Guest hobomike Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 .... im mike and i have a few questions about becoming a pilot ... i live in VA and would like to find a school in NC or MD .. i dont want to go to FL ....( i have my reasons ) i have been looking at schools for days but im still confused about it ... i looked up some of the posts but the ones that i found are from 06... so i thought i would put this out there to see if any one has any thing new ... i would also like some words of advice from any one that does this for a living ... i would love to make a career out of this but i dont know what to do when i get out of school with low hours .. or who whould hire me .... every one wants 1000+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashed_05 Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Don't have any experience with them, but these guys are in Frederick, MD.http://www.advancedhelicopter.com/site/index.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodrop Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Where in Virginia do you live? There are a few schools in Virginia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hobomike Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 i live near bristol va .... and thanks for the info on maryland ill look into it ... another thing that has me worried is the hours that im going to need Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r22butters Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 ... i would love to make a career out of this but i dont know what to do when i get out of school with low hours .. or who whould hire me .... every one wants 1000+ Welcome to the club! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC AV8R Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 I have done business with two schools in NC. North Carolina Rotor & Wing and Heliventures. NC Rotor & Wing has two locations, one in Salisbury the other near Raleigh. They use R22's and R44's. Heliventures is in Concord, near Charlotte. Heliventures uses 300CB's and they are part 141. If you want to know specifics about either school you can PM me. There's another school in Asheville but I know nothing about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollthbns Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 .i would love to make a career out of this but i dont know what to do when i get out of school with low hours .. or who whould hire me .... every one wants 1000+ I think the first thing you might consider is what you want to do. If you want to fly helicopters, then building that time is going to be an important part of your career no matter which way you decide to do it. Most of us civilian trained guys take the flight instruction path. Having a solid plan that is flexible enough to allow you to hit the curve balls along the way is extremely important. If instruction is a part of your plan, then make sure you present yourself as someone whom your school would want to represent them from day one. Treat it like a daily job interview. Make yourself useful and a part of the organization in anyway you can, so that when it comes time, you are someone they would WANT to have working there. If you are fortunate enough to be hired, make sure you serve that organization to the best of your ability and I guarantee you will get your time. Armed with the right attitude and the appropriate entries in your logbook, your chances of employment greatly improve. Its not just 1000 hours that will get you that job these days.......... Another thing I might suggest is taking advantage of any and all of the industry events that you can. Heli-Expo will be here before you know it, and it is a great place to meet people and network. Start before you have your hours, and always look for a way you can help others too. The system works! Good luck to you.... fly safe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomer Pylot Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) One small bit of advice: learn to spell and write standard English. Showing a lack of education reduces your chances of employment in almost any field. Use IM/Twitter construction only in IM or Twitter. For things prospective employers might see, especially including Facebook, use proper grammar, spelling, and capitalization. It does count. And I promise you that employers will check your Facebook page very closely before hiring you. Edited January 19, 2011 by Gomer Pylot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary-mike Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 One small bit of advice: learn to spell and write standard English. Showing a lack of education reduces your chances of employment in almost any field. Use IM/Twitter construction only in IM or Twitter. For things prospective employers might see, especially including Facebook, use proper grammar, spelling, and capitalization. It does count. And I promise you that employers will check your Facebook page very closely before hiring you. What!! You have to make your Facebook page public to possible employers? I have had to provide references before, but I have never had to let an employer into my friends and families personal lives. Nor did I ever provide a personal diary or transcribed conversations. This just seems invasive and a little over the top to me. The way I see it, they can do a background check, security clearance, drug tests, request info on resume's and aplications and conduct interviews, these things provide more than enough information. On the other hand, I am sure the Air Force monitors at least one of my accounts. I guess if it gets me a job flying, they can go ahead and snoop. I will have to just watch my posts, or delete my accounts. Thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomer Pylot Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Facebook has zero security. Zero. You don't have to give them permission, it's not that hard to get what you want there. If it's on Facebook, it's available to the world. The guy who started it said in an interview that he doesn't care at all about security, or the privacy of the people who use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trans Lift Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 You can't see my page without being a friend though. How are they supposed to get a look at it then, hack into it? I think the facebook thing, with regards to employment, is ridiculous. As Gary-mike said, the rest of the info you submit to them should be more than adequate for a job interview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodoz Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 And I promise you that employers will check your Facebook page very closely before hiring you. I'm with Gomer here. The question isn't what is fair, what employers should do, and whether any of what is on your Facebook/Twitter/MySpace/LinkedIn/whatever account is fair game when making a hiring decision. The reality is that employers *are* doing this, whether you like it, consent to it, or plan for it. It fits into the same category as not making an ass of yourself at the bar with colleagues when having drinks after work. And not standing on the street corner with your pants around your ankles singing Grandma got run over by a reindeer and waving pom poms to show your holiday spirit. (Or posting rambling messages on VR, for that matter.) Take the advice or not, but don't deny that this happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trans Lift Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 And not standing on the street corner with your pants around your ankles singing Grandma got run over by a reindeer and waving pom poms to show your holiday spirit. Better get rid of that photo album then!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iChris Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 You can't see my page without being a friend though. How are they supposed to get a look at it then, hack into it? Side note; What you may not know: “Around Silicon Valley, it’s well-known that if users aren’t paying for a service, they are the product.” “No company demonstrates that better than Facebook, which doesn’t charge any of its 650 million users, but is still worth north of $50 billion. That’s because you and all of your data are the product, access to which Facebook grants to software developers. (For those who don’t want to do the math, each Facebook user is worth a bit more than $80 to the company).” Facebook's Zuckerberg Says The Age of Privacy is Over No Facebook, You May Not Share My Address and Phone Number With Developers Rogue Marketers Can Mine Your Info on Facebook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pohi Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 And I promise you that employers will check your Facebook page very closely before hiring you. Damn Gomer, that explains a lot. I do not even have a Facebook page; how can an employer hire somebody who clearly does not exist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MileHi480B Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Some quick advice (addvice) ... use spell-check when submitting your resume. I really, really mean it. I once heard HR people say that the first sign of someone who does not pay attention to detail are misspelled words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 On the other hand, I am sure the Air Force monitors at least one of my accounts. After having been targeted myself and then getting a chance to work with the OPSEC manager for a couple of weeks sorting stuff out I GUARANTEE you the Air Force monitors more than just one of your accounts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary-mike Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 After having been targeted myself and then getting a chance to work with the OPSEC manager for a couple of weeks sorting stuff out I GUARANTEE you the Air Force monitors more than just one of your accounts Comforting. Wonder how they feel about the time I spend here on VR... They haven't blocked me yet;) I kinda felt they wouldn't have the people to monitor every account for every employee. Maybe some super software program that just watches for key words or phrases? I dunno, everybody seemed to feel that the reason for allowing Facebook ect. on gov computers was a force reduction tool. I guess if I get reduced I can start my flight training full time... as long as it is honorable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomer Pylot Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 If you don't have a Facebook account, then they can't check it. That's the whole point. But you have to assume that anything on there is available to the entire world, friend or not. If you don't, you're going to be unpleasantly surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edspilot Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Guest_HoboMike_* Back to your question: The closest helicopter school to you is American Helicopters in Manassas. Next would be Advanced Helicopter Concepts (AHC) in Frederick, MD (mentioned above) American: The only experience I have had with American is, I visited them when I was looking to get checked out in the R22 & R44. I do know one of American's instructors and a visiting mechanic and they both are excellent. I have met the owner too. After visiting both, (at that time I lived in Fairfax) I chose to drive the 55 miles one-way to Frederick for training. Now I live in WV. AHC: I have alot of experience with AHC as I did my SFAR check out there, did some instrument add-on training and they now do all of my maintenance work on my R22. They are a great bunch of professionals there. Neal (owner) is very friendly and fair with the business side of things. Ryan (chief instructor) is likewise excellent and is very helpful, for the asking. Ryan has his own website ( www.ascension-helicopters.com ) with tons of free helicopter training stuff, he has even "published" a training book. I have flown, at one time or the other, with all of their current instructors and many of thier past instructors. As a matter of fact, one of their former instructors is now the Chief Pilot for Papallion Helicopters in Vegas and my former CFI is a tour pilot for Papallion. When I was looking for my R22, they helped me as I called and I am sure bothered them with all of my questions, and the never made me feel like I was bothering them. They help with my pre-buy in TX and one of the instructors went with me to bring my R22 home from Dallas. I have not been disappointed with any of my dealings with AHC and would do all of it over again, with AHC. I guess what I am trying to leave you with is, with all of the different types of dealings I have had with AHC, if there was not the culture of friendly, helpful and professional service there, it would have shown. Long ago I would have seen it and ended my relationship with them. If had seen anything I was not confortable with I certainly would NOT let them take care of my flying machine now. Disclaimer: I have no financial interest or other interest in AHC other than being a satified customer of their products and services. Go visit these and others that have been recommended here, before you decide to enroll anywhere and see for yourself. Fly with them too. Flying with them is one more way to judge on how you feel about each. Best of luck, in your search. If you more questions, please PM me and I'll give you my phone number. Be safe, edspilot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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