The Ground School

 

You will study in a relaxed classroom environment, where your instructor will cover six specific subjects on a one-to-one basis.

 

1.      Aviation Law - the Highway Code of flying.

2.      Meteorology - an essential part of flight preparation.

3.      Navigation - theoretical preparation for cross country flying.

4.      Human Performance - an introduction to the physiological aspects of flying, including the dangers of alcohol 

         and medication, flying with colds etc.

5.      Technical overview of the Helicopter - a better awareness of the aircraft.

6.      Flight Planning & Performance.

 

Your instructor will manage all aspects of the ground school syllabus and in addition, you will learn about Radio Telephony (R/T) procedures. The list of subjects may at first, appear overwhelming, but your instructor will break it down into a logical format and will be able to coach you to examination standard. There will be a multiple choice examination for each subject.

 

The Flight Training

The CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and JAR (Joint Aviation Regulations) set out clear requirements for a flight-training course. Firstly, that it must include a minimum of 45 hours of flight training all of which is supervised by a qualified / registered helicopter instructor. Of those hours at least:

 

• 25 hours must be dual instruction
• 10 hours of solo flight (pilot in command)

 

Flying Schedule

Flying lessons are scheduled for morning or afternoon sessions. These take the form of approximately one to two hours of actual flying, with the remainder devoted to pre and post flight briefings, and flight start up and shut down procedures. Alpha Helicopters is open seven days a week throughout the year and is open until late during the summer season. We do tailor your course to meet your schedule, so if the working week is not suitable for you, then the weekends are available.

 

Current weather conditions dictate all flying. If it is unsuitable, we will contact you right away to re-schedule your programme.

Likewise, business commitments and illness can also impose on your flight training. Please endeavour to contact us well in advance so we can re-organise our own flight schedule.

 

Syllabus of Flight Instruction for Pilots Private Pilots (Helicopters) License

The flight-training course consists of 27 different exercises, which are listed below. The course differentiates between basic helicopter flying leading to your first solo flight, and advanced helicopter exercises.

 

Basic Helicopter Flying

This part of the course involves you learning how to fly the helicopter in taking off, forward flight, turning, climbing, descending, hovering and landing. Your instructor will take you through such procedures as autorotation, known as 'gliding' the helicopter, together with making radio calls and flying the helicopter in and around the airfield, which will become known as circuits.

 

Advanced Helicopter Exercises

Now confident in basic helicopter skills we will instruct you in the more complex exercises, such as learning how to land in confined areas and understanding navigation techniques. Good navigation is vitally important and your knowledge will be developed to a stage where you will plan cross-country trips and fly them. At this point, you will meet the solo cross-country requirements of the flying training.

 

As a pilot, you will be responsible for maintaining an accurate record of your flight times and exercises flown. Your instructor will also be keeping a log to chart your progress, ensuring continuity of the relevant exercises. Flight times recorded are based on the readings from the datacom hour meter in the aircraft and are also used for the purpose of flight training charges.

 

Flying Test

At the end of the flying training course, you will take a flying test taken by an in-house CAA/JAR flight examiner. The purpose of this is to demonstrate to the examiner that you can fly safely and competently.