Helis at Leeds
 

I'm a PPLH who recently moved to the Leeds area and am looking to self fly hire R22s and maybe go on to bigger and better things (conversions and/or a CPLH).

Can any of you recommend (or not) any suitable schools - I've had a look at Multiflight and Helijet so far. Any thoughts?

Cheers,

WB.

some others
hields at sherburn
heliyork at leeds heather sugden
dragon at sheffield

steve

I did plenty of flying with Hields at Sherburn. Definitely worth a look - friendly bunch of people and Sherburn is a great little airfield - no controlled airspace and a good service from the military ATC units up and down the Vale of York.

You should plan to get best training which includes the training of operating into and out of airfields with as full an air traffic system as possible. Quiet airfields are OK for the basic skills but 'training' includes everything, R/T, Theory etc.
One other tip. Don't drive miles and miles for the cheapest deal. Afresh student learns quicker

Also consider residential. It is important to learn at the place that suits you.

B&Bs can be cheap. Try local Uni halls of residence in Vacation periods - that is what I did. Some schools offer accommodation.

Although the schools in your area may well be good, don't shut out other possibilities.

Cheers

Whirlygig

PS definitely go for a CPL(H) at an airport with ATC. You learn the discipline so much quicker!!

Thanks all, LOTS of food for thought and apologies if I've covered old ground.

Will get on the case - your comments are appreciated.

WB.

LBA atc are becoming more au fait with rotary ops and have a RADAR for those sh1tty days when your instructor gets caught out trying to get you to finally hover.
I fly commercially out of LBA and can only comment from a guy who has used Multiflight for a type-rating.
From what I have experienced, they're professional and enthusiastic.
More importantly, for someone about to invest a lot of money into a company, they appear to be financially stable (being owned by PACE electronics, whose set-top boxes are still in high demand).

Wakkaboy,

Another option depending on what side of Leeds you live would be to travel to Barton there are two schools there now that fly enstroms and i,ve seen R22 / 44's training there last time i flew in

Cyclic

cf,

Who are the second (in addition to Manchester Helicopter Centre) Enstrom operator at Barton?

Flight Academy, been operating Enstroms from Barton for just under a year - also offer pleasure flights in R44s

Squadgy - Interesting, thanks.

Any idea who is behind Flight Acadamy, who the instructors are etc.?

Hi Jed A1

The man behind and who set up Flight Academy is Mr John Dunn who is also an experienced instructor. They operate enstoms in the main. I'm unsure on contact details. However, you may contact Barton Aerodrome on 0161 787 7326 and ask for Flight Academy's number.

BB:D

Cheers BB.

I think Barton is a great airfield for Heli training. However, it does get very busy from time to time - especially at weekends.

It'll be interesting to see how long the fixed wing drivers tolerate any additional heli flying. There again it would also be interesting to see how long any additional heli flying lasts!

In addition to that it would be interesting to see how long Barton lasts as an airfield!!

Apologies for going off topic and rambling.

Back on topic, I can highly recommend Manchester Helicopter Centre and their Enstroms - I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in their business, I just know them to be good people and very good at what they do. The family has been in the business forever, so they know what they're on about.

From another angle, if I were starting my heli flying again from day one. I would buy a machine. Fly it for a couple of hundred hours and sell it. In the UK, I'm convinced that you would save a lot of money. Most schools will provide an instructor free of charge if you buy a machine off them.

Heliair changes?
 

Difficult to keep an on the ball when it keeps moving so fast!

It looks like there is a change of owners at Heliair. This might be of interest.

Rumour control now suggesting it is a customer who recently bought a blue R44 or two....

How To Grill A Potential School
 

Hello,

I will be visiting the training organisations in my area to get a feel for them in the next week or so, with the intention of completing my PPL(H) and then going the commercial modular route (yes, yes I know..!). Do any of you out there have a question I should definitely ask or something that I should look out for that I may not have thought of.

Many thanks in advance,

MPD (J.A.W)

P.S. For the record - I have a smidgen of hours (49) under my belt and a valid class 1 medical but have been way from aviation for 5 years (unless you count craning my neck everytime I hear the sound of the air being beaten into submission and the whine of a turbine).

How To Grill A Potential School?

Hot Barbie, lots of Butter and Lemon, on both sides........

you could try and ask the local pilots around you they are most likely to know the good from the bad

steve

Have a look to see if they paint their hangar floor. It's usually a sign that their not struggling financially and they take pride in their equipment. No guarantee of course, but if you can't pay your bills and you don't give a sh1t there is no way you'll paint the hangar floor !!

Seems a bit of an oversight not to marinade first...

Thanks overpitched - I get you.

Cheers md 600 driver, but you may have unwittingly volunteered - it would appear thatyou are a local pilot (yorkshire?). Any chance of some opinions..? Maybe PM me? (understood if you don't)

Any more along the lines of overpitched's or a killer question would be good...

Thanks very much,

MPD (J.A.W.)

HeliAir has effectively been sold. A very substantial shareholding has been sold to a City investor and Mike Smith is no longer the majority shareholder. He's agreed to continue running the company and remains Managing Director.

Mike and family have worked hard over many years and have seen HeliAir go from strength to strength. Last year was its best yet.
I'm told the flying schools are busy and that, in the 11 month period from April 2003 to today, HeliAir sold:
68 new Robinsons (80% of which are R44s)
12+ used helicopters.

It seems like a sensible time to sell. Next year might be even better, but there again ............ who knows?
The new owner, a stockbroker, hasn't previously been involved in aviation but is learning to fly.

Flight Schools
 

Can anyone recomend any good flight school or any good ideas on ways to train fo a commercial licence.

where in UK?
Intergrated or Modular?

Yes.

But it depends on many factors. Location being one, but also:

1. On which aircraft would you like to learn
2. If modular, you can still do the PPL full-time (as I did)

If you wish to PM me, I know about a few schools and know a reasonable amount about the process (as I am going through it) and would be glad to help.

Cheers

Whirlygig

Hi, I completed my CPL(H) Last year and had dealings with several schools and instructors in midlands. PM for more info also check out my website. Best of luck whatever you do.

How many schools DO NOT operate the R22 in the UK?
 

Here is a question, how many flight schools in the UK do not operate the R22? What do they use instead; 300, 47, Enstrom?

There doesn't seem to be an up to date list on the net (including the CAA and BHAB). I reckon it would be interesting to know.

(Perhaps I have too much time on my hands, however...):}

Manchester Helicopter school at Barton only operate Enstroms

The other school at Barton (Flight Academy??) use Enstrom too.

An up to date copy of the BHAB Handbook will give you this info for BHAB members - most schools aren't members though.

Flyer magazine has this information online, although it's not organised the way you want it so you'll have to do a little cut and paste. Around London it's mostly R22 with Biggin Hill Helis and Oxford (OATS) on the Schweizer, and Alan Mann at Fairoaks on the Bell 47.

AH Helicopters, Devon - S300

Moorgoods, Bodmin - S300

Shoreham Helicopters - Enstrom & S300

DHFS, Shawbury - AS350

Bournemouth Helicopters - S300

Sterling in Norwich use the S300 as do Dragon in Sheffield.

Cheers

Whirlygig

So, there are some schools in the UK that manage to operate without the R22. I know that Barton have been using the Enstroms for decades.

Thinking about, Liverpool has a mix of R22 and 300, so maybe the question should be rephrased. Perhaps the question should include schools which do not only use R22 as their primary trainer. As another example, at FAST you could choose from R22, 300, Enstrom and 47.

I think it's a bit of a stretch putting DHFS in there - I think they're a bit biased away from anything which isn't multi-purpose (training, liaison etc.), and except for the R44, turbines are the only real choice.

Worlwide at bournmouth only use the R44 and they seem to be really busy.

Elite helicopters train on

R22

R44

B206 & B206 Longranger

they also offer type conversions onto the AS350

if you pick up a copy of the BHAB it tells you all the operators in the U.k and what aircraft and facilities they can provide

if you like I can post you one

goose boy

The question is ambigious.

Recompute as how many R22s/S300/R44/ Enstroms/ etc are used for training as well and you get a better feel for the underlying data.

One school may run tens of R22s and ten schools may have one S300 each.

h-r:)

Good point H-r. I was leaning towards that in my post further up.

Another one would be Dennis Kenyon, with 300 and Enstrom but he's winding it all up now I believe.

Do Alan Manns at Fairoaks still run their 47 as a trainer?




Edit - seems they do Alan Mann

There seems to be a lot more schools now offering more choice of types, Which is real good.

I use to work for MHC about 6 years back, there realy good guys.