Help Finding a Part 61 school for a Add-on.

[PilotLevi]

Hi,

 

I'm taking my Private Pilot ASEL checkride in less then two weeks and I would like to get my H added onto it. I guess I missed my calling or something, anyways I live in Cape Coral,Florida and fly out of KFMY. I already Found London aviation in Naples, Florida and Suncoast in Sarasota, Florida, but I'm looking for somewhere closer. They're both almost two hour drive. I also have no money because I'm 17 years old so I'm planning on saving half and pay-as-I-go. I'm mostly looking for a retire CFI with a heli looking for a student or two a year or something. I already searched this site by the way.

 

 

Thanks guys,

Levi

[jehh]

Good luck on your checkride... Welcome to the world of helicopters. If you haven't taken an intro flight yet, that is the first step. After the bug has bitten you, you can never go back to stuck wings.

 

As far as having no money, that makes it tough, but not impossible. Generally flying helicopters costs 2 to 3 times as much as airplanes, but you probably know that already.

 

Do keep in mind that while you can save quite a bit of money by doing the fixed-wing ratings first, then add on all your helicopter ratings, if your goal is to do this for a living, that probably won't help much.

 

You can get all that done and end up with about 90 hours of helicopter time, and be all but uninsurable to teach in helicopters. Of course if you're just doing this for fun, then by all means.

 

Posted with permission

 

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Captain Levy’s Checkride Advice

 

1. Relax and enjoy it. Nationwide, about 90% of applicants pass on the first try, so look around and see if you think you’re as good as 9 out of 10 other students. Also, your instructor must maintain a pass rate of at least 80% to get his ticket renewed, so he’s not going to send you up unless he’s pretty darn sure you’ll pass – otherwise, he has to find four other people to pass to make up for you, and that’s not always easy.

 

2. Go over with your instructor the logbooks of the aircraft you're going to use the day BEFORE the checkride to make sure it's all in order (annual, transponder checks, ELT ops and battery, 100-hour if rented, etc.). If the airplane's paper busts, so do you. Run a sample W&B, too – get the examiner’s weight when you make the appointment. If you weight 200, and so does the examiner, don’t show up with a C-152 with full tanks and a 350 lb available cabin load – examiners can’t waive max gross weight limits.

 

3. Relax.

 

4. Rest up and get a good night's sleep the night before. Don't stay up "cramming."

 

5. Relax.

 

6. Read carefully the ENTIRE PTS including all the introductory material. Use the checklist in the front to make sure you take all the stuff you need -- papers and equipment. And the examiner’s fee UP FRONT (too much chance a disgruntled applicant will refuse to pay afterward) in the form demanded by the examiner is a “required document” from a practical, if not FAA, standpoint.

 

7. Relax.

 

8. You're going to make some minor mistakes. Correct them yourself in a timely manner "so the outcome of the maneuver is never seriously in doubt" and you'll be OK. If you start to go high on your first steep turn and start a correction as you approach 100 feet high but top out at 110 high while making a smooth correction back to the requested altitude, don't sweat -- nail the next one and you'll pass with "flying colors" (a naval term, actually). If you see the maneuver will exceed parameters and not be smoothly recoverable, tell the examiner and knock it off before you go outside those parameters, and then re-initiate. That shows great sense, if not great skill, and judgement is the most critical item on the checkride.

 

9. Relax.

 

10. During the oral, you don’t have to answer from memory anything you’d have time to look up in reality. So if the examiner asks you about currency, it’s OK to open the book to FAR 61.56 and 61.57 and explain them to him. But make sure you know where the answer is without reading the whole FAR/AIM cover-to-cover. On the other hand, for stuff you’d have to know RIGHT NOW (e.g., best glide speed for engine failure, etc.), you’d best not stumble or stutter – know that stuff cold. Also, remember that the examiner will use the areas your knowledge test report says you missed as focus points in the oral, so study them extra thoroughly.

 

11. Relax.

 

12. Avoid this conversation:

Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?

Applicant - A: I have a #2, a mechanical, a red one...

Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?

Applicant - A: I also have an assortment of pens, and some highlighters...

Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?

Applicant - A: Yes.

Examiner - Thank you.

One of the hardest things to do when you’re nervous and pumped up is to shut up and answer the question. I've watched people talk themselves into a corner by incorrectly answering a question that was never asked, or by adding an incorrect appendix to the correct answer to the question that was. If the examiner wants more, he'll tell you.

 

13. Relax

 

14. Remember the first rule of Italian driving: "What's behind me is not important." Don't worry about how you did the last maneuver or question. If you didn't do it well enough, the examiner must notify you and terminate the checkride. If you are on the next one, forget the last one because it was good enough to pass. Focus on doing that next maneuver or answering the next question the best you can, because while it can still determine whether you pass or fail, the last one can’t anymore. If you get back to the office and he hasn't said you failed, smile to your friends as you walk in because you just passed.

 

15. Relax and enjoy your new license.

 

 

Ron Levy, ATP, CFI, Veteran of 11 license/rating checkrides, including 4 with FAA inspectors