lfried Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Hi everyone, my name is Logan i live in Calgary Canada. I have long been interested in becoming a pilot and have thought long and hard between fixed wing and helicopter commercial pilots licenses, i came to a conclusion about a month ago to become a helicopter pilot, im signed up to begin my training in may of next year! extremely excited! what are some things I could look into that would help me when it comes to starting my training? i was thinking about purchasing some aviation books which could help me to know the basics ( from what i already know ) like controls, flying techniques, communications, navigation, instruments... it will be less than a year until i start but i want to know everything i can so that when it comes time to start ill be that much more ahead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67november Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 welcome aboard, a must read for you will be Phil Croucher's Professional helicopter pilot traning book, the canadian version of course. a large numbere of the schools up there are making it a required read. start there and follow his other reading recommendations within the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOATFIXERGUY Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Welcome aboard! Good luck with your choice! There are many good books and videos. A quick search on the forum will find you a ton of answers. A good basic video is Sporty's "So you want to fly helicopters." http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&a...7294&DID=19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick1128 Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Welcome aboard! Good luck with your choice! There are many good books and videos. A quick search on the forum will find you a ton of answers. A good basic video is Sporty's "So you want to fly helicopters." http://www.sportys.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&a...7294&DID=19 Welcome to this crazy world. There are several books out there that will help. Phil's book is excellent. Also take a look at "fatal traps". It discusses helicopter accidents and what caused them. It covers a great deal of the gambit of accidents. The FAA has an excellent book "helicopter pilots handbook". It is easy to understand and it is free of the FAA website (www.faa.gov). The more you study and read to start with, the easier time you will have understanding what you are being told. Becker helicopter out of Australia puts out some videos and a book. The book is excellent and the videos contain good information, but are a little goofy. But hey, they are Australians what else do you expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whistlerpilot Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 I did my Canadian commercial license as well as the FAA. If you are doing your training in Canada start reading the Transport Canada Helicopter Flight Training Manual in addition to the FAA Pilots Handbook. Also read From the Ground Up (Canadian version) to get a head start on the ground school. I thought Shawn Coyles book Cyclic and Collective was the best overall introduction to heli flight. Definitely get Phil Croucher's Professional Helicopter Pilot book, and I highly recommend the Bell 206 Book by him too. Fatal Traps for helicopter pilots should be required reading. Finally, get Chickenhawk by Robert Mason because it is such a gripping read. Start studying weather and navigation well ahead of your training and you will have a huge head start. I know some pilots don't agree, but get a flight simulator and learn how to hover at home for free. It can really accelerate the learning curve when you are paying the big bucks. You can learn all the basics at home so your first flight you will fly straight and level, descend, climb, and turn. Be careful not to teach yourself bad habits though. You have to study and be focused. It's a good idea to do a few intro flights soon so you have some hands on experience to help you visualize and study between now and May. Lastly do lots of research on the industry and job prospects. You have to mount a campaign to get employed after you get the license. Expect at least a year of working on the ground in Canada and some people it takes several before the first flying job. Hope this helps. Learning how to fly is the easy part, getting your foot in the industry is where the hard work begins. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfried Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 yeah i went to a local book store just to see what they had, and it was not much! unfortunately i think it will be purchasing these books of the internet. no big deal! some exciting news as-well, instead of beginning in may i can now start in january! this might give me a chance to work tour flights during the summer ( my flight school hires graduates for tour jobs or mountain jobs at around a 80% rate ). Whistlerpilot, thanks for the info, very helpfull, ill make and effort to buy all the books you've listed along with a flight simulator, unfortunately i have a mac so ill look towards getting my hands on a PC! everyone i just want to say thanks for the helpful info, im extremely excited to become a pilot and im sure i will have many questions in the future! one of which i can ask right now! Vision: 20/20 or can someone with around 19/20 ( whatever is less than 20 ) become a pilot and just be required to wear glasses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heligirl03 Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Vision: 20/20 or can someone with around 19/20 ( whatever is less than 20 ) become a pilot and just be required to wear glasses? Yup! (and it's measured 20/30, 20/40....20/200, etc) But get your 2nd class medical (or whatever is required for commercial work in Canada) before you hand over a dime for training so you know for sure there are no medical obstacles in your path to becoming a professional helo pilot. Good luck! ~HG03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfried Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 awesome! yeah i believe its a class 1 medical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfried Posted June 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 my next question, i received my information package from my school! in it came my ground-school commercial outline! it seems most of the time spent there is devoted to meteorology! doesnt seem like alot of time is allocated to instruments or navigation and radios. is this mainly because most will be covered in flight? Secondly, what would be the best aid in helping me with the meteorology side of things? i was thinking about downloading a pdf from a book on google??? any suggestions? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfried Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 kind of a silly question, bout how do you refer to a helicopter pilot with a commercial pilots license? are they referred to as captain? also, what do you receive upon graduating from training? knowledge of course but any type of certificate, wings, diploma type deal??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-38 Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 (edited) kind of a silly question, bout how do you refer to a helicopter pilot with a commercial pilots license? are they referred to as captain? also, what do you receive upon graduating from training? knowledge of course but any type of certificate, wings, diploma type deal???They are referred to as F.N.G's and I am one of them. A commercial pilots cert doesn't mean much without the, skill, and judgment that comes from another 800 hrs of more experience. As far as ever being called Captain that is a big if, and a long ways down the road if you can earn a slot as a PIC on a multi-pilot ship. As far as earning your wings goes your employer will give you a name pactch with wings on it when the time comes way down the road, so do not go out and put a set on your jacket or you will just look dont like a dork. You will earn a commercial pilots certificate and it is similar to a drivers license without a photo. Edited June 20, 2008 by K-38 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hovergirl Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 They are referred to as F.N.G's and I am one of them. A commercial pilots cert doesn't mean much without the, skill, and judgment that comes from another 800 hrs of more experience. As far as ever being called Captain that is a big if, and a long ways down the road if you can earn a slot as a PIC on a multi-pilot ship. As far as earning your wings goes your employer will give you a name pactch with wings on it when the time comes way down the road, so do not go out and put a set on your jacket or you will just look dont like a dork. You will earn a commercial pilots certificate and it is similar to a drivers license without a photo. F.N.G. ? HVG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67november Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 (edited) F'ING NEW GUY (GAL) Edited June 20, 2008 by 67november Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 F.N.G. ? HVG Uh, "Effin'' (No, not 'Fine') New Guy...First I heard "FNG" was in VietNam.One started one's tour in 'in country' more or less normally social, willing to make friends. Your attitude changed, a little at a time, as friends and colleagues were eliminated. At the end, one was reluctant to be personal with anybody newer than oneself, a protection mechanism of fatigue, general and emotional. The death of guy you never knew was a little more impersonal, almost abstract and theoretical. We all had 'call signs' or 'war names', so that our identity as a real person was minimal- you don't expect "Number 10" to be somebody who had family. "Number 10" was somebody you knew would do X, Y or Z. New guys didn't even get named until it became unavoidable. They were just 'FNGs' that you had to teach, work with, and then stand memorial formations for after they'd made the same mistakes other new guys had always made... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hovergirl Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 Uh, "Effin'' (No, not 'Fine') New Guy...First I heard "FNG" was in VietNam.One started one's tour in 'in country' more or less normally social, willing to make friends. Your attitude changed, a little at a time, as friends and colleagues were eliminated. At the end, one was reluctant to be personal with anybody newer than oneself, a protection mechanism of fatigue, general and emotional. The death of guy you never knew was a little more impersonal, almost abstract and theoretical. We all had 'call signs' or 'war names', so that our identity as a real person was minimal- you don't expect "Number 10" to be somebody who had family. "Number 10" was somebody you knew would do X, Y or Z. New guys didn't even get named until it became unavoidable. They were just 'FNGs' that you had to teach, work with, and then stand memorial formations for after they'd made the same mistakes other new guys had always made... Yeah, figured it was something like that. Whenever I see F in a military acronym I'm pretty sure what it stands for... So, does that make you an F.O.G. now? HVG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heligirl03 Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 So, does that make you an F.O.G. now? HVG Ouch!! We should all be so lucky!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfried Posted June 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 haha right on, yeah it looks like im a ways down from that step! what about a flight jacket with a custom patch? say like, iron dragonflies or something? haha i wish i could have those hours under my belt at the moment, anyone with any details as to what a student could wear to look like a pilot / pilot gear that is necessary or looks good lemme know! thanks! lfried Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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