point taken F/L with colins vast experience i would have thought the only exam he would need would be helicopter technical as he would already have passed the rest within his other activities.
i wasnt knocking heli-air as a training organization in any way, if it came across that way i do apologise, the point i was getting to is that its near impossible to train someone from scratch to pilot (be it fixed wing or rotary) in that short space of time.