Australia: Training, Licence Conversion, Job Prospects
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: australia
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tub Matheson is no longer the C.F.I. at Chopperline,
Ian Paull has just taken over the job, they looking at using 300CBi"s.
Ian Paull has just taken over the job, they looking at using 300CBi"s.
Last edited by deeper; 24th Mar 2004 at 21:23.
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: WHERE POLUTION IS RIFE AND THE SUN DON'T SHINE
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
mark slade, professional heli's melborne.
good instructor and good guy!
and a certain mr english, unfortunately for students now no longer teaching in australia!
good instructor and good guy!
and a certain mr english, unfortunately for students now no longer teaching in australia!
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Qld
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just to set the record straight, Tub Matheson is not leaving Chopperline but merely vacating the role of Chief Pilot and CFI, which is, as has been pointed out, being taken on by Ian Paull. Tub's expertise and experience will thankfully not be lost to either Chopperline or the industry and I know that Ian is looking forward very much to having Tub remain on his instructing staff as the "elder statesman" (for the want of a better description) where he will be continuing to provide exceptional instruction and passing on his significant experience for a long time yet....!
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: AUSTRALIA
Age: 49
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OK the sign in does look a bit sus given the topic, but don't read too much into it - I just happened to be there when I first registered and couldn't think of anything clever and witty.
On the subject of instructors I was sorry to hear that Mr English had left Oz. Australia's loss is Nigeria's gain I believe.
On the subject of instructors I was sorry to hear that Mr English had left Oz. Australia's loss is Nigeria's gain I believe.
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Australia
Posts: 290
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great school
thought i might throw my 2 cents worth in and can recommend Peter Holstein at Erowasp Helicopters Albion park 2hrs south of Sydney,,
very experienced Instructor with some 8.000hrs one one instructing.great area to fly in and etc etc..
Give him a call..02 425-68444
very experienced Instructor with some 8.000hrs one one instructing.great area to fly in and etc etc..
Give him a call..02 425-68444
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: australia
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Overpitched,
John Caldwell is one of the best, great background in all aspects of flying and great attitude to students.
It's a shame he can't be at the school all the time but his other commitments keep him busy.
You'll do well if you can get him to train you.
John Caldwell is one of the best, great background in all aspects of flying and great attitude to students.
It's a shame he can't be at the school all the time but his other commitments keep him busy.
You'll do well if you can get him to train you.
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: AUS
Posts: 331
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You could probably use the Brisbane contacts for Rotorlift if you wanted to get hold of John.
http://www.rotorlift.com.au/comp_contact.htm
As I said, he is the man I would go to first. He will certainly tell it to you like it is. I don't know how much training he is doing at the moment though.
http://www.rotorlift.com.au/comp_contact.htm
As I said, he is the man I would go to first. He will certainly tell it to you like it is. I don't know how much training he is doing at the moment though.
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: australia
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Above the 23.5 parallel Australia
Posts: 58
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My money would be on Howard James. He has moved back to Kununurra and I'm not sure if he is intending to Instruct. If he is and you want someone with industry experience my money is on him.
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: AUS
Posts: 331
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
John is no longer running the Aeropower training school, although he may still do some training thru them. He can be contacted thru the Brisbane office of Rotorlift.
I don't think Howard James has done much outside training for quite a while and I don't think that is likely to change.
Having flown with both I would spend my money with John Caldwell
I don't think Howard James has done much outside training for quite a while and I don't think that is likely to change.
Having flown with both I would spend my money with John Caldwell
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: uk
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Becker Helicopters
You want my advice? AVOID BECKERS LIKE THE PLAGUE!
Anybody had the misfortune to have any dealings with Becker Helicopters? I did and it cost me thousands of dollars and wasted months of my time.
Mike Becker, the playground bully from Becker helicopters, is probably the most unethical, unscrupulous, immoral bloke that I've ever had the misfortune to meet.
To recruit me from the UK I was actually told that I would be able to work in sunny Australia on completion of my CPL(H). Nothing could be further from the truth! A students visa is cancelled on completion of their course and replaced with a 30 holiday visa after which they have to leave the country. So I was recruited on a falsehood.
When I left to train with another more reputable company in Victoria I wrote a letter to CASA voicing my concerns about Becker's inaccurate course material and the quality of their theory instructor. And boy did I touch an exposed nerve.
This sent the Becker damage limitation/lie machine into action as quick you can say "Filthy Dollar"! In an effort to stifle my genuine complaints Becker tried to rescind their original letter of release to me claiming it was unauthorised. Unauthorised, by the office manager, on company letter headed paper and faxed direct to my new school. It is suddenly now invalid because I complained against him. Basically, he was trying to silence me by getting me out of the country so I wouldn't expose him for the liar he is.
My new school was bombarded with faxes and phone calls claiming all sorts of nonsense about home stay family allegations of my alleged misconduct. Luckily for me, the male in my home stay family was a retired Federal Police Officer and qualified Justice of the Peace so he refuted all the lies that Becker had sent to my new school!
His next port of call was immigration. After telling me to
off and said that I was on my own he proceeded to call immigration and bombard them with lies as well. Again, fortunately for me, immigration heard my side of the story and ignored Becker, They gave me a new visa with no restrictions regarding any future school changes.
I actually found it hard to believe that this bloke was actively pursuing me 5 weeks after I had left his little school! That shows the calibre, or lack of, of the man!
Getting money back was always going to be a bone of contention as the Becker's lives are geared wholly to the pursuit of the filthy dollar at all costs. So it came as no surprise to me that money returned from my student account was 700 dollars short as my already deducted landing fees weren't returned. So it was another 3 phone calls before this eventually happened.
Despite 3 faxes and one letter from my new school, Becker never bothered his forwarding my training records - a clear breach of CASA law. But he apparently is above the law.
And there are half a dozen other administration incidents which Becker used to put obstacles in my way. Anything to make life difficult for the departing student who dared to disagree with him!
You want my advice? AVOID BECKERS LIKE THE PLAGUE!
Anybody had the misfortune to have any dealings with Becker Helicopters? I did and it cost me thousands of dollars and wasted months of my time.
Mike Becker, the playground bully from Becker helicopters, is probably the most unethical, unscrupulous, immoral bloke that I've ever had the misfortune to meet.
To recruit me from the UK I was actually told that I would be able to work in sunny Australia on completion of my CPL(H). Nothing could be further from the truth! A students visa is cancelled on completion of their course and replaced with a 30 holiday visa after which they have to leave the country. So I was recruited on a falsehood.
When I left to train with another more reputable company in Victoria I wrote a letter to CASA voicing my concerns about Becker's inaccurate course material and the quality of their theory instructor. And boy did I touch an exposed nerve.
This sent the Becker damage limitation/lie machine into action as quick you can say "Filthy Dollar"! In an effort to stifle my genuine complaints Becker tried to rescind their original letter of release to me claiming it was unauthorised. Unauthorised, by the office manager, on company letter headed paper and faxed direct to my new school. It is suddenly now invalid because I complained against him. Basically, he was trying to silence me by getting me out of the country so I wouldn't expose him for the liar he is.
My new school was bombarded with faxes and phone calls claiming all sorts of nonsense about home stay family allegations of my alleged misconduct. Luckily for me, the male in my home stay family was a retired Federal Police Officer and qualified Justice of the Peace so he refuted all the lies that Becker had sent to my new school!
His next port of call was immigration. After telling me to
off and said that I was on my own he proceeded to call immigration and bombard them with lies as well. Again, fortunately for me, immigration heard my side of the story and ignored Becker, They gave me a new visa with no restrictions regarding any future school changes. I actually found it hard to believe that this bloke was actively pursuing me 5 weeks after I had left his little school! That shows the calibre, or lack of, of the man!
Getting money back was always going to be a bone of contention as the Becker's lives are geared wholly to the pursuit of the filthy dollar at all costs. So it came as no surprise to me that money returned from my student account was 700 dollars short as my already deducted landing fees weren't returned. So it was another 3 phone calls before this eventually happened.
Despite 3 faxes and one letter from my new school, Becker never bothered his
forwarding my training records - a clear breach of CASA law. But he apparently is above the law.And there are half a dozen other administration incidents which Becker used to put obstacles in my way. Anything to make life difficult for the departing student who dared to disagree with him!
You want my advice? AVOID BECKERS LIKE THE PLAGUE!
Last edited by Bell47Boy; 21st Jun 2004 at 04:14.
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Australia
Posts: 290
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Helicopter Schools..
Hi everyone,
after reading the post about mike Becker etc i found myself compelled to toss in my 2 cents worth
I was once an owner operator of a small flying school and can't believe that Operators like Mike Becker are still in business.
CASA are a bunch of spineless pencil pushers ( jeezz don't get me started on CASA) LOL so dont expect anyhelp from them.
after reading the post about mike Becker etc i found myself compelled to toss in my 2 cents worth
I was once an owner operator of a small flying school and can't believe that Operators like Mike Becker are still in business.
CASA are a bunch of spineless pencil pushers ( jeezz don't get me started on CASA) LOL so dont expect anyhelp from them.
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: uk
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yeah, I see Becker has updated his website this year with all the details of his flying instructors but in reality, 3 of them no longer work there.
Jerry English, a great guy and great instructor left last year for fresh pastures.
Tom Booth, the only Aussie who worked for Becker is now with Chopperline.
And Marcus left before I even got there last year!
By the way, Becker is a kiwi living in Australia which is fine but he only employs kiwis or people who will toe the company line, kiss the Becker ass or who are no threat to him. Employ somebody with a brain or an original thought - NO WAY!!!
Jerry English, a great guy and great instructor left last year for fresh pastures.
Tom Booth, the only Aussie who worked for Becker is now with Chopperline.
And Marcus left before I even got there last year!
By the way, Becker is a kiwi living in Australia which is fine but he only employs kiwis or people who will toe the company line, kiss the Becker ass or who are no threat to him. Employ somebody with a brain or an original thought - NO WAY!!!
MB certainly is the Master of Bull5h1t. Several years ago, the HAA executives were all worn out from a battle with the govt over a CBD heliport for Sydney. When MB gave a pitch to the HAA about how he was going to overhaul the place, get the website up and running, breathe fresh air into the HAA, his staff were going to be treasurer, secretary etc, we all heaved a sigh of relief and allowed the management to move north.
Well, "Gunner" Becker was always gunna do this and that, but nothing happened, no correspondence was answered, and the HAA fell into an even bigger hole than it was in. Getting it out of the hole was an even bigger effort, as was retrieving things like the computer from him to send to the next executive committee, after he was voted out.
A complete silver-tongued Merchant of Bulldust who gave the HAA a bad name.
Well, "Gunner" Becker was always gunna do this and that, but nothing happened, no correspondence was answered, and the HAA fell into an even bigger hole than it was in. Getting it out of the hole was an even bigger effort, as was retrieving things like the computer from him to send to the next executive committee, after he was voted out.
A complete silver-tongued Merchant of Bulldust who gave the HAA a bad name.
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 5,197
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ok guys.
We've had a cross-section of views about the Becker school ranging from chopski and YBMC who recommend it to others who strongly advise against. There are now plenty of opinions from which readers can form their own views.
Let's move on. The requests were for advice about Oz schools and Oz instructor recommendations in general - not just opinions about one school.
Any other advice / recommendations?
Heliport
We've had a cross-section of views about the Becker school ranging from chopski and YBMC who recommend it to others who strongly advise against. There are now plenty of opinions from which readers can form their own views.
Let's move on. The requests were for advice about Oz schools and Oz instructor recommendations in general - not just opinions about one school.
Any other advice / recommendations?
Heliport
Australsian Flying Schools
THE HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALASIA HAS A FREE LIST OF 23 HELICOPTER FLYING SCHOOLS IN AUSTRALIA AND 12 IN NEW ZEALAND. JUST SEND AN EMAIL TO THE PRESIDENT ROB RICH AT EMAIL: [email protected] AND REQUEST A LIST AND WE WILL SEND IT BACK ASAP.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A JOB, THERE ARE 1200 HELICOPTERS IN AUSTRALIA AND 580 IN NEW ZEALAND. THIS REPRESENTS 580 OWNERS IN AUSTRALIA AND 244 IN NZ. THE KIWIS IN FACT HOLD THE WORLD RECORD FOR OWNERSHIP PER HEAD OF POPULATION. AUSTRALIA HAS THE SEVENTH LARGEST FLEET IN THE WORLD. THE WORLD CIVIL HELICOPTER INDUSTRY HAS ABOUT 26,000 HELICOPTERS.
OVERALL THE WORLD HELICOPTER INDUSTRY IS IN A STRONG PHASE, ESPECIALLY IN AUSTRALASIA. WE HAVE DOUBLED IN SIZE IN THE PAST DECADE. WE NOW HAVE 700 MORE HELICOPOTERS THAN THE UK!
AND OUR SUNFILLED DAYS AND WHITE BEACHES AND GOLDEN TANNED GIRLS AND GUYS ARE REALLY THE BEST! BECOME A BEACH BUM!
ONCE AGAIN THE HAA CAN PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION AT NO COST TO YOU AS A SERVICE TO OUR MEMBERS AND HOPEFULLY FOR YOUR BENEFIT.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A JOB, THERE ARE 1200 HELICOPTERS IN AUSTRALIA AND 580 IN NEW ZEALAND. THIS REPRESENTS 580 OWNERS IN AUSTRALIA AND 244 IN NZ. THE KIWIS IN FACT HOLD THE WORLD RECORD FOR OWNERSHIP PER HEAD OF POPULATION. AUSTRALIA HAS THE SEVENTH LARGEST FLEET IN THE WORLD. THE WORLD CIVIL HELICOPTER INDUSTRY HAS ABOUT 26,000 HELICOPTERS.
OVERALL THE WORLD HELICOPTER INDUSTRY IS IN A STRONG PHASE, ESPECIALLY IN AUSTRALASIA. WE HAVE DOUBLED IN SIZE IN THE PAST DECADE. WE NOW HAVE 700 MORE HELICOPOTERS THAN THE UK!
AND OUR SUNFILLED DAYS AND WHITE BEACHES AND GOLDEN TANNED GIRLS AND GUYS ARE REALLY THE BEST! BECOME A BEACH BUM!
ONCE AGAIN THE HAA CAN PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION AT NO COST TO YOU AS A SERVICE TO OUR MEMBERS AND HOPEFULLY FOR YOUR BENEFIT.