Help - student looking to move to NZ for CPL(H).

[Andynewz]

Hi, can anyone provide any help or advice for me? I intend to move from the UK to New Zealand later this year in the hope of obtaining my CPL(H). I have contacted several Helicopter Training schools, situated both in the North and South Islands, however I would appreciate some unbiased feedback from anyone who has first hand experience with a school in NZ.

I will be based in Wellington, therefore I understand the closest base to me would be Palmerston North with HeliPro or a bit further with HeliFlight.

I am very new and in fact extremely inexperienced, having only taken my first lesson this morning with Northumbria Helicopters here in Newcastle. I am however comitted intend both the move and course both to go ahead.

If anyone could help with the above and provide any further information I would be very grateful.

Thanks

Andy.

[Bravo73]

Your first port of call should probably be here:

Frequently Asked Training Questions (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=122944)

(Heliport - these q's seem to be popping up with regularity again. Any chance of making the Training FAQ a sticky again, pls?) :D

[unhappyhamster]

Trouble is though Bravo, if I may be so rude, but the list maintained by Uncle Heliport can be a little outdated. I think potential newbies should be welcomed to the forum by letting their threads run a while - and then moved to the long standing threads if need be - just my opinion old bean !

HH:)

[Bravo73]

Indeed FlyingSquirrel/PeachPilot/UnHappyHamster/Whateverthisweek'snameis, if the chap had found the FAQ thread and done a little bit of reading, he would've already found plenty of 'first hand experience with a school in NZ'.

He could've then tailored his enquiries accordingly. He might've even discovered that any right of work (ie visa/passport) he has will ultimately determine which licencing authority he should be aiming for.

But then 'we' already know this. Because these topics have been covered repeatedly before. And then saved in the Training FAQ for future reference.

:ok:




And there's me thinking that I might've been helping out Heliport by posting that link. I guess not. Ho hum

[Heli-kiwi]

If you would like to save $35000 on flying on your CPL then i can recommend a syndicate that I am in. It is based in Auckland at a flying school and is used exclusively for syndicate members.
Rates are $195 solo and $245 dual per hr, The heli is an R22 which is maintained through Heliflite Pacific in the same hangar. I've been in it since October 2004 and reckon its the best thing I could've ever done.
If you would like more details you can PM me

:}

[Heliport]

Start here -


New Zealand: Training and Job Prospects (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=72154)


Heliport

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

thanks for that Bravo - very sporting of you.

[Te_Kahu]

Andynewz.

Helipro also provides flight-training out of its base at Paraparaumu airport on the Kapiti Coast. This is a 45 minute drive from Wellington or a train ride, as opposed to a 2 hour drive to Palmerston North.
As I understand it, Heliflite has ceased flight training at Masterton.

TK

[Andynewz]

Thankyou for everyones prompt replies and pointing me in the right direction on this site. I have now found a wealth of information and advice.

Thanks!

[Semi Rigid]

Is Heliflight going to reimburse those Massey Aviation rotary students their money or has it already been spent so Heliflight becomes an unsecured creditor?
I feel sorry for those students left holding their proverbials in hand.

[tangovictor]

Andy, whats wrong with learning in the UK ?

[Heliseka]

Hi Andynewz..Don't no what your situation is but i would seriously think of a move to Palmerston north and Helipro..Palmy has cheap rent, easy to get around and you could bike to and from the Airport to Helipro..You will save alot of time and money along the way not having to travel about.Good young student crowd in Palmy and great fun..Helipro is a great company and also a large commercial outfit so when training you could find yourself helping out with fires etc..all adding valuable experence to your training..You get to see the day to day running of a company not just a flight school..Good luck just a thought anyway but it will be cheaper than being based in Welllington.:D

[fitec]

Hi, i have had involvement with both Helipro and Helifight. Both have a great bunch of people
Helipro have a few bases around the North Island but Palmerston North & Paraparaumu are where they do there training out of (Don’t do any training out of there base in Wellington). Have both 3-5x H300 and 3x R22 trainers and a varied commercial fleet operating in alot of different operations. They carry out there own maintenance at there facility in Palmerston North. They will give you some training on crewing and often will have you assist as crew on some of there jobs. Have a great flight following system and are moving to having all training aircraft with Navman installed to track there aircraft. Close to the mountains/control zones/south island. Have the option of doing all you Theory with another aviation school which you will complete before you start any flying (takes about three months, 8am – 5pm, 5 days a week in Nelson) I recommend doing it this way as it is generally out of the way quicker and you can focus on your flying with out worrying about studying for exams.
Heliflight is moving out of Masterton and all training will eventually be out of Ardmore Airport in Auckland for training they have around 4-5 300cbi. Also have commercial operations, but mostly in the tourist field. Generally have had more students than Helipro. Help out a lot with theory which you do while you are learning to fly.
Both have websites and are pretty friendly in answering questions about flight training. Sorry it’s a bit of a novel but some of these where areas that got caught out in when looking for a training provider. All the best (-: