to check 'em out just in case. maybe there is a good reason for it!

 

Clay: lol I was just told about you believe it or not.. For the right amount I'll tell ya by who! lol j/k but seriously someone was talking about ya! And don't worry good things only!

 

At this point whether I'll actually get to do the training in Colorado is yet to be seen. I'm guessing probably not. Not for some time anyway but I'm ALWAYS keeping my options open!

 

Thanks guys!

[clay]

about me!?!?!?!?! I swear it was all lies. whatever they said. it wasn't true and I will deny it until the end. (unless you have proof) If you want to talk, feel free to email me or PM me.

[deanathpc]

I dunno clay... sound pretty solid.... You should be proud!!! lol

 

Yeah I'll PM you. lies or not pretty impressive!

[beckwith]

Front Range also has an operation at Metro.

 

I'm a student at Rotors, and would be happy to talk to you about if you shoot me a PM.

Edited November 24, 2009 by beckwith

[VNYcfi]

Check out Rotors, I did some mountain training with them this summer. They are nice peeps and have a solid operation. If you have questions about cost, you should ask the operator directly as they may have a good reason as in; they may care more about having adequate maintenance reserves as opposed to being the most competitive.? Enjoy your trip...

[Goldy]

Ok, I'll say it! I think you should take a look at several schools, as always, but go do a demo at Colorado Heli Ops, say hi to Dennis for me, and head west. The Rockies are AWESOME to fly around, and the guys there are pretty cool too. Take the wife along !!

 

Good luck,

 

Goldy

[deanathpc]

Ok, I'll say it! I think you should take a look at several schools, as always, but go do a demo at Colorado Heli Ops, say hi to Dennis for me, and head west. The Rockies are AWESOME to fly around, and the guys there are pretty cool too. Take the wife along !!

 

Good luck,

 

Goldy

 

There we go! Took you long enough Goldy!!!

 

Yeah I'm gonna check 'em all out and do demo time with as many as I can. It counts as flight time so why the hell not!!!!???

 

Sounds like you might be a little biased with Colorado Heli Ops there Goldy..

[Goldy]

Sounds like you might be a little biased with Colorado Heli Ops there Goldy..

 

Oh yeah, I AM biased! Make no mistake about it. I think Dennis does a great job and really just wants to see students become pilots. All we ever talk about is how to make the learning and job experience better.

 

I like any schools where their main number one objective is to have safe aircraft and turn out pilots with certificates. But make no mistake, you're a big part of that equation too. There is no easy way to cram 800 pages of FAR's into your brain, and make you stop moving the damn cyclic in a hover!

 

A student pilot that I am helping out just bought me the new 2010 FAR's (I still have the one I bought in 1986). I've been reading the damn thing every night picking out the changes as I go along. You never stop learning when you're a pilot!

 

Good luck on your training.

 

Goldy

[deanathpc]

Oh yeah, I AM biased! Make no mistake about it. I think Dennis does a great job and really just wants to see students become pilots. All we ever talk about is how to make the learning and job experience better.

 

I like any schools where their main number one objective is to have safe aircraft and turn out pilots with certificates. But make no mistake, you're a big part of that equation too. There is no easy way to cram 800 pages of FAR's into your brain, and make you stop moving the damn cyclic in a hover!

 

A student pilot that I am helping out just bought me the new 2010 FAR's (I still have the one I bought in 1986). I've been reading the damn thing every night picking out the changes as I go along. You never stop learning when you're a pilot!

 

Good luck on your training.

 

Goldy

 

lol well yer honest!!!!!!!!! who knows just maybe i'll get to meet you face to face one day... maybe..

 

it sucks that my life long goals are the ones that cost too much damn money! although I guess I've never really been one to do something cheap! So I was meant to fly helicopters! Hell I was meant to fly ever since that first day I flew with my Grandfather in a Piper Cub!!

 

I think what you were saying is a reason why I'm going to turn a little vacation trip (mainly to come see my best friend) into a little research trip too. Do some flight time get some credit for it etc. etc. etc. See what's out there since we haven't jack squat in this crap hole state! At least no this side of state anyway. I'd love to start my own school here someday that's for sure! So I'll look around see how things are done and what not. I've been doing reading on here since 2007 or so I think and have learned a lot. I'd like to really start applying it and have the perma smile on my face again!

[gmoney]

Check out Rotors, I did some mountain training with them this summer. They are nice peeps and have a solid operation. If you have questions about cost, you should ask the operator directly as they may have a good reason as in; they may care more about having adequate maintenance reserves as opposed to being the most competitive.? Enjoy your trip...

 

I laughed out loud when I read this post, you clearly don't know anything about Rotors...either that or you work for them..

[AngelFire_91]

Well If I may, I'm gonna chime in as well...

 

I would STRONGLY recommend checking out Colo Heli Ops as well. Dennis and those guys are such a great bunch! I am definitely biased twords them but I do have to put the caveat in that I've only ever flown with one other school in the area and so I can't offer a whole lot of suggestions. I'm really supprised Dennis hasn't said anything on here yet, but give him a call, you'll feel important and cared for after just 2 mins of talking with them.

[RkyMtnHI]

Well If I may, I'm gonna chime in as well...

 

I would STRONGLY recommend checking out Colo Heli Ops as well. Dennis and those guys are such a great bunch! I am definitely biased twords them but I do have to put the caveat in that I've only ever flown with one other school in the area and so I can't offer a whole lot of suggestions. I'm really supprised Dennis hasn't said anything on here yet, but give him a call, you'll feel important and cared for after just 2 mins of talking with them.

 

 

You guys are awesome!! Thanks for all the good words.. truth is, we really do care. I haven't gotten into this topic cuz i'm afraid i won't stop, and i know some of you know what i am talking about!! :-)

 

If you come to Colorado do check out Jack Ferguson's team at Erie airport, his company is Rocky Mountain Rotorcraft, i think they are changing their name to Mountain One Helicopters.. I think Jack has a good team that also cares about their students, they have a CBI an Enstrom. Jack has some mountain time and can do turbine transition mountain courses in his friends beautiful Enstrom turbine. (i know, one school in Denver claims on their website to have the "only civilian high altitude training program in the US", but that, among other things, is simply NOT true!).

 

Front Range Helicopters has an office at KBJC but no real "operation" there since they rented the office in May, i expect they will not keep the office much longer probably due to our success on the airport and their success at Fort Collins (about 35 miles north of Denver). Front Range is a good operation that cares about it's students as well, ask for Don and tell him i told you to call.

 

I would also say to check out Elite Helicopters at Centennial airport, the owner is Tim Shunk, the guy that started rotors of the rockies and left for much of the same reasons that we all did. Tim has a good operation there and employs one of my really good friends Rob Schaper as a CFI. They operate out of a hangar called the Heliplex where some pretty cool helicopters live.

 

Of course i hope you come see us, but i will promise you this, if there is another school that suits you better, maybe you live closer or like the "peeps" there, we will be happy that you are happy. We have almost 45 students after five months and are growing strong because we put them first.. period.

 

You can read more about our operation in the upcoming issue of Vertical Magazine and get a better idea of what we are about. (expertly written by our very own Boatfixerguy!!!)

 

thanks again folks,

 

aloha,

 

dp

[RotorBrett]

I started my helicopter training with one flight school in Colorado. There are certainly good people still attached to that school. The instructors and students that I clicked with the best left that flight school and created Colorado Heli-Ops. I now train with them and will continue to train with them for several reasons.

 

First is that their goal is to tailor my training around me and what I want to accomplish in the industry.

 

Second, they have demonstrated a commitment to reaching out to the "movers and shakers" of the helicopter industry to create the connections that will help their students learn how to get employment in the business.

 

Third is that their aircraft are maintained to the highest standards, not just to the minimum standards.

 

Fourth is that I trust the owners and I trust the CFIs, and I genuinely like everyone there.

 

Along with those critical factors are the benefits of logging all my flight time at or above 5000' MSL. Some say that's not important in getting hired, but others - some of whom are doing the hiring - have said that it helps. It's a different world flying an S300 with a DA of over 9000'. I think that will make me a better pilot in all applications, and may just give me an edge on other applicants for a pilot's job.

[deanathpc]

Well thanks RotorBrett! So now how much did DP pay you to say this!? j/k Or maybe it was Goldy!!! lol

 

It's nice to read some good reviews on schools... Just wish all you people were on the EAST COAST!!!!!

[Lindsey]

Damn, reading all this makes me want to do the same thing, deanathpc! I'm thrilled with my current CFI and wouldn't leave for anything, but a trip to Colorado sure sounds fun! And to meet all these cool folks who post so much helpful info on the boards. Who knows, maybe this summer?! Time to start looking in the couch for loose change!

 

EDIT:

 

Uh oh...glanced at airfare during my spring break in mid-March...it's really, really cheap. $78 one way...

[deanathpc]

Damn, reading all this makes me want to do the same thing, deanathpc! I'm thrilled with my current CFI and wouldn't leave for anything, but a trip to Colorado sure sounds fun! And to meet all these cool folks who post so much helpful info on the boards. Who knows, maybe this summer?! Time to start looking in the couch for loose change!

 

EDIT:

 

Uh oh...glanced at airfare during my spring break in mid-March...it's really, really cheap. $78 one way...

 

I know right!? Cheap isn't the word!! I could get a round trip for just under twice yer quoted one way ticket.. hmmm one way ticket... not a bad idea though.. hightly doubt the wife would go for that.. although..... lol i digress...

 

I'm gonna do it next year I just do not know when exactly. I also have to win the damn lottery between now and then so I can stay out there and pay for the training! what tangled webs we weave! lol

[Lindsey]

That's a cheap round-trip ticket! Damn! I hear ya on the lottery...hmm perhaps time to put some money into the good ol' Washington lotto! Or browse Craigslist for random jobs. Or work the streets for a couple weeks. Just kidding, just kidding.

[Goldy]

Or work the streets for a couple weeks.

 

I tried it, but it never really panned out for me.

[deanathpc]

I tried it, but it never really panned out for me.

 

I'm working the streets now and it doesn't pay crap! So it's not panning out for me either! lol