The difficulty in finding a school to learn to fly...
Well here goes, my first post. I started looking at PPRuNe about two months ago, it was a great source of inspiration and also helped guide me in my choice of school. Several friends fly both helicopters and fixed wing. Helicopters are what fascinated me ( I guess I was also inspired by my father who was a commercial helicopter pilot after leaving the army as a helicopter pilot). I decided to try to find a school which suited me, having read of the vast range of approaches to teaching a common subject I needed a school which I would feel comfortable with, one where I knew that I would be trained to a safe standard with a friendly approach and application of both commercial and common sense.
I visited a very well known school situated in Warwickshire, my father knew the man who had sold the school in recent years and suggested that if his ethos was still followed it would be a great school to learn at.
I visited there with a friend who is a current helicopter pilot, I was very disappointed, the staff appeared subdued, it was as if the whole place had a cloud hanging over it. I enquired about training rates and various options were explained to me including the block booking options. Being an accountant, discounts always appeal, however caution also set in about depositing a large amount with an organisation for future services (in case of failure of the company due to financial reasons). I decided to apply the same due diligence to the company (before parting with my money) as I apply in my business life. I met a man there who was the MD, he spent time telling me how wonderful the company was, how he "owned" it and how he was going to make it the "best" company in Europe. I must admit he did not impress me, in fact he made me feel very uncomfortable (call it female intuition) something did not seem quite right.
Friends visited the launch of the Robinson 66 and told me of the "awful" risks of the person who displayed the helicopter and explained the reasons they were so shocked. I was not surprised when the person was named. I saw the comments on this and other websites, I watched the videos and had it explained to me about the risks involved. Thank God, I listened to my instinct and had my first three hours of lesson during the last few days with another company based in Gloucestershire. I must admit I am so impressed by their approach to everything. They may be a few percent more expensive, but I feel totally happy with everything, especially their approach to me - the customer.
I know that this is a rumour site so feel its not out of order to say that my father told me today that he heard last night that "serious" changes are underway to remove the problems at the Warwickshire company (ie the person in charge...) and to restore the company to its previous positive state. Sadly its too little to late for me, an extra twenty mile drive is a small price to pay to learn in an environment where the staff feel happy and the "owner" is not busy telling you how good he is or trying to impress everyone with his skills.