Heliair Denham EGLD closing
 

Operations moving to Wycombe. Anyone know why?

They closed their operation at Fairoaks some time ago citing a 100% increase in rental of accomodation.

****e.

But a loss. Lack of investment, lack of a decent response to Q, lack of understanding of the London market and what was required to make it work, no support for good people who wanted it to succeed.

....... and how is Wycombe doing? From the outside it looks like 'frying pan into fire'.

I think we all know there is little money in Helicopter aviation in the UK, and with only so many GA customers out there it’s going to be tough for them.
Wycombe Air Park is a ghost town now and their only customer being Helicopter Services as the fixed wing side doing the uni ppl training is also owned by heli air.

I think things will get worse before they get better, and that’s not necessarily a reflection on HA, but just the way the industry is after brexit/euro/us rates etc.

Time for outside the box thinking these days and being very flexible. Maybe why Q has done so well over the others.

But Q is Q......

Correct, but HQ have a club atmosphere that makes owners feel welcome, and there is a personality there too. (Some like that ‘personality’, others don’t)

HQ are very very busy, over the ‘same’ offering that HeliAir had next door. There is a reason why...

Maybe Bickertons (Denham owners) decided not to renew the HA lease?

I think there was always a problem with ego over business sense - HA's overexpansion when it struggled with R66 certification, combined with the struggling GA market (as evidenced by the number of distressed acquisitions undertaken by HA) was always going to be a challenge. Most people I've spoken to don't have a lot of time for certain individuals at HA, who some say lack the charisma and friendly attitude that the business was once well known for and which is available in abundance at HQ. Others complain of arrogance and bullying from HA, which is intriguing behaviour given the circumstances.


The GA community is small and news of improper behaviour travels fast - people vote with their feet, so I've no doubt that EGLD won't be the last to go. I've visited a few of the other HA locations over the last couple of months - and they're also like ghost towns.. Watch his space!

What is HQ?

Try clicking this

It worked thanks...

HQ is an example of how good a school/club can be. I know Q can be 'divisive' :). But he has a good team around him, a very nice facility, and it's a really good friendly place to visit.

Well the impression I got from Heliair when I went and asked if they could do my practical conversion from FAA to JAA was not good, got told the "FAA licenses wasn't worth the plastic it was written on" and I would probably have to do a lot of training just to be able to pass the tests.
That was within the first five minutes in the door, out of the 7 minutes I spent there, and took my business elsewhere, happy to have done exactly that since it has helped me greatly careerwise since. :O

toptobottom"s post 12 hits the nail bang on the head!

And this makes me feel really old...
 

I was one of Heliair’s first customers at Denham when Glenda Wild moved from another company at Wycombe in about 1994. One R22 tucked into the side of a bubble hangar... but she really brought the place alive.

He wears pseudo military jackets and tucks his chinos into his rigger boots. Good job he hasn't got a massive ego:rolleyes:

Now I don’t feel quite so old
 

I was one of Q’s first customers when his dad asked him to quit competing with him and take over Denham. One R22 tucked into a blister hanger (G-BRHN), a phone and a desk in a cupboard. Nothing comes from nothing but dust (as they say in a Denmark). That must have been 94 as well.

now that made me spray my coffee over my keyboard:ok::ok::ok::)

For many private pilots (especially those who can afford to own a helicopter) the appeal of flying helicopters is accompanied by a desire to buy into a lifestyle as opposed to skill alone. Sell the sizzle not the sausage, as they say. HQ has this nailed, charismatic personalities, eccentricity, flying tales, photos, memorabilia & importantly, a buy in from lots of other people from similar circles who they'd perhaps want to socialise with outside flying.

By contrast the more 'corporate' (lacklustre) approach taken by many - black trousers, polyester shirts with epaulettes and airline jumpers, feels absent of personality, adventure or intrigue. It's missing the sizzle and personalities of the sort of place you'd just pop in for a coffee on your way past...

When selling the experience to the private pilot - the fun found outside the cockpit is just as important, if not more so, than the fun in the aircraft, and this isn't achieved with coffee machines and company logos, but with people who make it interesting. However marmite or 'put on' the mysterious Q character is, he wins the appeal of a great deal of people, who have a great deal of money, and it's not by accident. Is it the best place to go for zero-commercial career training? No - without an ATO they don't even offer any commercial training. Is it a fun place to go and share quaffs with other rich intriguing owner types and fly privately? Seems so.