Flight School Reviews

[Wolf Trap]

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

Thanks for posting this. I have been doing alot of research on local schools and even considered moving to get my Professional Pilots license. I live in Fredericksburg now and was not sure if I should go to Chesapeake or Manassas for the training. Who did you get the financing with?

[fiordaniele]

Hello everybody, my name is Daniele, i'm 21 and I come from Italy. I'm new of the forum but i saw this post about reviewing your flight school and i find it very interesting for people that want to start helicopter training.

I've benn fliyng for 2 years now and i'm an instructor at the moment. I left italy in september 2009 and came to California to train, my first schol was Twin Air helicopters which happen to be a very bad experience. I swithched (with many realted problems) to a new one, called Heli International. They have helped me transitioning from the previous school, they have given me all the traaining i still needed and now i'l be working for them as an instructor (paid) trying to get the necessary experience to go back to europe some time. I absolutely racomend this schol to anybody that whould like to start their helicopter training. If you have any questions go right ahead..

[captain chad]

I am looking at Bristow in Titusville and looks like it might not be a good choice! I m a former student of ssh and dont want to make another bad choice in schools! If anyone knows of another school in my area please comment!

[AdminLB]

I am looking at Bristow in Titusville and looks like it might not be a good choice! I m a former student of ssh and dont want to make another bad choice in schools! If anyone knows of another school in my area please comment!

 

Curious as to why you would think Bristow Academy would not be a good choice?

 

I cannot in anyway see a realistic comparison between SSH and Bristow Academy. They are UNIVERSES apart. All due respect......but unless you are totally oblivious, I cannot imagine how you could make such a statement in good conscience.

 

Unless there is more to your story.

[r22butters]

My local Bristow (Concord, CA) closed recently, anyone know why?

[captain chad]

I am just reading some post here and havent seen anyone give Bristow a good comment. I just dont want to make another mistake. I am not rich and need to make the right choice.

[captain chad]

By the way i am not comparing the two schools just sharing a little of my life. Please if someone has some experience with Bristow in titusville I would like to here about it.

[captain chad]

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

This was just one comment about Bristow. I didnt see anything positive.

[Spike]

This was just one comment about Bristow. I didnt see anything positive.

 

I'd suggest doing a little more research.

[captain chad]

Ok. I will and I will post all of my findings right here. I have read a bit of stuff about Bristow so far nothing current but I will keep my findings posted!

[gary-mike]

Ok. I will and I will post all of my findings right here. I have read a bit of stuff about Bristow so far nothing current but I will keep my findings posted!

 

Don't forget to list your sources, and details. Being a big school I'm sure there have been a few students that couldn't make it and want to place blame on the company. I agree though, last time I read through this thread I don't remember seeing much possitive said about them. Maybe I will have to go through it again.

[Mikemv]

Capt. Chad,

 

Before I mentored 42 of Bristow pilots last December for 3 hours on SRM and mission planning, I received a four hour tour of the Academy and was impressed with the program and efficiency of their operation.

 

Lyn and I held an open Forum and would not have wasted our time if we did not respect the Academy.

 

Since that time, 4 CFI Graduates attended my C&E Seminar and three of those have become FITS SBT Facilitators and all 4 are currently employed as pilots at different locations in the US.

 

To mention Bristow and SSH in the same context shows a lack of research but I do respect you wanting to make a good decision.

 

Read the article in the August edition of Rotor & Wing Magazine about the Bristow Academy.

 

Mike

[helistar]

http://www.aviationtoday.com/rw/issue/cover/Training-Profile-Bristow-Academy_73993.html

 

Safety is critical at the Bristow Group and Academy. “We have an extremely robust safety management systems here,” Popp said. “We recognize, that in a very real sense we are able to influence the helicopter industry one graduate at a time. Quite frankly, it’s probably one of the most rewarding aspects of what we’re doing here,” he added.

 

Of the pilots flying in Bristow’s Norway operations in the North Sea, nearly 50 percent come from the academy, Willenbacher added. “Among all of these graduates, not one has had a serious helicopter accident or incident,” she said. “There is no better testimony than that to show how well the academy prepares pilots for real-world operations.”

[EYW-MIA]

There are a few Gulf Pilots on here that trained and recommend Bristow highly. They do not chat in the forum much. So like every one has said. Do research. Every one has there on opinion but what it comes down to is where you want to work, what type of job, and if the school offers you what you need to be successful. The last thing and most important thing is what you can afford.

[EYW-MIA]

My local Bristow (Concord, CA) closed recently, anyone know why?

 

My guess and it is only speculation is that you have COS a little farther away from you. They are tied to the community college and with there program they do all the flight training before you start class work and give you a paid internship while you finish your degree. That is much better especially most of there students come from the navy base. I used to be station there in Lemoore. I hated it. lol Its just a guess.

[r22butters]

My guess and it is only speculation is that you have COS a little farther away from you. They are tied to the community college and with there program they do all the flight training before you start class work and give you a paid internship while you finish your degree. That is much better especially most of there students come from the navy base. I used to be station there in Lemoore. I hated it. lol Its just a guess.

 

 

COS? Sorry, I'm on acronym overload these days.

[Trans Lift]

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

 

Trust me, there is no comparison between these two schools. It has been mostly Bristow guys that have worked there and left the place.....

 

Bristow has its issues, like everywhere but over all it is a great school. I went there and worked there. It has a very different vibe from when it was HAI,more politics, etc. You will get a very high standard of training and if you get a job there you will build hours fast.

[EOD HELI]

I just finished my CFII at Palm Beach Helicopters in West Palm Beach Florida. I have to say the training was excellent and the instructors and staff were very supportive.

 

I moved at a quicker pace than a few of my peers and PBH was able to adapt and help me out. I finished my PPL through CFII in 1 year and 13 days! It was tough but if you're willing to meet your instructor half way, over half way always helps, you should have no problem.

 

They just started three new courses and I am excited to start flying again. The new courses include Turbine Transition, External Load and NVG.

 

If anyone has specific questions about my training or the flight school please let me know. I promise to give you a fair evaluation of how my training was conducted. I relied on this forum to help me find the appropriate flight school to train at and I just want to do the same for you!

 

Best of luck to you in finding the right school!

 

EOD HELI

[erichart88]

Just wondering if anyone had any information on the college of the sequoias

[RagMan]

I just finished my CFII at Palm Beach Helicopters in West Palm Beach Florida. I have to say the training was excellent and the instructors and staff were very supportive.

 

I moved at a quicker pace than a few of my peers and PBH was able to adapt and help me out. I finished my PPL through CFII in 1 year and 13 days! It was tough but if you're willing to meet your instructor half way, over half way always helps, you should have no problem.

 

They just started three new courses and I am excited to start flying again. The new courses include Turbine Transition, External Load and NVG.

 

If anyone has specific questions about my training or the flight school please let me know. I promise to give you a fair evaluation of how my training was conducted. I relied on this forum to help me find the appropriate flight school to train at and I just want to do the same for you!

 

Best of luck to you in finding the right school!

 

EOD HELI

 

Have you been hired by PBH as an instructor yet?

 

And I'm curious if this pilot and aircraft were from PBH http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/pilot-in-west-palm-beach-chopper-crash%3A-%22i-don%27t-want-to-die-today%22?hpt=us_bn5

[EOD HELI]

That's right. PBH's newest instructor!

 

NO, the heli and pilot were not from PBH and I don't want to write on here who it was. However, I hear that the pilot was flying without the governor on and got into a low RPM condition. He lowered collective first before rolling on throttle. The correlator in the Robinson helis are so good and when lowering the collective he actually decreased his RPM even lower, beyond what rolling on could recover.

 

Lesson: Roll on throttle first OR as you are lowering collective! "Simultaneously lovin baby"

[Pohi]

In a low RPM or loss of power situation, this can't really help things.

 

"I don't want to die today. I don't want to die today," Berg said was one of the most prominent thoughts during his 25 second plummet to the neighborhood below. "I'm instantly trying to put the nose down to maintain my air speed."

 

I hope this was taken way out of context or misquoted. I have seen people in training push the cyclic forward during a low rotor situation and it certainly doesn't improve the situation.

 

And if I'm not mistaken, it violates the POH to operate a 22 govenor off except for training. That story of operating Govenor off during might be one of those nasty rumors to make the pilots look bad.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Pohi

[enstromstudent]

I am taking lessons at Airwest Helicopters in Glendale Az, flying the enstrom f28f. I am doing their professional pilot program and very happy with the options available to me. Instructors are awesome as well as their maintenance.

[solo]

Is there a Schweizer 300 flight school near Long beach Ca,?

[solo]

And what is the cost between R22 and the S300 hr rate?