davesmith Posted August 11, 2007 Posted August 11, 2007 Hello has anyone here gone and trained at HELICOPTER ACADEMY in USA or heard anything about them . Good or bad review is ok . Im looking to start flight training and I came across on the web and call the owner tom seems nice but I cant find much good or bad about them on the web . Any help would be great Thanks for you help Quote
davesmith Posted August 14, 2007 Author Posted August 14, 2007 Whats the location? Hello from their web site it says HELICOPTER ACADEMY can train you in Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota, West Palm Beach, Florida, Annapolis, Providence, Cleveland, Houston, Alabama and Charlotte. I believe train you at which ever place is closer Thanks Quote
chronology Posted August 14, 2007 Posted August 14, 2007 Hello from their web site it says HELICOPTER ACADEMY can train you in Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota, West Palm Beach, Florida, Annapolis, Providence, Cleveland, Houston, Alabama and Charlotte. I believe train you at which ever place is closer Thanks I have communicated with Tom M. several times via email and the 0-commercial sounds like a great deal for the hours. At the same time i have read several people expressing concerns on their weight restrictions, obviously the lighter the better. Their website says you must be 150 lbs. or less to participate in the 0-300 for 50K, i sent Tom an email, and he said they could take me on at 175 lbs. Regardless, it would be nice to have at least a CFI or IR included in the 50K but im pretty sure it does not. Give him a buzz, nice guy and was always prompt in my email responses. Good luck! Quote
davesmith Posted August 19, 2007 Author Posted August 19, 2007 Stiill looking for anyone that has been trained by them Thanks Quote
ADRidge Posted August 19, 2007 Posted August 19, 2007 That 150lb cutoff seems low. I'm 185 right now and never had a problem where I'm training (Vortex) so I dunno.... Quote
Boatpix Posted January 9, 2008 Posted January 9, 2008 That 150lb cutoff seems low. I'm 185 right now and never had a problem where I'm training (Vortex) so I dunno.... If you do a weight and balance with a R22 Mariner that is full of fuel with two tanks of 30 gallons total you'll find that both pilots must weigh 119 pounds or less. HelicopterAcademy has send folks succesfully to over 100 checkrides and has been in business for over 20 years. I applaid them for putting a reasonable weight cutoff for safety as they are obviously offering you a job on there website if you train with them www.helicotperacademy.com and the poster that thought you should get a couple of extra ratings for the $50,000 doesn't realize that it's the company that will give you a job and they list exactly what you need and why. There are the only company that mentions a guaranteed job but I know from experience that they hire every last graduat and have done so for over 20 years. There are Robinson Service Center which would indicate the highest level of maintenance with all the tools and balancing equipment and at least one mechanic that has gone to the RHC school wheras I know they have three full time mechanics and over $250,000 Robinson Parts in stock right now. A great choice. Quote
sluggo Posted January 9, 2008 Posted January 9, 2008 There are the only company that mentions a guaranteed job but I know from experience that they hire every last graduat and have done so for over 20 years. I've checked out the school also and it seems like a good deal, however my biggest concern is that every one always says to be careful of any company that guarantees you a job. I'm still looking into them, but the "guaranteed job" raises a red flag that is worth investigating. I understand it logically, but it still raises a red flag. My other concern is, if for some unforeseen reason, I don't get a job with them, then I only have 300 hours, I'm out of money and can't afford to get a CFI rating to get an entry level job somewhere else. Bottom line...sounds like a great deal, but your are putting all your eggs in one basket. If something doesn't go according to plan, then you would be completely broke and out of luck. Boatpix works there so he can probably give us some more information. I've contacted them and they are very helpful and professional. The person (Brent Woods) I talked to trained there and definitely believed in the program. Quote
Paisley Posted January 9, 2008 Posted January 9, 2008 Talk to as many former students as you can. Quote
Rabidmutt Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Have heard good reports about flying/hr building. Not heard much about quality of groundschool, housing .... Quote
airBeater Posted February 11, 2008 Posted February 11, 2008 I just started part time a couple of weeks ago at LNA. The instructor I have has 2000+ hours total, is a CFII, has 135 experience (in airplanes), apparently pretty good at instruments and instrument training (though I wouldn't know about it firsthand yet), and very professional. I am pretty pleased and surprised at the quality so far. Still early in training but things look good, and the time building in the summer sounds fun. Looking forward to it. It was mentioned before about the ground school. You *are* expected to do a fair amount of self-study, and be disciplined in it, which is fine by me. To date, the instructors I've asked have been good at helping when I have questions. Mine is generous, and has coached me in study sessions if I was having any issue. I think the self-study aspect is offset a great deal by the opportunity to build time. Quote
Boatpix Posted February 22, 2008 Posted February 22, 2008 I just started part time a couple of weeks ago at LNA. The instructor I have has 2000+ hours total, is a CFII, has 135 experience (in airplanes), apparently pretty good at instruments and instrument training (though I wouldn't know about it firsthand yet), and very professional. I am pretty pleased and surprised at the quality so far. Still early in training but things look good, and the time building in the summer sounds fun. Looking forward to it. It was mentioned before about the ground school. You *are* expected to do a fair amount of self-study, and be disciplined in it, which is fine by me. To date, the instructors I've asked have been good at helping when I have questions. Mine is generous, and has coached me in study sessions if I was having any issue. I think the self-study aspect is offset a great deal by the opportunity to build time. I've worked at HelicopterAcademy.com for years and hey are as straight up as you can get. In addition to training they have very significant contracts for things that aren't air taxi so that a low time pilot can fly it. Photos of all sorts of things are taken from the helicopters: boats, properties, etc. and there is a lot of ferry time between locations. It is assumed that everyone will get to 300 hours, cfi and factory school like most everyones insurance says and if you follow that program they only charge $250/hr for the first 100 hours, $200 for the second 100 hours and $150 for th third hundred hours so the net is $200 per hour and a job. It's hard to beat. In fact, it's impossible to beat. And you'll have a lot of fun in an organization that treats you with dignity and respect. Quote
rjl2001 Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 Does anyone know if Helicopter Academy is VA approved? Was told that they are but didn't see them listed on the VA's website, so I just wanted to make sure. Quote
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