VEGA_HELICOPTERS Posted February 17, 2008 Posted February 17, 2008 (edited) ... Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS
brushfire21 Posted February 17, 2008 Posted February 17, 2008 Here are a few links to the reviews section, and you could try contacting the members directly that reviewed. Looks like your a new member, and I would HIGHLY recommend reading thru the FAQ's under each topic and doing a little searching here on the forums as both places have been talked about several times. Welcome aboard! Don't forget to post what you find and why for other members as well! Mauna Loahttp://www.verticalreference.com/helicopte...ct=43&cat=2 Quantumhttp://www.verticalreference.com/helicopte...ct=44&cat=2
VEGA_HELICOPTERS Posted February 17, 2008 Author Posted February 17, 2008 (edited) ... Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS
spencer Posted February 18, 2008 Posted February 18, 2008 I am highly considering going to Mauna Loa school although I heard that Quantum was really good too. I am trying to make a career out of this guys. I have about $35-40K saved up and just applied for a 65K Fanny May loan. Upon loan approval I will be making my move asap. Can anyone give me some feedback on either of these school and what to expect? I want to get EVERY heli certification I can, including teaching licenses as well. I would like to have some comfort that I will be able to work for the school immediately after my commercial training is done. Which school would you reccomend and why? Any old Mauna loa students out there? Is that you lee? Nice to see you found help from helicopter forums.
VEGA_HELICOPTERS Posted February 18, 2008 Author Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) ... Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS
spencer Posted February 18, 2008 Posted February 18, 2008 Its is Lee. haha. Who is this? It's spencer with Intrepid.I spoke with you on the phone.
VEGA_HELICOPTERS Posted February 19, 2008 Author Posted February 19, 2008 (edited) ... Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS
southernweyr Posted February 19, 2008 Posted February 19, 2008 I work with a DPE and he says that the private pilot checkrides that he does for Quatum are usually at the commercial level. So, as far as that goes it seems that Quatum produces a fairly high quality pilot at least at that level. I have seen them do some autorotations with a power recovery to a 15 foot hover though. This seems to me to be a very bad idea even with new students. If your engine fails at that height you don't have any options. So, if you go with them make sure you fly with an instructor who can do a proper power recovery with you. Any Quatum people feel free to defend the 15-20 foot hover, I am open to discussion.
helidave Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 I work with a DPE and he says that the private pilot checkrides that he does for Quatum are usually at the commercial level. So, as far as that goes it seems that Quatum produces a fairly high quality pilot at least at that level. I have seen them do some autorotations with a power recovery to a 15 foot hover though. This seems to me to be a very bad idea even with new students. If your engine fails at that height you don't have any options. So, if you go with them make sure you fly with an instructor who can do a proper power recovery with you. Any Quatum people feel free to defend the 15-20 foot hover, I am open to discussion. I think you were watching someone doing them incorrectly.
southernweyr Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 I think you were watching someone doing them incorrectly. Well that's encouraging, the only thing is I see it quite a bit and that's the only reason I mentioned something. I know when I am out flying with a student they sometimes put me in one of those precarious h/v curve situations so I know how it goes. Just glad to hear that's not procedure or something like that.
VEGA_HELICOPTERS Posted February 20, 2008 Author Posted February 20, 2008 (edited) ... Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS
southernweyr Posted February 20, 2008 Posted February 20, 2008 It seems to me that the training practices of the school that you are looking at are pretty much right on topic. If you don't understand the gravity of the situation I described let me help you out. If your engine quits while in the h/v curve then gravity will make you have a very hard landing which perhaps could cause serious injury or death to you. If the school is consistantly letting their students fly around in this area then I would be very cautious about flying at that school.
VEGA_HELICOPTERS Posted February 20, 2008 Author Posted February 20, 2008 (edited) ... Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS
Jay Bunning Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 Ok..... so we have a negative strike against Quantum. Thats the second bad thing I have heard about them. Mauna Loa on the other hand, I have heard nothing but good things. I am looking at both those schools too. Got some great feedback form contacting the Hawaii one, not so much form Quantum. If you are looking in AZ have you considered Guidance? They are my first choice in AZ at the moment. Will be good to hear what you decide and why and how it all pans out for you. Good luck, J
Paisley Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 (edited) It seems to me that the training practices of the school that you are looking at are pretty much right on topic. If you don't understand the gravity of the situation I described let me help you out. If your engine quits while in the h/v curve then gravity will make you have a very hard landing which perhaps could cause serious injury or death to you. If the school is consistantly letting their students fly around in this area then I would be very cautious about flying at that school. If you fly utility in the real world the inside of the HV curve will be your home. Edited February 21, 2008 by Paisley
VEGA_HELICOPTERS Posted February 22, 2008 Author Posted February 22, 2008 (edited) ... Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS
bladeslapped Posted February 22, 2008 Posted February 22, 2008 I have decided to go with Mauna Loa. You can't beat the experience with all of the different conditions there. Mountains, water, rain, fog, and wind. If you can fly in Hawaii....you can fly anywhere!OH REALLY, ANYWHERE? ROOKIE....BLADESLAPPED
VEGA_HELICOPTERS Posted February 22, 2008 Author Posted February 22, 2008 (edited) ... Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS
bladeslapped Posted February 22, 2008 Posted February 22, 2008 I have decided to go with Mauna Loa. You can't beat the experience with all of the different conditions there. Mountains, water, rain, fog, and wind. If you can fly in Hawaii....you can fly almost anywhere! 1.If you decided to go with Mauna Loa then why did you start a "Best school ever in the Universe" Survey? 2. Just because you can fly between sea level and 1,000' msl on an island does not mean that you can fly anywhere, but what it does mean is that you regurgitate what they tell you very well. (Have you considered that its an island, how far is a x-c, 15sm?) 3. I never claimed to be someone that you should worship, but I'm not the one permanently looking for the opinions of a forum while claiming to have inside connections with people in the industry.
Autorotator Posted February 22, 2008 Posted February 22, 2008 I would like to add that terminating an autorotation at a 15' hover is not a practice Quantum Helicopters teaches. I was a student there and did hundreds of power recovery autos. They are taught just like at other schools. Terminating the auto at 3' - 5' hover. Flying in Hawaii because they have mountains, rain, fog, etc, is not going to train you to be able to fly anywhere. Heavy rain and fog is going to put a damper on your training, and in my opinion, will end up costing you more to live there because of the high cost of living and the no fly days. I have never been to Hawaii, so I don't know how often it rains or how many days it is foggy. I don't know anything about, or anyone from Mauna Loa Helicopters, so I can't rate them. On the other hand, as I said before, I trained at Quantum and recieved extremely high quality training. On top of that, there are litterally 360 fly days a year in AZ. Good luck in your choice. --CM
Paisley Posted February 22, 2008 Posted February 22, 2008 (edited) I spent some time flying on the Big Island where Mauna Loa's main school is located at KOA. The Big Island offers a very unique environment. The tallest mountain in the world (Mauna Loa) measured from the ocean floor is located on the Big Island. If I remember correctly it's around 13,700 ft. above sea level. Mauna Kea is also over 13,500 ft. Puu Hualalai is another mountain located just above the airport (about a five minute flight) that's around 8,300 ft. These mountains are so big that they create micro climates depending on what side of the island you're on. The windward side is desert like and dry and the leeward side (Hilo) is tropical. They filmed the opening seen to the movie Jurassic Park here. It's a very unique and diverse place. There is no lack of high altitude flying available there for training purposes. You can circumnavigate the Big Island by helicopter in about four hours with a stop in Hilo. It's possible to meet the FAA minimums for x-country on the Big Island but not so on Oahu or Kauai. This is why the FAA came up with 61.111 (a) for pilots based on small islands. I know that some of the guys were doing inter-island flights from the Big Island to Maui to Oahu for fun as well. As far as tower work goes for a student - KOA is class D, so you will get plenty of work with that. Kahului (OGG) on Maui is class C and Honolulu (HNL) on Oahu is Bravo. There is also a lot of tour traffic on certain parts of the island to contend with as well. I really enjoyed flying there because the climate and terrain were so diverse. One minute your flying over active volcanoes checking out magma the next your landing in the jungle or on an ocean beach. The Big Island is definitely helicopter country with Blue Hawaiian, Paradise and Sunshine there to name a few. Many of the guys flying tours are pulling 6 to 8 hours worth of collective a day. The weather is good enough to fly year round. In general the atmosphere is laid back. The owner of Mauna Loa (Ben Fouts) is a great guy, you won't find many better. There have been a few people talking about flying in Hawaii so I just wanted to chime in and dispel a few myths. I don't think any one place is better to train than another. There are a lot of great schools out there. Some are better than others. Just do your research. Edited February 22, 2008 by Paisley
VEGA_HELICOPTERS Posted February 23, 2008 Author Posted February 23, 2008 (edited) ... Edited February 23, 2008 by VEGA_HELICOPTERS
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