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NOVEMBER 17, 2008

PICKING A FLIGHT SCHOOL

When I started my training a year ago I did a lot of research, and posted a review of the school I chose... I will paste that below, so I can tell you what I have learned over this year about the reasons behind my choice, and how they may have changed.

I hope this helps others out there, which is my sincere goal.

For you new guys and gals, there used to be a review section on VR for flight schools, this is what I posted about mine back then.

Saturday 2/9/08 11:30am

Vertical Reference Rotors Flight School Review

I am currently working on my Rotor-wing training at Rotors of the Rockies just north of Denver, Colorado. My experience so far at Rotors has been 100% positive (and I’m probably one of the pickiest persons you could ever know!). I was extremely diligent in researching for my training, being technically inclined that’s just my way (some say to a point of irritation). I researched on-line, visited schools, flew their helicopters and asked a lot of questions. If you are really serious about getting rated in a rotorcraft I suggest you do the same. Had I not do so I could have easily ended up training (or not training now) at Silver State as their sales pitch was very well refined (one of the things that steered me away from them). I have trained in fixed-wing at schools in Honolulu, Dallas and Little Rock. I have flown R22s at schools in Honolulu and Oregon, and I can honestly say that all things considered, Rotors is by far the best of the lot. (My training in R22s stopped instantly the day I supervised the under-water documentation and recovery of a R22 that my friend and his wife lost their lives in off of Waikiki, most likely due to mast bumping).

Things that I considered while looking for a flight school: (not in order of importance)

• I wanted to fly Schweizers due to their safety record (2million flight hours) and autorotation profile.
• I wanted a controlled airspace, for many reasons, but mainly for safety (both on the ground and in the air), and for real-world experience. I have pilot friends that avoid airports with control towers due to unfamiliarity… I wanted it to be second nature.
• After flying aircraft nicknamed “duct tape” at smaller schools, I wanted to fly newer, up-to-date, well-maintained aircraft. Rotors is extremely picky about all their ships… they are all 2004 or newer and are kept inside every night.
• I wanted many ships to pick from, so that my training was consistent (and many instructors for that matter, incase I didn’t feel comfortable with one or the other). Rotors has six 300’s, 2 R44s, a Eurocopter 120 and a 333 Schweizer turbine. You can check your flight schedule online at any time, and request a time slot the same way. I have always gotten/received the slot that I asked for and I’ve been flying almost every day at least four days a week. I also wanted the option to fly fixed-wing, Rotors has a very nice 2004 172 and many great FW instructors.
• I wanted an airport located so that I didn’t spend a lot of unnecessary time flying straight and level getting to the training area (after-all, isn’t that one of the reasons we don’t fly fixed wing.. boring!!!). Much of your early training (25 hours or so) is done right at the airport on Delta Taxiway… 5 minutes after liftoff and 5 minutes from final set-down. That’s 10 minutes of “get there” time per flight instead of 45 at the other schools I flew at… add that up over 25 hours! (do a Google map search for Jeffco Airport, Broomfield, Colorado. Click on “satellite” in the upper right hand corner, Delta taxiway is just south of runway 29L.. perfect for heli training). I also wanted this airport to be in close proximity to other larger airports so I could train in more complex airspaces… Denver and Centennial are right here.

Jeffco Airport (KBJC): This airport is fairly busy at times, with many fixed-wings coming and going, but only one Heli school now that Premier is no longer active. Due to the busy fixed-wing activity your training is tempered with the skills to operate at any airport. We have three separate Heli departure-approach corridors (short and sweet) and can blend at any time with the other traffic in the pattern on three runways. Perfect for graduated training at your comfort/safety level.

I liked the idea of high altitude training to give me more job options after training and make me a better pilot. The days here can go from cold to warm overnight, which improves your power management right from the start… and after dealing with the many frustrating weather holds in Honolulu, I love the many great flying days here in Denver and especially the awesome full moon night flights with snow on the ground!! And when we’re not flying, there is so much to do; big city, mountains, skiing, mountain biking, restaurants.. even casinos less than an hour away.

I wanted instructors with real-world experience, not just training hours. Rotors has some high-time instructors (the chief pilot, also one of the owners, has over 5,000 hours, and part time instructors that fly turbines in the Gulf. The high-timers are here for mentoring the newer instructors and perform transition proficiency checks for the students at every level. Good for us cuz we see all levels of flight skills and training techniques… and good for Rotors cuz it keeps all instructors on the same page.

As for the examiner: I understand that he expects more and is tougher than most (having over 8k hours in RW), but I see that as good thing for myself, for Rotors and for the industry.

As for the Staff and Owners: they are very much like a family and work extremely hard to make you feel at home… and yes, there was a discrepancy in my hours at one time, and after patience and sincere research on the bookkeeper and instructor’s parts we found that I had inadvertently forgotten to account for an hour demo flight that my wife and son had gone on with an instructor.

Pros: Schweizers, R44s, Turbines, Controlled airspace, newer ships, lots of instructors, high altitude training, strong company with 7 successful years in business, great atmosphere.

Cons: it’s cold outside some days, but that just makes for better performance.

 

After eight months at Rotors and over 170 hours RW, I still feel the same about the school. I have seen many students go on to teach here at Rotors (something you don’t always see in the industry), and as many instructors to full time jobs in the GOM and tour companies. One is flying Cranes, a few in EMS, and others are in other countries flying their dreams! One instructor left Rotors a couple of months ago to fly SIC in the Gulf with only 620 hours!!!

Pay close attention to the school you choose… it matters more than you may know!!

Now that being said, this is some of what I have learned over this past year...

Helicopters break! A light bulb can ground a helo from one flight to the other, an alternator can lose a belt, a mag can go out, the tach can quit, the low rotor horn can be intermittent, a screw can vibrate out of the valve cover, inspections come up (25hr, 50hr, 100hr...etc). There are tons of things that can ground a helo unexpectedly, so the school that you pick should have a number of training helos (the newer the better), and a GREAT maintenance department with more than one A&P to work on the helos!! You WILL lose flights to issues that just pop up, so the more helos on the line the better chance you have of getting right into another ship that day! On that thought; if a ship goes off line for the day it's not just your day that can be ruined, but every student flying that ship that day.. so you can imagine what that will do to the schedule... it is also nice that there is someone in the office to fix that the minute it happens (both the maintenance issue and the schedule mess)! If there is no office personnel in the office every day I would think twice about that school. You will get frustrated when you begin your training because of issues like the above, the more of these you can avoid the better your training will be! (You will have enough to worry about believe me!!)

The more instructors the better, for a couple of reasons. As one gent on the VR list has said, "over the past year I have seen many students on the schedule go on to teach at Rotors," and I have also seen many instructors go on to fly their dream machines. First let's talk about the benefit to the students. Every teacher teaches different.. people are different... you may fly with one instructor and really like him or her, but maybe that person just cannot work the days that you need to fit your life schedule. Also you will find that some instructors are on different missions; one wants to train for a few years, one wants to leave for the gulf or another job asap.. the point is, the more choices you have the better your training can be... and what happens when your instructor of choice leaves for a "real" job? You want to have choices. Second, the benefit for you as an up-coming instructor; you want a slot to open up for you when you get your CFI, you also want a school that has had CFI's move on to other jobs, both for the real world contacts and the open slot at your school! Also, this is a small world, so you want a school with a good reputation in the industry for turning out good pilots!!

High Altitude training is important! This was just one of the sidelines in my original research, but I have come to realize that it's much more important than that. In fact, one of the instructors at the Robbie course asked the 69 people in the room who was flying at over 5000'. Three or four of us raised our hands.. to this he said, "You folks will be the best pilots in here!". And this was from a guy that had seen a lot; been in the industry for 25 years and has over 15k hours RW. Over this year I have met many people that are in the position of hiring new pilots, they have all expressed the importance of of this training.. and not a couple of weeks doing a mountain course, but actual daily flying over the course of a year or two at high density altitude. For me this was a bonus, because I didn't realize the importance of it in the beginning. For you it can be a choice!

Helicopters, the fleet. The more helos you have access to, the better a pilot you can be, and the better your resume is. I could go on and on about this.. but the point is, don't end up at a school where you have no options.. eventually you will be doing instrument training, and after that turbine transitions, it will save you money if you can do some of those together, instead of as an add on after you have spent $, MN$$. I have done some of my commercial and instrument in R44's, so when I get my CFI I already have the hours in the ship to teach... many of the CFIs that didn't do that have to pay extra to get that time, and just cannot afford to do so. Thus, their options are limited.

Probably one of the things that I like best about Rotors, that may seem like a small thing, is that the schedule is online... you can check it at any time no matter where you are. This has saved me a drive to the airport many times due to an inadvertent schedule change! If there are schools out there without this benefit get on it.. Your students deserve it.

Hope this helps, and doesn't stir anyone up, I just want to pass on some of the things that has helped me. I see so many students come to Rotors that started at other schools and have horror stories about their experiences.. some have had to relocate two or three times, and as you know, the cost of training is enough without added expenses.

aloha,

dp