Everyone learns at a different rate so the time needed to finish the program will vary. A full-time student can realistically finish the professional pilot program in 18 months if they fly at least 3-4 times a week and study diligently at home. If you want to be done faster, plan on flying twice a day, 3-4 times per week with lots of studying while not in class.
You can start any time. We offer open enrollment so students can begin whenever they are ready to begin their program. Contact us to schedule your first lesson. We’ll need you to fill out an enrollment application and have your passport (or birth certificate) and secondary photo I.D. for your first lesson. Make sure you meet the FAA’s eligibility requirements found here.
Yes, foreign students can enroll, there is just a little extra paper work required. You will need to register with homeland security through their website, www.flightschoolcandidates.gov. Create a student account and fill out the appropriate paperwork with them. All students need to meet the FAA’s eligibility requirements found here.
Since students learns at different rates, it is hard to predict how much anyone’s final bill will be. A good cost estimate for a private pilot certificate would be between $12-$25,000; our student’s average is around $22,000. Great ways to keep your costs down would be to fly frequently and study, study, study at home. Our flight training catalog gives a good idea of the cost of all of our programs.
Flying helicopters and flying airplanes utilizes two completely different skill sets. How you learn to react to situations in an aircraft is the opposite of how you should handle the same situation in a helicopter. Often having airplane time will require some extra flights to break pre-existing habits.
We love hiring our students and we seek to hire from within our school first. We can never guarantee jobs, but if we have a job opening and there is a student that meets all of the requirements and would be a good fit for our school, they are given preference in the hiring process.
Excellent. There is a shortage of helicopter pilots world-wide, which means great opportunity for graduates. Helicopters are becoming more and more widely used, and the demand for pilots continues to exceed pilot availability. It is a great time to pursue a career in aviation.
After completing a professional pilot program, the typical path is to work as a flight instructor. This gives you time to demonstrate your ability to work in a professional environment while you improve your skills in the helicopter. Aviation is like all industries, and the demand for pilots does change periodically, but the current job outlook is excellent as helicopters are becoming more and more widely used and demand for pilots continues to exceed pilot availability. Commercial pilot work includes opportunities in tourism, transport, external load operations, offshore and remote utility, construction, emergency medical services, firefighting, environmental survey, and pipeline support.
