megake Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 I have been looking for schools within a 60 mile radius of where I live in Northern New Jersey, and I came across the following:Pegasus (Linden, NJ)Key Air Helicopters (Pittstown, NJ)Hi-Tech Helicopters (Mt. Pocono, PA)Wings Air (White Plains, NY) Before I contact any of the schools, does anybody out there have any information they would be willing to share on any of those schools (good, bad or indifferent)? Also, are there any in the area that I missed? This is a fascinating field, and I would like to pursue it part-time, without having to leave the stable (albeit boring)cubicle life for several years. If I were to be among the 6% that makes it (per an interesting post I read here previously), would it possible to work as a part-time instructor during nights/weekends without leaving the 9 to 5 world. I actually like the idea of being an instructor (at least in theory). Any input would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skier Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 I know it isn't one of the schools you listed, and I don't know where you are in Northern NJ, but Nassau Helicopters in Princeton seem to have a great collection of people an instructors. http://www.nassauhelicopters.com/ They are very friendly helpful, and knowledgeable. I took 2.8 hours of training with them this past december and thought they did a great job. They are the best flight school I have been to in the past 1.5 years; I have been to 6 different flight schools in that time (most fixed wing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me shakes fist Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 I live and fly on Long Island and while I don't have any personal experience at any of the schools you listed, someone did recommend Pegasus to me at one point. Pretty sure it was from this site, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megake Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Thanks for the replies - Princeton is about an hour from me and I thought I heard good things about them, as well as Pegasus. An hour is certainly reasonable distance for quality training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarleyDave Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Hey, Im also looking into rotary wing schools here in NJ. I actually made a google map to make it easyer to plot my search results as I go. I dont know how far north you are, I'm in Morris County so our tolerable driving distances might not be the same. I'm strongly considering "The Flying W Ranch" because it has Schweizer 300 series helicopters even though it is a 2 hour drive south for me. I could go to Key Air Helicopters, Pegasus, or Nassau and only drive 45 minutes, but the first two only offer Robinsons, and the third has a single Bell 47 (all of this according to statements found on their web sites). After doing some research, I really dont want to fly the Robinson or the Bell 47, Im sorry. The Schweizers on the other hand look more appealing to me. So Im probably going to guzzle allot of gas traveling south on Route 206 (right past Pegasus / Princeton Airport) to fly the Schweizer. I hope nobody takes this as an attack on Robinsons, I just get chills looking at those T-bar cyclics, plus Im 6' 4" without shoes on, and weigh 257 pounds, and I read that the Schweizer has a little more room. Im probably crazy to drive double the distance, to take weekend classes just over helicopter choice. I really wish someone had a Helicopter school up here at Morristown Municipal Airport, they have every flavor of fixed wing school from Mk. 1 Wright Flyer up to B-52 but no rotary wing. Heres the New Jersey Goggle project I have going for flight schools. I should probably open it to editing and then anyone could post a school in any state up there, but Im nervous that someone would get too editorial and it would dissolve from a "Driving directions from the Home-20 to a prospeive school" into a "Lets fight a long drawn out war of finter pointing and CAPS LOCK argueing" and the whole thing would just get deleted eventually. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&g...d57ee038e52b8fd P.S. Im realy liking this site! Life is short, don't waste it using runways! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootcamp Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 I have been looking for schools within a 60 mile radius of where I live in Northern New Jersey, and I came across the following:Pegasus (Linden, NJ)Key Air Helicopters (Pittstown, NJ)Hi-Tech Helicopters (Mt. Pocono, PA)Wings Air (White Plains, NY) Before I contact any of the schools, does anybody out there have any information they would be willing to share on any of those schools (good, bad or indifferent)? Also, are there any in the area that I missed? This is a fascinating field, and I would like to pursue it part-time, without having to leave the stable (albeit boring)cubicle life for several years. If I were to be among the 6% that makes it (per an interesting post I read here previously), would it possible to work as a part-time instructor during nights/weekends without leaving the 9 to 5 world. I actually like the idea of being an instructor (at least in theory). Any input would be greatly appreciated. I highly recommend Key Air Helicopters. First I must admit, that I am quite partial because I teach at Key Air, but having worked at two other flight schools, I couldn't find a more pleasant working environment to teach at. The owners both put a lot of time and effort into the school. All four ships are very well maintained. It's a schlep to get out here, but I commute from Maryland (3 1/2 hour drive) and it's well worth the time, gas, and tolls. Some of my students have come here from Pegasus and Nassau and were happy to make the switch. The other instructors and I are willing to work around students' schedule to make flight lessons work for them. One of my students lives 1.5 hours flight-time away and he prefers having me fly an R22 up there for lessons rather than going to a closer school. I'm not sure but I believe Key Air's rental prices are better than the other surrounding schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrotorcraft Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Any opinions on http://www.helicopterflightservices.com/ ? I know some of their students have ended up flying for Liberty Helicopters and many other good organizations. I might consider the Princeton flight school, I'll have to visit them and go for a ride. I too would rather not train in the R22s/R44s. Schweizers were designed for training, unlike the twitchy Robinsons. I'd rather get my CFII in Schweizers and then maybe go to another school to build some R22 time so make myself a little more marketable, but ideally I can get a job with the school I train at. Living in Ocean County, NJ, I'd relocate no matter which school I chose, seems like it'd be such a headache to drive over 30 minutes 4-5 days a week to train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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