Flight School Reviews

[cadetpilot]

Learning to fly can be one of life's most rewarding adventures. The freedom of moving in three dimensions is not only fun but can lead to interesting career and travel opportunities. To take advantage of aviation's rewards, you must make sure you get the good, solid information and aviation training that you'll need to be a safe, confident pilot in the air.

[everdayimhovering]

Interested in doing some flight training in NYC/NJ area. Found a school in Linden, NJ called Core Helicopters. Any information would be beneficial.

 

Thanks

[kjackson81]

I absolutely loved my time with FlyHAA (http://www.flyhaa.com/helicopter/courses/). I was able to learn from some great trainers that made things easy to understand. I would recommend them to anyone.

[RotorHead56]

Hey so I'm going to be headed back to southern California after I get out of the military. I am looking for a good flight school that accepts the GI bill and won't screw me over. It's been pretty discouraging seeing how a lot of these schools have been completely scammin people. Does anyone have any good experiences with any flight school or the VA involved flight schools?

[Cod]

Rotor head, my recommendation is:

Step 1. Do your research. I spent 6 years doing mine while preparing to leave the military.

Step 2. Build a short list of 2-3 schools and visit all of them.

Step 3. Select your school, then move to where your school is.

In this way, you have better options than moving to some random area, and then casting about for whatever school happens to be in your neighborhood. An aviation career requires mobility, especially in the early days of your career. I'm not saying this is definitely your situation, but if you can only live in a certain location in the United States, it may be tough to find work and this might not be the best career move for you?

 

All that said, I earned all my helicopter ratings through the post-911 GI Bill and Central Oregon Community College. (The flight partner is Leading Edge Aviation, Bend, Oregon.) COCC is a squared-away program and is run squeaky-clean, as proven by what I have seen first-hand, as well as passing VA audits with flying colors. Best of luck to you in the future!

[vic82]

Has anyone done any training with Helicopter Academy https://www.helicopteracademy.com/ They are offering me 100 hrs in the R-22 for $30,000. I have over 1000 hors and Commercial with instruments from the military.

[Pohi]

Has anyone done any training with Helicopter Academy https://www.helicopteracademy.com/ They are offering me 100 hrs in the R-22 for $30,000. I have over 1000 hors and Commercial with instruments from the military.

Do a quick search of these forums. You should find all sorts of different opinions about them and their programs.

[r22butters]

Has anyone done any training with Helicopter Academy https://www.helicopteracademy.com/ They are offering me 100 hrs in the R-22 for $30,000. I have over 1000 hors and Commercial with instruments from the military.

Wow, things are that bad for 1000hr pilots!?

 

You probably never thought that anything you flew in the military was as difficult or complex to fly as the mighty R-22 Mariner, so as to require 100hrs of "training",...not to mention the extreme skills needed to fly photo missions!

 

Just remember, if you're holding a camera in your hands it not loggable as flight time.

[RagMan]

Has anyone done any training with Helicopter Academy https://www.helicopteracademy.com/ They are offering me 100 hrs in the R-22 for $30,000. I have over 1000 hors and Commercial with instruments from the military.

 

 

You would be better off going to a flight school and paying for quality time in a helicopter. Is your 1,000 hours Total Time, or Pilot in Command time?

 

If you haven't gone through and figured out / calculated your Pilot in Command time as per Federal Aviation Regulations from your time in the military, that would be a good place to start. If you wish to use your military time and convert it to civilian time, you will have to abide by the FAA standards of logging Pilot in Command time, as the military logs it very differently.

 

Otherwise, this may be a good place to start.

 

http://www.justhelicopters.com/CAREERDEVELOPMENT/PilotEbooks/tabid/228/Default.aspx

[vic82]

I have just over 1000 PIC hours and over 1300 total time, all turbine. I'm between this and Bristow for CFI, and looking for a way to build my 2000 hrs.

 

 

You would be better off going to a flight school and paying for quality time in a helicopter. Is your 1,000 hours Total Time, or Pilot in Command time?

 

If you haven't gone through and figured out / calculated your Pilot in Command time as per Federal Aviation Regulations from your time in the military, that would be a good place to start. If you wish to use your military time and convert it to civilian time, you will have to abide by the FAA standards of logging Pilot in Command time, as the military logs it very differently.

 

Otherwise, this may be a good place to start.

 

http://www.justhelicopters.com/CAREERDEVELOPMENT/PilotEbooks/tabid/228/Default.aspx

[bruchpilot02]

Aloha, I did most of my training in Hawaii with Mauna Loa Helicopters and can really recomend this school!

Stuff and instructors were very helpfull and skilled, I had for sure a great time there. For me as a non US citizen the F1 visa opend a many doors for me and also helped me to land my first job, didn't take long until I got picked up at a school as CFI.

I'm happy to share more of my experince there if somebody is interessted.

[IWannafly30]

Southern Utah University in Cedar City has been in complete compliance with the VA regs for the last 3 years. You can even get your private through CFII if you have the eligibility and benefits. Ask for Robbie and he will guide you through the whole process. I started 3 weeks ago and I absolutely love it! https://www.suu.edu/aviation/aas.html

[octagon]

I'm a student at Total Flight Solutions in Lousiville, NC (Triangle area). Great experience learning there. Everyone seems to love aviation, and they enjoy teaching. The administration is friendly and efficient. Prices are reasonable.

 

My instructor is knowledgeable and safe, and he always tries to maximize my learning value, making sure that every minute I'm paying for helicopter flight time is put to optimal use. He's patient and always keeps an upbeat vibe going, even if he has to give me the same correction multiple times.

 

The mechanic responsible for the aircraft is very experienced and enjoys his job. Whenever I have a question about some part of the helicopter during preflight checks he's happy to come out to the helicopter and explain the details of how the various parts are maintained and how to tell when a part is out of spec (they also have a number of example parts that are out of spec that students can use to feel what an unacceptable part feels like).

 

Safe, good training, good vibes, no hassles; I recommend this school.

[El_X]

Looking for updates to Helicopter Flight School reviews. I know things change over the years with management and aircraft, so seeing what recommendations, reviews, or recent experiences there are.

Im looking at attend a program by either Jan 2019 or July 2019. Currently in OHIO working on fixed wing PPL while attending school but weather is spotty. My home state is NM and have heard of Vertical Limit Aviation but not many reviews. Also looking at Mauna Loa Hawaii. Anyone have recent experience or reviews? Pro/Con difference between their two Hawaii locations?

[r22butters]

Looking for updates to Helicopter Flight School reviews. I know things change over the years with management and aircraft, so seeing what recommendations, reviews, or recent experiences there are.

Im looking at attend a program by either Jan 2019 or July 2019. Currently in OHIO working on fixed wing PPL while attending school but weather is spotty. My home state is NM and have heard of Vertical Limit Aviation but not many reviews. Also looking at Mauna Loa Hawaii. Anyone have recent experience or reviews? Pro/Con difference between their two Hawaii locations?

I did my commercial at Mauna Loa at the Kona location. However, as it was twelve years ago the only experience of mine that could possibly still be relevant is this,...

 

Its the driest part of the driest island, so on those few days the islands were being pounded by a nasty storm, we were the only ones who could still fly. In fact, if I had been at either of the other locations I would have had to postpone my checkride, whereas on the Big Island I just had to re-work the xc part of my test a little.

[Boatpix]

We remain the only school that can guarantee you a job.

[Sunchase]

Hi, everyone! Could someone recommend a good school in California?

[Sam luis]

If you want to get your license I would recommend looking up 702 helicopters in Las Vegas. Almost always flying weather, available helis, good instructors and great rates.  

[DONM]

I am looking to get my ATP next but wondering if there are some particular flight schools which may have reduced operations or even those who may have closed due to the lack of foreign students ie the (COVID19) effect. 

Don

[El_X]

A lot of foreign students at Mauna Loa in Kona. I think travel restrictions would be by country areas. 

[RRMoore78]

On 8/6/2018 at 7:34 AM, octagon said:

I'm a student at Total Flight Solutions in Lousiville, NC (Triangle area). Great experience learning there. Everyone seems to love aviation, and they enjoy teaching. The administration is friendly and efficient. Prices are reasonable.

 

My instructor is knowledgeable and safe, and he always tries to maximize my learning value, making sure that every minute I'm paying for helicopter flight time is put to optimal use. He's patient and always keeps an upbeat vibe going, even if he has to give me the same correction multiple times.

 

The mechanic responsible for the aircraft is very experienced and enjoys his job. Whenever I have a question about some part of the helicopter during preflight checks he's happy to come out to the helicopter and explain the details of how the various parts are maintained and how to tell when a part is out of spec (they also have a number of example parts that are out of spec that students can use to feel what an unacceptable part feels like).

 

Safe, good training, good vibes, no hassles; I recommend this school.

Hi, Octagon!! 

Are you using your VA benefits for this flight center? 

Please let me know.

Thanks!

Ryan

[Berkay]

Hello, how much money do you have to spend to get a CPL license for a high school graduate without a license at all.  I think we get ppl license before cpl license and then we get cpl license.

[Bonzo828]

A rough estimate....  You will need around $50k. That's based on 150 flight hours for the CPL requirement at $300 an hour.  Plus check rides and training materials.  

[captain]

I'm studying at kingschools.com.  I like the video then test format, although I have a few nits to pick with their "physics" explanations.  😛   I have a friend who is a CFI, so once I've done the "ground school" with King, and read through the briefcase of books my pal handed me, I'll figure out how to get some seat time with my him--probably just rent the cheapest two-seater we can find.  I plan to get a one-seater that I can zip around in, and then who knows....  If $30k is the going rate for enough seat time to get certified (as I saw in an earlier post), I'll just get an ultralight and teach myself!   (hold on... let me put on my asbestos suit here) 

[captain]

I can't find any way to follow the topic than to reply again.