Training, hours building and first job prospects in America
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Florida
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Florida Schools
I highly recommend you contact Geoff Painter at Cloud9.
Dave, who runs Ocean Helicopters, is a nut! His money grabbing wife is not much better. The dog is the only sane one in this "family" operated flight school.
Good luck............
Dave, who runs Ocean Helicopters, is a nut! His money grabbing wife is not much better. The dog is the only sane one in this "family" operated flight school.
Good luck............
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Europe
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What you should do is use the search function. This topic has been talked about so much it isn't funny.
Try "Training & Flying in America" ot just "Training"
Doesn't anybody bother doing any proper searching or research any more?
TGZ
Try "Training & Flying in America" ot just "Training"
Doesn't anybody bother doing any proper searching or research any more?
TGZ
Last edited by gwelo shamwari; 16th Apr 2007 at 01:50.
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: South Florida
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As the owner of Cloud 9 Helicopters and in view of comments made I feel that I need to make a post.
I have checked with all 8 of my employees and can confirm that Robbienut is not an employee of my company.
What I must add is that we all have our reasons for doing things and our opinions about other competing businesses but I firmly believe that that information should be kept to oneself and certainly not posted on an internet forum.
The last post referring to Ocean was unnecessary, we do share the airfield with them, we are both very busy operations and between us we operate nearly 20 helicopters and to be honest on a day to day basis we have a very good working relationship (we have to in order to maintain a safe environment).
As said, visit or at least speak to all of the schools in question and form your own opinion, each school teaches to the same high standard but each has a distinctly different culture. It is the quality of the individual instructor, cultural fit and the learning environment that is critical to your learning progress.
Geoff Painter
I have checked with all 8 of my employees and can confirm that Robbienut is not an employee of my company.
What I must add is that we all have our reasons for doing things and our opinions about other competing businesses but I firmly believe that that information should be kept to oneself and certainly not posted on an internet forum.
The last post referring to Ocean was unnecessary, we do share the airfield with them, we are both very busy operations and between us we operate nearly 20 helicopters and to be honest on a day to day basis we have a very good working relationship (we have to in order to maintain a safe environment).
As said, visit or at least speak to all of the schools in question and form your own opinion, each school teaches to the same high standard but each has a distinctly different culture. It is the quality of the individual instructor, cultural fit and the learning environment that is critical to your learning progress.
Geoff Painter
pm me.
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Wicklow
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Hey all
Im thinking about heading to Ocean Helicopter's in a few weeks and was looking for and heads up/ tips / advice......
Anyone from Ireland been there before?? Have you been able to fly on your FAA PPL(H) in Ireland / UK without any problems or what hurdles have you encountered??? Is there any problem with renting a bird??
Chers
Carl
Im thinking about heading to Ocean Helicopter's in a few weeks and was looking for and heads up/ tips / advice......
Anyone from Ireland been there before?? Have you been able to fly on your FAA PPL(H) in Ireland / UK without any problems or what hurdles have you encountered??? Is there any problem with renting a bird??
Chers
Carl
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Dublin
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Help with Florida Schools
Hi,
I am looking for advise with checking out flying schools. I am visiting Florida in two weeks and have my list of questions I hope to ask. For those of you with the experience or have done it recently I would be very grateful any pointers on what to watch out for/ask. Basically looking to train on a swcheiwer/r22 and move onto the R44 within about 2 months
I have posted here before and I just want to say thanks for the effort people take to answer questions of all the rentless newbies with their 101 questions.
A few questions
1. How much flying time can I get per week
2. Can I pay after each flight (dont want to prepay unless I can aviod it)
3. Visa suitability with the school
4. Flexibility re lessons/bookings etc...
4. how many instructors in the school
I am looking for advise with checking out flying schools. I am visiting Florida in two weeks and have my list of questions I hope to ask. For those of you with the experience or have done it recently I would be very grateful any pointers on what to watch out for/ask. Basically looking to train on a swcheiwer/r22 and move onto the R44 within about 2 months
I have posted here before and I just want to say thanks for the effort people take to answer questions of all the rentless newbies with their 101 questions.
A few questions
1. How much flying time can I get per week
2. Can I pay after each flight (dont want to prepay unless I can aviod it)
3. Visa suitability with the school
4. Flexibility re lessons/bookings etc...
4. how many instructors in the school
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: ireland
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Hi CPI2003,
i'm living not to far from you in meath and i've been going over to Ocean Helicopters in west palm beach. I was there in february for 2 weeks and i'm going back in 2 weeks time for a month. Depending on the day in february i was flying up to 3.5 hours a day and honestly it was fatigue that made me stop not the instructors. Personally i found these guys good and helpful check out there website http://www.oceanhelicopters.com/
i'm living not to far from you in meath and i've been going over to Ocean Helicopters in west palm beach. I was there in february for 2 weeks and i'm going back in 2 weeks time for a month. Depending on the day in february i was flying up to 3.5 hours a day and honestly it was fatigue that made me stop not the instructors. Personally i found these guys good and helpful check out there website http://www.oceanhelicopters.com/
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: London
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Help with Florida schools
I trained for about 10 days March 06 with Tomlinson Aviation inc in Ormond Beach which is just north of Daytona Beach on the atlantic coast. The website is http://www.tomlinsonaviation.com/
This is a company owned by Neal Tomlinson who is very experienced and has been an instructor most of his career. When I was there last year he had two other full time instructors but I think there are now three. They are very flexible in arranging times around the student so no worries there. Also I paid after each lesson by card. They also have mechanics who are licensed for Schweizers, Robinsons and Bell. They teach on Schweizers and I dont remember them having a Robo but this might have changed. They are very friendly, professional and dedicated to safety which impressed me when i was there. I would certainly recommend them. Best bet is to give them a call. The two instructors when I was there were Cindy and Tracey, (the latter is a male). They are very helpful, flexible and I am sure they will be prepared to suit your needs.
As for regulations they will require approval from TSA the US regulatory body before they can instruct you. This means you need to complete forms etc with the TSA which you can do on-line but it costs. Also this will require finger and hand prints. When I did the lessons last year this necessitated me going to Farnborough which was the only licensed site in Europe. Not sure this is still the case. Alternatively you could wait and get finger printing done in USA. After getting all this, although it allows them to train you, there is still a need for a visa as the usual visa waiver green form that tourists can use is not sufficient if you are going there just to learn to fly. I dont know how long this will take at the moment and you might not have time if you are going in two weeks.
Hope this helps.
This is a company owned by Neal Tomlinson who is very experienced and has been an instructor most of his career. When I was there last year he had two other full time instructors but I think there are now three. They are very flexible in arranging times around the student so no worries there. Also I paid after each lesson by card. They also have mechanics who are licensed for Schweizers, Robinsons and Bell. They teach on Schweizers and I dont remember them having a Robo but this might have changed. They are very friendly, professional and dedicated to safety which impressed me when i was there. I would certainly recommend them. Best bet is to give them a call. The two instructors when I was there were Cindy and Tracey, (the latter is a male). They are very helpful, flexible and I am sure they will be prepared to suit your needs.
As for regulations they will require approval from TSA the US regulatory body before they can instruct you. This means you need to complete forms etc with the TSA which you can do on-line but it costs. Also this will require finger and hand prints. When I did the lessons last year this necessitated me going to Farnborough which was the only licensed site in Europe. Not sure this is still the case. Alternatively you could wait and get finger printing done in USA. After getting all this, although it allows them to train you, there is still a need for a visa as the usual visa waiver green form that tourists can use is not sufficient if you are going there just to learn to fly. I dont know how long this will take at the moment and you might not have time if you are going in two weeks.
Hope this helps.
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ireland
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I am currnetly ina similar situation as you cpi2003
I've been doing a bit of research and am thinking bout heading over to bristow academy www.heli.com ina month or so to do my PPL. From my contact through emails with them i have found them pretty good to deal with plus the provide the JAA PPL course so better for Ireland conversion etc. etc.
I am currently just going through the medicals and visa side of things and finances to get the whole thing up and running.
Ive found them good to deal with anyways, their website is very comprehensive so if you check this out they have more than enough info.
But I too am open to suggestions from anyone else as I am still only a newbie in comparison to others also.
I've been doing a bit of research and am thinking bout heading over to bristow academy www.heli.com ina month or so to do my PPL. From my contact through emails with them i have found them pretty good to deal with plus the provide the JAA PPL course so better for Ireland conversion etc. etc.
I am currently just going through the medicals and visa side of things and finances to get the whole thing up and running.
Ive found them good to deal with anyways, their website is very comprehensive so if you check this out they have more than enough info.
But I too am open to suggestions from anyone else as I am still only a newbie in comparison to others also.
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: West Africa
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Things to consider..
Weather.... crap weather = no flying = sitting around, losing ones place in the system and racking up more bills ...rent etc.
You may be scheduled to fly and miss your slot cause the weather is crappy ...and this can happen where you dont fly for weeks ( I mean multiples of )
Ammount of aircraft vs ammount of students = not flying daily due to lack of Aircraft...... they do break & need down time from time to time.
Ammount of Instructors Vs ammount of students = not alwas being able to fly cause your instructor has 5 other students to worry about too.Think about it this way; 6 students X 2hr slots = 12 hrs.. that is some serious flying ... miss a slot & start working back
It all adds up.
Cost of living Vs location
Florida = $$$$ every turn & step..... Florida is very expensive. Period !
Everyone wants the same thing ... to fly every day & get it done ASAP...good luck with that as there is always someone who takes longer than someone else as they get crappy scheduling and so on...keep your eyes open.
Good luck
HF
Weather.... crap weather = no flying = sitting around, losing ones place in the system and racking up more bills ...rent etc.
You may be scheduled to fly and miss your slot cause the weather is crappy ...and this can happen where you dont fly for weeks ( I mean multiples of )
Ammount of aircraft vs ammount of students = not flying daily due to lack of Aircraft...... they do break & need down time from time to time.
Ammount of Instructors Vs ammount of students = not alwas being able to fly cause your instructor has 5 other students to worry about too.Think about it this way; 6 students X 2hr slots = 12 hrs.. that is some serious flying ... miss a slot & start working back
It all adds up.
Cost of living Vs location
Florida = $$$$ every turn & step..... Florida is very expensive. Period !
Everyone wants the same thing ... to fly every day & get it done ASAP...good luck with that as there is always someone who takes longer than someone else as they get crappy scheduling and so on...keep your eyes open.
Good luck
HF
HELOFAN
"Cost of living Vs location
Florida = $$$$ every turn & step..... Florida is very expensive. Period !"
You're joking right!!!!! I dont know what part of Florida you were in, but Florida is NOT expensive to live. Period. It is the cheapest place I have ever lived in the US, and from what I remember it is certainly cheaper than the UK. I have heard of students wasting a ton of money in bars etc, but certainly you can live cheaply.
"Cost of living Vs location
Florida = $$$$ every turn & step..... Florida is very expensive. Period !"
You're joking right!!!!! I dont know what part of Florida you were in, but Florida is NOT expensive to live. Period. It is the cheapest place I have ever lived in the US, and from what I remember it is certainly cheaper than the UK. I have heard of students wasting a ton of money in bars etc, but certainly you can live cheaply.
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Thanks
Hey guys thanks for that.
I going over for a 2 wk holiday first so have a list of about 10 schools Im going to check out while Im over there. I am heading over for two months to get PPL so I want to make sure I have the right place...seeing is believing!!
Anyway thanks for all your suggestions I have a fair idea of what to look out for, any more suggestions are welcome.
I going over for a 2 wk holiday first so have a list of about 10 schools Im going to check out while Im over there. I am heading over for two months to get PPL so I want to make sure I have the right place...seeing is believing!!
Anyway thanks for all your suggestions I have a fair idea of what to look out for, any more suggestions are welcome.