Flying in Pattaya (Thailand)

[Hughes269]

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone knows where to hire a H269 or other chopper in Pattaya for recreational/hour building purposes, and of any experience with flying there? There is an airpark ( www.pattayaairpark.com\ (http://www.pattayaairpark.com\)) but I don't see mention of any heli ops :(

All the best,
H269. :ok:

[charron]

I've never heard of any small chopper for rent anywhere in Thailand, let alone Pattaya. All the helicopter pilots that go there are interested in only two things, the kart racing and the um, er, "ballet". If you're driving the old Phase II steam S76 all day with the trim hat it is a good place to find someone to massage the resulting knots out your neck.

Charon

[Hughes269]

Ballet :}

Yea Pattaya "seems" to have a pretty active general aviation climate, I'll only have a PPL (H) by then anyway- building hrs, the airpark is one of those developments you can taxi your aircraft up to the garage of your house!:eek: Theres a pic of a black H269 at the Sun 'n Fun event they held which lead me to wonder. I'll might be out there reguarly enough and would make sense to flute about in the good wx if possible, not much luck here with it!:ugh:

[Super 61]

There is no "general aviation" as we know it in Thailand, and only a couple of privately owned aircraft. Its not the place for hour building. The only way to get a licence validation is to have the required hours for an offshore job through CHC or Si Chang. I think one of the Thai pilots from Si Chang posts here, he could offer more advice.

[flyheli]

AVGAS is usually hard to get in those countries...probably one reason why there's so little GA traffic around. Could be a good area for a small tour operator though I think.

[robsrich]

During a visit in late 2004 I was advises foreign students could not be trained in Thailand. This was a result of 9/11 in the USA.

I believe there was one school? They relied on European clients to keep going. By 2004 things were very quite.

We saw no helicopters in the sky in Bangkok during our 10 day stay. City has a population of 10m and the nation about 62m.

Figures are hard to find - the civil helicopter fleet may be only 70+; much the same as neigbhouring Malayasia. The latter does have a couple of schools, and Thai people go there I am told.

Overall, the helicopter activity has yet to blossom?

Can anyone update these rather old observations?

[fkelly]

Why on earth would you spend hard earned money on a trip to Pattaya then squander it on flying?

[robsrich]

As a general observation, by a tourist when away from major centres, Thai people are very laid back; and very polite.

And those lovely ladies.....

Somewhat of a change to the rest of the world at present.

But no doubt they will eventually be caught up in the world's problems, as is happening in the SE.

[Hughes269]

"Why on earth would you spend hard earned money on a trip to Pattaya then squander it on flying?"

In my case its not flying that brings me to Pattaya or Thailand in general, but it would be ideal to fly around some parts of the country if possible while there, Ive never been but it seems to be a beautiful country. I know a few people who have sold up to live out there so it must be worth it.
Hi Robsrich, I'd hope to be heading over with a license by then (just a few hours left to do) so it would be for self fly hire that would amount to some hour building, not training.

Its certainly an atypical request and off the beaten track, but that doesn't matter- if its possible! There is scope for hiring FW like a C172 etc in Pattaya but maybe, as mentioned, chopper activity is yet to be developed there, general aviation seems to be on the right track with the airparks at least and you can get heli lessons with CATC in a R22 in Hua-Hin http://www.thaiflyingclub.com/ & http://www.catc.or.th/2006/ their "mission statement 3" seems to be relevant.

[LIMIT NOT TARGET]

I have actually been and worked on three of the R22's in Hua Hin. It is my understanding that there is only 1 Private helicopter in the whole of Thailand. The rest are Government or Military, even all the R22's and Enstroms in Hua Hin are owned by the Government as the school is a Government run school.

[Hidden Agenda]

The helicopter picture in Thailand is not quite as black as painted in previous posts, but its is rather dark and what does exist is, I suspect, not for ‘Hughes269’.
I think that he would be better off calling the guys at Ipoh in Malaysia (www.integrated-avac.com). It is not so far, the beer is cheap, the ladies friendly and the flying ‘affordable’. Perhaps it is the best bet for someone in Hughes269’s position.

[Hughes269]

Thanks so far,

I looked at the map and Ipoh is way down in the middle of Malaysia, I think Hua-Hin might be closer by laws of averages:8 . I looked 'Intergrated' up anyway, they operate a EC120...would be a jump up from the single engine pisser but if the training is there and the price right then...:ok: My impression is that aviation out there is not as bleak but obviously fewer resourced then the western world in comparrison. Limit Not Target, have you got contact details for the school in Hua-Hin with the 22's and any other information on them? greatly appreciated!