Dutch Country Helicopters, Pennsylvania

[Woodgnome]

Any ex-students out there like to PM me with details of their experiences training with DCH?

chopperpilot47's the head honcho I believe and comes across as a throughly nice bloke in his posts, I want to learn in a B47 and DCH looks like the place:D

Ta!

Woodgnome

[afghanmerc]

I am not an ex student, but I have flown with them a couple of times, and plan on flying with them a lot more in the future. I flew with Ryan and Darren, and was very impressed with both their skill and patience. Good luck with your training, and you definately will enjoy flying with them in the 47.

Chuck

[Flying Lawyer]

I did some flying with Dutch Country Helicopters a couple of years ago while on holiday in the States and was impressed - excellent instruction, good facilities and superb customer service. I flew with the CFI, Darren Lucas - a Brit - and will definitely fly there again when I'm next in the Philadelphia/Washington area.

Lancaster itself isn't the most attractive of American cities but Philadelphia - a lovely city - isn't far away.
The countryside around Lanxaster is very pleasant and, being in the heart of Amish country, is very interesting - Witness (Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis) was filmed there. It's worth trying an Amish restaurant once, but you're unlikely to want to repeat the experience - not unpleasant, just rather bland.

IMHO (only a PPL) the Bell 47 is a superb trainer. They are rare in the UK so prohibitively expensive, but at $200 or so an hour in America, fantastic value for money.

If you go, it's also worth wandering down to Blue Ridge Helicopters in Virginia at some point. It's not a formal flight school, but a police pilot/Flight Instructor offers training in a Bell 47 at about the same price. Flying down the Shenandoah Valley and along the Blue Ridge Mountains is a truly unforgettable experience.

[Darren999]

I thought the Amish food tasted OK.... country sides ok too..

Darren

[chopperpilot47]

It's the head honcho here! Seriously, thanks for the votes of confidence. We really try our best. We are going to get a couple of Schweitzers really soon and offer instrument training but we will keep a couple of the Bell 47's for those people who want to train on them. Parts are finally becoming a bit of a problem to find. You can get most things easily, although they can cost a lot, but some things are really hard to find. We passed 38 students in the past 18 months without a failure so we are doing something right. Come and visit anytime!

Regards,

Chopperpilot 47

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

I must reiterate the positive comments left on here by Tudor Owen.
I was in a difficult situation and rang DCH on the off chance that they could accomodate me at short notice. I was told to come on down the next day and we could do some flying - I was so glad I did. The guys here have an excellent attitude and offer superb training and kindly put my wife and I up in one of their homes. We did 5 hours in the B47, brushing up and covering some advanced techniques. I was suprised at the superb condition of their aircraft and their spotless facilities and also the interest shown in me actually learning something for my money. The local area is ideal for training and offers unrestricted access to many local deserted airfelds with no landing fees, of course. There is lots to do nearby including 2 massive theme parks, and a major railroad musuem. It took us 4 hours to drive down from NYC. I would highly recommend them and will most certainly visit them again. Thanks lads.

TFS

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