Any current Hillsboro Aviation students?

[Zip]

Hello,

 

I'm looking for a current or very recent graduate of Hillsboro Aviation who might be willing to answer a few questions about the school and training experience for me. I'm headed to Oregon for a family visit and was going to stop by the school to have a look and pick up more information.

 

I'm not sure of the etiquette for a post like this, so I'm happy to chat via PM or email if need be. I'm specifically looking for general impressions of the school, if there was job placement help after graduation, and how flight scheduling worked out with inclement weather (a concern after reading some of the reviews here at Vertical Reference).

 

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide!

 

Zip

[Witch]

I stopped by there once to see a CFI that flew with me once. He gave me the nickle tour.

 

I can't give you specifics, but overall the school is big. They have a lot of aircraft, a big maintenance dept, I remember a classroom somewhere, a pro shop, computers, CFI offices, a weather office, and the most important-Friday barbeques.

 

The weather wasn't all that bad this winter. The spring, summer, and fall present good weather for flying. Plenty of mountains for confinds and pinnicles. McMinnville has a museum across the road-the Spruce Goose is there. Do a XC to Corvallis and say hi.

 

That's all I can say for them.

 

On another note, stop by Corvallis Aero Service/Avia Aviation and talk to John Larson. It's a small school with two birds and a lot of empty sky. This might be an advantage?

 

Later

[Zip]

Thanks Witch,

 

I didn't know there was a school in Corvallis. I spent some time growing up there when I was younger. Hmm, might be worth checking out. Corvallis is a pretty decent town, and would be cheaper to live in than Portland during the training. I'll see if I can swing a quick trip down there during my stay to have a look. Thanks for the info!

 

My main concern with Hillsboro is really to understand if the review posted here was correct or not. I read about delays getting flight time because of weather and lack of enough aircraft / too many students, as well as one poster saying that the job placement help wasn't there as promised. Aside from those reviews, I've heard nothing but good things about Hillsboro Aviation.

 

Thanks again for the information.

 

Zip

[flyby_heli]

There are a bunch of training facilities in the area:

 

Hillsboro aviation (have a location in Troutdale as well as Hillsboro) (R22+S300)

Precision Helicopters in Newberg (S300)

Sunset Helicopters in Aurora (S300)

Silverstate in Salem (R22)

Avia in Corvallis (R22)

Plus I think there is one or two more companies in Salem, don't know the business names though. (R22)

[bellpilot]

Another school to look at is leading Edge Aviation in Bend, Oregon. A great place to fly helicopters!!!!

 

www.leadingedgeavn.com

[icqa]

I had considered Precision in Newberg, just south of Hillsboro. Ended up moving out to Texas. Nice school, very professional, Part 141, newer Schweizers. They are Class G up to 700', whereas Hillsboro is Class D, so weather minimums are lower.

[AlexanderAir]

I sent you a Private Message ZIP.

[alpine_wonder]

Yeah.. i just posted a new topic about flying in Oregon or California.. i'm interested in attending Hillsboro as well.. But since people brought up the other schools in Oregon... how is life in Bend compared to life in Portland?

[bellpilot]

Life in Bend is great!! The weather is wonderful and the recreation is unbeliviable. Ski, snowboard, mt.bike, fishing, hiking, golf, wakeboard and water ski. I don't think that's everything but should give you a start. It is a year round resort town.

Edited April 3, 2007 by bellpilot

[Voluptuary5]

Zip,

 

As had been said many times before this, the best thing to do is to go and personally visit as many of the schools you are thinking about, talk to the people there, and have a look around. I haven’t heard any negatives about any of the schools Flyby mentioned (except indirectly maybe one of the schools in Salem). Here’s my impression of the schools I’ve visited:

 

Hillsboro. Very good reputation. They are a big school, maybe one of the single largest schools around. They train a lot of pilots (rotor and fixed wing) both foreign and domestic. They run a tight, ridged ship and little tolerance for laziness and/or tardiness. Definitely more structure at Hillsboro so it may be good for folks lacking a little bit of self-motivation (this is neither a good nor a bad thing, just personal preference). And one thing Witch forgot to mention is they also have a simulator (sorry, forgot which one).

 

Precision. A smaller school but Precision has one of the nicest aircraft facilities I have ever seen. Their offices and shop are spotless. They maintain the grounds of what is basically a private airport like a golf course—it is absolutely gorgeous. Very good accident record and like it was mentioned, they are Class “G” airspace so they have a little more leeway with the weather. I was most impressed with Precision.

 

Avia/Corvallis Aero. My initial impression here may be a little skewed. When I initially visited this school Corvallis Aero had just bought the helicopter operations from Avia and they were obviously having some transition pains (CFI and helicopter issues but this was well over a year ago now and I see them flying all the time now-a-days). That being said, the old Avia had a good reputation and a lot of their pilots went on to get very good flying jobs. I also really liked the atmosphere there--small, casual, and friendly. There are also two larger helicopter companies located at Corvallis, Reach Air Ambulance and Helicopter Transport Services. This provides a good opportunity to easily talk with people in the industry.

 

Never visited the school in Bend but Bellpilot is right, Bend is a very cool place--an outdoor playground. One drawback however, may be the cost of living. It can be hard to find affordable housing and jobs depending on your fortes. But, if memory serves me correctly, that school is actually out of the Redmond airport (few miles north of Bend). Things are definitely more reasonable in Redmond.

 

Also, think about what helicopter (Schweitzer or R22) you want to fly (and hence teach in).

 

If your heart is set on coming to Oregon, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the schools here.

 

-V5

[bellpilot]

Hi All and Zip,

 

Leading Edge Aviation is in Bend, Oregon. There is another school in Redmond but they are not a commercial operation (135), do not have a Robinson service center, do not have an instrument trainer and do not have a R44 (LEA does). LEA has pending approval for a 141 school with VA benifits, word is this is to be finalized third week of April. They are also the approved provider for flight training for the college. Also they have a DPE and a chief pilot with well over 7000 hours on staff.

 

bellpilot

[Voluptuary5]

Hi All and Zip,

 

Leading Edge Aviation is in Bend, Oregon. There is another school in Redmond but they are not a commercial operation (135), do not have a Robinson service center, do not have an instrument trainer and do not have a R44 (LEA does). LEA has pending approval for a 141 school with VA benifits, word is this is to be finalized third week of April. They are also the approved provider for flight training for the college. Also they have a DPE and a chief pilot with well over 7000 hours on staff.

 

bellpilot

 

Oops,

 

Sorry for the misinformation all.

 

Thanks for the correction, Bellpilot!

 

-V5

[RaymondKHessel]

If you look on craigslist.org, finding reasonable housing in either city shouldn't be a problem. Bend and Redmond are probably 30' apart, and the entire area has many of the advantages of the northwest (mountains) without some of the disadvantages (crappy Pacific weather in the winter) and some bonuses (density altitude). Both of the schools are worth checking out. Drop in and see if their operations suit you. You can get directions to them from yp.gte.net (Desert Sun and Leading Edge).