flying schools near nowra

[wamut13]

Does anyone have any information on good flying schools (fixed wing + chopper) in the Nowra area?

[TLAW]

I think the nearest might be South Coast Aviation (http://web.1earth.net/~fly/html/) at Albion Park.

Can't vouch for whether they are any good or not.

[kookabat]

Nope. South Coast closed down a while back. Aerial Patrol Flight Training (www.aerialpatrol.net) is now the only fixed-wing school on the Albion Park field, there is a chopper operator (Aerowasp) but I'm unsure of how much activity there is there

[oldschooljenko]

Albatross aero club at the navy base is good, they only operate on weekends though. I think their number is in the phone book

[engine out]

out of the three suggested I would go to albatrose aero club at Nowra. The helicopter school at Wollongong has a good reputation with very experienced instructors if you are looking at rotary wing. To keep the moderator happy I will change my comments on the aerial patrol. Some people I know were not happy with their experience there, however there is a new CFI so cant say how things stand now.

Rumour has it that there may be a new operator there soon so it will be good to see some competition

p.s. To those who ask, I do not have a grudge against Aerial Patrol, never worked or flown with them.

[bendover_please]

I think people are allowed to express an opinion based on their experiences, especially if they feel they could assist another person in doing so. I once did some flying there at the aerial patrol and found it to be very unorganised, ad-hoc/ad-lib, unprofessional and overall it was not at a high standard. Lots of promises and nothing much ever delivered. The instructors tried hard but it seemed though the management was to blame for most of the problems due to incompetence (typical of them from a few other reports on the search and rescue side too).

Message for wamut13

Mate, head to Sydney for your training and better post-training prospects. The rotary-wing fella\'s at Wollongong are not too bad, but I feel you can get a few extra contacts and even opportunities with a sydney-based flight training provider (if choppers if what you want). Have a go at both and see which one you enjoy most.:ok:

As for fixed-wing training, again, goto Sydney and avoid Wollongong like the plague. :cool:

[Dookie on Drums]

wamut13

I would steer well clear of the Aerial Patrol if it is anything like it was a few years ago. Like engine out says, I have no idea what it's like with the new CFI there however it was management that was the main problem.

I always felt sorry for the instructors there who tried their best and I saw how they were getting shafted. I have since heard that some have moved onto bigger and better things.

From memory the chopper guys were really nice chaps and seemed professional enough on the odd occaisons I was there.

By all means investigate whatever is right for you and the very best of luck with it:ok:

[fullflaps]

I happen to be a former South Coast native and have flown with several of the organisations that are mentioned in the forum.
As a helicopter pilot working in the industry I can state that my training with Aerowasp Helicopters was to a very high standard, and that I had no trouble gaining employment in the industry on completion. As with many pilot, I had to pay my dues along the way to get good employment, but my training at Aerowasp Helicopters certainly helped my cause. The idea that bendover_please has that one has to go to the big smoke to gain a step in is utter nonsense, as the country schools that I have flown from are more friendly and that is where most of us end up for some time to get those initial hours.
The Aeroclub in Nowra also was a friendly place to fly on the odd weekend and the have a fair selection of singles to choose from. The Instructors and staff are always accomodating when I arrive at Albatross to fly. They also have a CFI that has forty years in the field of avation and alot of his students are in the airlines around the world.
If you come from the country, try to support the local schools and airfields as times are tough out here too.

Fly safely......

['AEROWASP' HELICOPTERS]

Firstly, let me say 'thanks' to those who responded with a favourable comment about my organisation - like most schools, we try damned hard to do the right thing and produce a good, safe product!
To Bendover.......don't entirely agree with your comments about having to go to the big-smoke to get a leg-up the ladder....particularly in the helicopter industry. We are an incredibly small component of GA in Australia and as such, we all know just about everyone else in the game.....you don't NEED to go to Sydney to get a job....what you NEED is to be a good pilot and generally build a sound reputation as such....(oh; and a little bit of luck doesn't hurt either!)
Fixed-wing wise on the south coast....Albatross Aero Club is located at HMAS Albatross BUT, they do only fly on weekends so their business hours don't necessarily agree with everyone. They produce an exceptionally good product thanks to their CFI being a long-term player in the flying training industry. For someone after a long-term licence and a fun, not too serious atmosphere in pleasant NEW surroundings, then the AAC at Nowra is ideal. If you are after a licence 'in a hurry', then suggest you might be better off elsewhere!:ok:

[scowan]

Firstly I would like to state that I am making no comment with regard to the original post regarding flight training.

Now as a Senior SAR crewperson with the AAP I would like to inform everyone that via a PM an invitation was sent to "bendover_please" inviting them to attend our training session on Saturday 20th of November.

I am sure that the SAR crew in attendance would be very interested to hear the evidence that "bendover_please" believes supports there comment of "problems due to incompetence (typical of them from a few other reports on the search and rescue side too)".

With regards to that PM no responce has been received or indication provided that "bendover_please" would like to accept my invitation.

Now I am once again inviting "bendover_please" to attend our training session. However if they choose to only make comment via the internet then I am sure we can take it, that there information is hearsay, irrelevant, and quite possibly incorrect, with that in mind it may possibly extend to there other comments and postings.

Cheers

[shaablamm]

Well said!!!!!!

[fullflaps]

Went down to see the boys at Aerowasp early in the week and I see that they are presently hard at it conducting Instructor Ratings amongst other work.They also have a student (747 check and training captain) out from Hong Kong conducting his Instructor Rating at present.

bendover_please, interesting to see that some country schools are achiving good results in the industry and that people don't have to go to Sydney and pay full fare for the short course.

As I previously stated, try to support the country schools (fixed and rotary wing) if you come from the country!


A little airmanship goes a long way to making a good pilot!

[Malfunction Junction]

Just a bit surprised at your comments here seeing bendover hardly made any mention whatever about the SAR side of the Aerial Patrol....and if you had sent me an invite to your tacky little organisation's fun-day (whoops, training day); I too would have declined (especially if it required a possible ride in one of your aircraft!)
To Shaablamm (alias Gary Cri**le), it wasn't well said at all and wasn't warranted anyhow!:mad: As I said, bendover's comments did not warrant that sort of attention.....he made a point of indicating that he had flown at that orgainsation and was not happy with the experience and as such, his information is not heresay nor necessarily incorrect.

[Dookie on Drums]

as found on the bottom of the page....

As these are anonymous forums the origins of the contributions may be opposite to what may be apparent.

Some people are a little sensitive!:}

[Malfunction Junction]

Just had a quick look at the link provided by kookabat early on in this thread. (www.aerialpatrol.net) and this is one site worth seeing. Question though; is it The Australian Aerial Patrol, McDonalds Aerial Patrol, Aerial Patrol Flight Training or Air NSW Pty Ltd.....seems they all get a mention somewhere in the glossy website!
Next, I wonder how anybody gets away advertising aircraft that they clearly DO NOT have....they claim to have a Cessna Conquest but naturally, they don't really have one do they....oh; someone else has one that they conveniently borrow (once that I know of) but let's include it in our advertising and get a few more suckers in through the door. A friend of mine has a Lear - perhaps I should advertise it for charter along with my trikes?
Whatever happened to the scheme (scam) where people direct debited monies from their wages to support the aerial patrol or perhaps, what happened to the scheme putting pilots through to the CPL stages and a big job at the end....NOT ONE been through the loop yet/ever......I think this might be the scam that bendover got all upset about!:\ You wonder just how these turkeys get away with it day in and day out eh? No wonder this industry has such a bad name!:mad:

[trikemaster4]

Its interesting to note that a no. of screen names in this thread may come from the same source in order to stage and promote ones business.

[Malfunction Junction]

And why would the Aerial Patrol do that I might ask?:mad: and Trikemaster4, not a little surprising that you only registered 15 minutes ago and this is your very first ever post........not possible that you too belong to the very same organisation eh?:\ Nice try BUT no banana!!!:ok: