Coast Helicopter College

[RB]

Does anybody have any info about VIH's new FTU in Sidney?.

[412driver]

apparently not............

[RDM]

ooops.......missed the thread I quess RB, ya it is actually not "VIH"s FTU any longer, but run by the same crew (CFI) and such. They have advert's in all the latest rags, look them up an give them a jingle.

[Bush Bunny]

Is this the same concept as fixed wing Flight Colleges?

[Ryan]

Hope I can answer some questions about CHC, I'm attending this spring if I can scatch up the cash ( you know what I mean ). Not too sure how fixed wing FTU's are run or what is included, but I'll tell you what I know.

 

What I know is it is pretty much the same deal you get at many heli pilot training schools. The majority of flight time is on the R-22, with about 10 hours on a 206 for some turbine experience for your endorsment. There is also a little long line training as well as water bucket training and other goodies like that. Also, they teach full autorotations right to the ground. This is important to know as there are those few companies out there who do not do this, but rather teach power-on recoveries.

 

So really it's the exact same course offered by VIH back when they owned the school. In fact about the only change has been the owner and name of the school. Plus the price has gone up but that's the same story across the country. The course will run you about $50,000 over the 4 months start to finish. The course is offered from September-December and February-May, and there is room for about 4 to 6 students for each, so book early as there is a long line to get in...trust me! CHC also offers night ratings and IFR training as well for those with the hours/money/time.

 

Hope this answered some questions you may have about CHC. If you like feel free to email me through this site. I live on the island myself, and if you do too perhaps we could get together and chat over a beer about how much debt we'll be in very soon.

 

Cheers....Ryan.

[rainman]

Hey Ryan, I wish you the best of luck with school in the spring. I trained with VIH and did my flight test with B.R. I have nothing but good things to say about all that. I think training in Victoria is great because it offers a lot of diverse topography, so it's a good intro to coastal flying.

 

Study hard, keep your nose clean and remember to have fun with it. After training is one of the toughest times your likely going to have ever. There are exeptions to that rule, but none the less, good luck.

 

Rainman

[Over-Talk]

Please be careful with the label CHC.

 

It usually refers to Canadian Helicopter Corporation.

 

I don't believe it is related in any way to the other CHC discussed here, Coast Helicopter College.

 

One has a very good people running it, the other is the largest helicopter company in the world !!

[Ryan]

Oops....thanks Over-Talk for pointing out my goof with the above mentioned "CHC" tag. That's the second time I've done that. The last time was a mix up between Airborne Energy Solutions (needs no intro I'm sure) and Aviation Egress Systems (which I'd called AES for short).

Sorry if I caused any confusionand and stepped on toes.

Thanks for the kind words rainman! Are you still on the island? If so let me know.

[rainman]

Hey, Ryan. Nope not on the island anymore, although Victoria will always be my home.

 

I'm holding the fort up north on the rainey coast, hoping the wind won't take my roof away before Christmas.

 

Hope you enjoy flying with BR, it's always fun and interesting.

 

Merry hoho to ya

 

Rainman

[jfk]

B.R. at Coast Heli College did my conversion ride for me. He was great, let me browse the training material for the writtens and then did my ride early one Saturday morning. Another school that does lic conversions in BC told me that ti was going to take me 10 hours of flying and at least a grand in ground. I think I did everything with Bob for under a 700 bucks (retal, ride, Transport fee's).

 

The advantge I see with his school, you get a very experienced instructor. Also he limits the amount of people he takes on, so you get the attention your dollars deserve. The equiptment is nice and well maintained.

 

From what I have seen of a few schools in BC, I would go to B.R. in a heart beat.

 

Hope this helps

 

JFK