Flight School Reviews

[Trojan22]

Hi,

 

I am from the philippines planning to go to Fort lauderdale FL for R44 transition can you reccomend a school for my training, I have checked the list and they are so many to choose from, hope you could help me on this....

 

 

dex

[Bootcamp]

Stay away from Helicopters of America.

[Trojan22]

thanks for the PM and info.

Edited November 10, 2008 by Trojan22

[airBeater]

Sean,

You have a third choice left out. I did my training at Helicopter Academy which is also in the Palm Beach area, LNA, and HWO. My instructor was good. He has a 100% sign-off rate and 2400+ hours total. The price was better than the others you mention and housing was included. Plus, they have the time-building option that the others don't...

 

Good luck...

 

hey everyone i am new to the this forum but it seems like it has alot of information but i was wondering if anyone had information on palm beach helicopters or ocean helicopters in palm beach fl. i am currently living in gville working for us airways so i know i will have a job if i head to south florida. any news would be appreciated

 

 

thanks

 

sean

[GoinAround]

I am a student at Northeast Helicopters in Ellington, CT. I recently finished my private pilot rating with the school and plan to continue with them. I have researched many schools and have found them to very reputable and reliable.

 

Check them out at

 

http://www.northeasthelicopters.com

[rhooks81]

I'm looking for schools in the MD/NoVA area and think I have settled on either Advanced Helicopter Concepts in Frederick, MD or the Helicopter Academy in Annapolis, MD. Anyone have experience with either of these schools or want to recommend another school in the area? I'd love to have any insight you can offer!

[Bootcamp]

I'm looking for schools in the MD/NoVA area and think I have settled on either Advanced Helicopter Concepts in Frederick, MD or the Helicopter Academy in Annapolis, MD. Anyone have experience with either of these schools or want to recommend another school in the area? I'd love to have any insight you can offer!

 

I have trained with both. They are both good, reputable schools.

 

At Advanced Helicopter, most of my old instructors have moved on, but if Ryan Dale is still around, I can attest to his knowledge and experience. (Look at the cover of the Helicopter Oral Exam Guide...he wrote it.) One of the things I liked about Advanced Helicopter is that on several occasions, they let me rent the helicopter to fly out of state (Atlantic City, New Hampshire, and southern VA).

 

At Helicopter Academy, my instructor has moved on but I still keep in touch with the owner. Helicopter Academy seems to be one of the only schools that will guarantee you a job once you get your 300 hours with them. They also give you a lot of commercial experience and cross-country time that you wouldn't otherwise get as a student.

 

If you don't mind the journey down to southern VA, I recommend Hampton Roads Helicopters. They have a very experienced staff and a small school so booking time is pretty easy. One of the owners is an examiner so it makes transitioning from "training" mode to "exam" much more relaxing.

[Rick20]

I am a student at Northeast Helicopters in Ellington, CT. I recently finished my private pilot rating with the school and plan to continue with them. I have researched many schools and have found them to very reputable and reliable.

 

Check them out at

 

http://www.northeasthelicopters.com

 

 

 

I'm also attending NEH. I also cannot say enough about the instructors. I had my 1st solo Nov 2nd, which only happened when I was ready, and recently did my 1 hr solo and my Class D airspace solo. All the instructors have made me feel right at home. I should be able to get my instrument rating before my loan is up, and hope to get the rest of the money I need as soon as possible so I can finish my training. NEH will not gaurente any one a job, as they want to make sure that you have the ability and the right atitude, which makes me feel comfortable that they didn't just hire on my instructor just because he met the minimums, but because he is a good pilot.

[Vassago]

Hello all,

 

I am looking at going to "American Helicopters" at Manassas Airport, VA. Has anyone on here gone there or looked into it. Can't find much with the search function. I would love a good review, good or bad, of the school, aircraft, maint, and staff.

 

Thanks,

 

Rob

 

I'm attending American Helicopters in VA now

Overall I'm happy with the CFI's I've worked with, and their aircraft

They are very safety conscious, and work very well with my schedule as I have a heavy load on my daytime job. I usually scheduled my classes during the week at night, and weekends with no complaints from instructors and no problem scheduling them. I do have to schedule a month in advance as my instructor is the senior, so he's pretty busy.

They teach auto's right from the very start so you get familiar with them, and more importantly comfortable with them.

They teach you to deal with the ADIZ (critical in DC land), and how to deal with Dulles Class B airspace hanging over you.

 

I'm currently awaiting good weather for my first solo

[H/V]

Ace Pilot Training is one of the best Helicopter Schools I have found. That being said with having 15 years experience in the Aviation Industry. The reason for the high regards is because of their great equipment (Shiny Young 300CBi's), great location (an hour west of New York City and the Jersey Shore, located in the beautiful Lehigh Valley...minutes from ski resorts), and a great staff who really care about the student's progress. The thoughtful-minded staff guided me through my Helicopter Add-On in less than a month!

 

They have had a lot of foreign students because of their lucrative M1 Visa Program, with by far some of the most competitive rates in the industry. Nothing like being able to ski the slopes, walk the streets of NYC or hit the beach after a hard day of flight training!

 

If you're looking for the best school with some of the best rates in the best location to get experience, go to Ace Pilot.

 

Their Website is: acepilot.com

 

To inquire about their Professional Pilot and M1 Foreign Pilot Programs, email James at:

acepilotschool at gmail dot com (<--they don't like spam, plug in "@" and "." )

[Azhigher]

I guess I'll post my review of my school here.

 

I did all my training (0 hours - CFII) at Quantum Helicopters (Quantumhelicopters.com) in Chandler AZ.

 

Honestly, I couldn't have asked for better. All my instructors were great, no shortage of aircraft, and I never felt like I was getting milked for cash or being held back for any reason. I handled my own financing so money wasn't an issue but word is they help out with that kind of thing if you need it. Overall, I'd recommend them to any prospective student looking to get some training.

 

The best part is probably that they try to hire each and every student that gets their CFI through them. A nice little bit of security in these troubled times...

Edited March 18, 2009 by Azhigher

[flyby737]

Just finished my training at Longhorn Helicopters. Professional instructors new well maintained equipment with outstanding avionic's packages. 5 300C 's and a 206 several instructors and one of the owners is a DPE. A great experience would highly recommend them.

[tattooed]

Looking to train in the Pacific NW???

 

I'm finishing up my CFI training now with Jerry Trimble http://www.jerrytrimblehelicopters.com.

 

Small school with 1 VERY well maintained R22.

Super flexible training schedule, and the best rates I have seen. I started out at a very large and very expensive school....training was excellent, but it was super expensive, and you can't compare learning from a 400 pilot to a REAL pilot with 30 years in the business. I HIGHLY recommend Jerry Trimble. Great guy who can offer you so much from his many years in the business.

He is also very proactive in helping you find work. Larger flight schools rarely offer any assistance.

 

JTH's is located in McMinnville, OR. MMV is a very friendly moderately busy airport in Golf airspace so you can fly in almost any weather. HIO is our local towered airport so you can get ATC experience there. There is an FAA testing center on site, free coffee, friendly people.

 

Beautiful area (I grew up in this area, so I am biased!!) and lots to do for recreation.

 

PM me if you would like more info. Since I changed schools, I have never been happier!!!

[Trans Lift]

..

Edited July 8, 2010 by Trans Lift

[SkidKid]

 

ATP completed!!

 

After all these years, and having passed the Knowledge Test on other occassions and letting it expire, I have the ticket in my pocket!

 

Helicopter Solutions ( HelicopterSolutions.net ) provided the workup for the Practical, and an aircraft (Bell 206B) at a VERY reasonable cost. I showed up with the written completed, and they did an "inventory flight" with me to see where I stood on currency and proficiency, and geared a program for me that really worked.

 

The check ride was tough and fair. I had a really good day on the approaches and the oral, though long, was to the point and direct. No "gotcha" questions or bad attitude. Overall, I enjoyed the exhausting ride.

 

Bottom line, it is about the bottom line! ATP passed on the first attempt at a total cost of less than $4,000. Cost will vary based on your level of competency, but I believe I got my money's worth! I believe they will do well for anyone, at any level of experience.

 

Thanks to Tim and Cliff for the assistance!

 

Dave T

 

[lonestarchalk1]

Hello,

 

I am training for my commercial and CFI at http://www.maunaloahelicopters.com/ on the Hawaii islands, great learning environment.

[Rotorookie]

Deleted

Edited March 10, 2014 by Rotorookie

[betr_thn_Icarus]

I'll vouch for Helitahoe's instructors. Great couple of guys there! One of them was an instructor of mine. While on the ground I must warn you you will need a handfull of good comebacks ready at all times...lol All jokes aside, I would send my best friend there.

[Straitlegg]

My experance with Bristow new iberia campus.

OK!. well here we go. So after spending time searching for schools nation wide i came up with bristow. I sent them an email from Afganastan where i was at the time and set up an appt to see the school and take an intro flight. Im curently on my r and r so i flew out to Louisiana from my home in vegas to make the flight and tour the school per the arangement i had made with them....now here is where everything started to go sideways. as i stood in the "lobby" looking at an empty receptionist seat...wondering who the guy was on the couch working on his computer and the girl on the other couch who looked like a student was.. an air of unprofessionalism kind of came over me...After a min or so, the girl finally asked if she could help us some how. I told her who i was and that i had a tour and flight set up with (name omited)... she was nice and went in the back and retrivied someone who introuduced herself as Mrs mary...ok well i then informed Mrs mary who i was and what i was doing there...she then dissapeared and while we could hear her asking around for my pilot she remained gone for several min until fainally returning to inform me that he was not there but if i waited for 2 hours...someone could get me a flight...no tour no apoligy, no anything other than i need to wait if i wanted to pay them for a flight. I again informed her i was intrested in attending the school, that i had flown out for the sole reason of talking to them and touring the campus as well as taking a flight but all i got was a blank stare. Pretty upsetting considering i have been looking for the last 6 months at relocating to Louisiana for this school figuring it was prolly a pretty pro operation considering the company....just my experance.....im now looking at colorado heli ops based soley on some of the great posts made by someone who works for them..... In this market it just floors me that my business was taken this lightly and i felt like as i walked out the door they could have cared less? anyway...good luck and i hope you have a better experance if you decide to go with this company... mike

[1helipilot]

My favorite school is Quantum Helicopters in Chandler, AZ. I also went to Universal, they were ok, but had some strange ideas about dress code that I thought were a little too controlling.

[Matt89]

Anyone have some info about Twin Air LA?

[nealsands]

I'm just about to finish up my Commercial Helicopter add-on at Kissimmee Helicopters.

My instructors have been great and I've never had a problem with the availability of their R-44.

Solo'd the aircraft no problem, I researched the rental/instruction market extensivly and this was absolutly the best rate to be had, I paid 299.00 an hour wet plus 40.00 for instruction in the Robinson R-44, good luck finding that anywhere else.

Call Thom at kissimmee helicopters (they are located just south of Orlando,FL)

407-973-9347

www.kissimmeehelicopters.com

Neal

[Amdretel]

Ok, I started training over a year ago with the goal of CFII. I have been to a few schools along the way.Two stick out the most. BRISTOW, We all know the name! Not so good at all. Took over 10,000 from me and left me short of important knowledge. Don’t be fooled into this school by there size. A student to them is just a number. My top pick! SRT Helicopters based out of KBFL Chris is the man. Real world training and high expectations. Bakersfield is a little out of the way. But your training sets your foundation for the rest of your career. Good luck with your blade time and keep them spinning over min RPM.

[Amdretel]

I have said it before here Bristow was bad. Not a good school in the least. SRT is where I am now and very happy. Check em out at SRTHelo.com

[Trans Lift]

I see Chris is getting you to plug for business, things never change.

 

I went to Bristow, not a bad school but it is a corporation and they care more about your money than they do about the student. It used to be an awesome place when it was HAI. Much higher quality in my opinion. You will get your certs but without the personal touch of other schools.