Best School?

[Winnie]

And pay as little up front as possible!

 

Some of us (It's not my school, but I run it), only use "pay as you go", but the students usually pay in bulk to save banking fees... 4 months from start to finish, with a few hours a day ocasionally... could go quickly through 10,ooo bucks...

 

But we do NOT require large downpayments, and anybody that leave, will get ALL their (unused) monies back. NO admin fees, or any other "silly fees"

 

80 hours Groundschool, 100 hours flying whichever way you like, and licensing fees (and of course a slab of cash to Albert Ross for books...

 

Cheers

Winnie

[Freefall]

My dad encouraged me to train on the 47 like he did, and so it was a factor in my decision of which school I was going to. It didnt take me very long to appreciate this advice. We had the airport to ourselves on rainy days when the 300's were on the ground, and our emergencies went to the dirt or the pavement everytime, be there wind or not. Certanly you don't need a 47 to do autos to the ground or fly in the rain but I just use those as examples I noticed. There are other characteristics I appreciated as well.

 

I think if you can provide the money and afford it the best machine to learn the ropes in is the Jetranger. Do you need a turbine to learn how to hover? No, but someone with a 100hrs in a jetranger will be more comfortable going to work in it than someone with 7 or 8 hours in it. It wont be a realistic option for most people (it wasn't for me) and thats fine. We do the best we can with what we have.

 

Like most factors in choosing a school, this alone shouldn't be the ultimate factor that makes or breaks the institution. Depending on your personal situation, I think you could train on any number of aircraft and still walk away as an above average 100hr pilot.

[DrDukeSolomon]

Back to the 22 vs 47. Did full ons in both, the more realistic autos were in the 47. Way more fun to fly. Plain and simple, the 47 allows you to take emergency training (stuck pedals, autos) to a higher level. Flying the 22 will give you good handling abilities. Just my opinion.

 

the Duke

[Cole]

A little rain never hurt the 300? Full down autos and pedal jams almost all the time.

 

I do hear the transit from the 47 to the 206 is amazingly easy though... Not that I found the 300 a large jump at all.

[Flash]

If you can fly a 22 you can fly anything

[rotorheadrob]

You guys aren't really trying to convince me a 22 @ 800 lbs empty weight is on par with a machine like my 47 G4 which has the power to lift a 22 are ya. come on. Sure you can do an auto in one but nothing close to what we can do in our machine. Pedals to the ground, sure a 300 can, but full rights for an hour straight.

 

Lets look at the #s

 

---------------------Bell 206----------Bell 47 G4------R44--------Bell 47 G2--------R22 -----------300 CBI

 

Empty Weight......1900 lbs............1900 lbs..........1506 lbs.......1800 lbs..........855 lbs..........1088 lbs

 

Gross Weight........3200 lbs ..........2950 lbs..........2500 lbs.......2450 lbs..........1350 lbs........1750 lbs

 

Useful Load..........1300 lbs............1050 lbs..........994 lbs.........650 lbs............515 lbs...........662 lbs

 

Over all length.......39.2 ft.............43.63 ft............38.25 ft ......38.37 ft...........28.75 ft..........30.83 ft

 

Power Limit...........317 hp..............260 hp............246 hp..........200 hp............131 hp...........180 hp

 

Hourly Rate..........$1100...............$500................$700.............$465..............$450.............$450

 

 

So you 22 and 300 fans are trying to tell me you can simulate a days work in those little machines, ya you can learn to get a license in one but can you do a days work in one. Why is it I do so much advanced training in my G4 with people who trained in those machines? And why is it those people have very little knowledge on how to COMPLETE an emergency or how to do a REAL confined area.

Ya the instructor, and area you train in matters, but if the school you attend is really concerned about your education why do they use these "ultralights"! The machine is the tool an instructor uses to teach with, so how do you teach with half a helicopter.

 

The 47 G4 should not be confused with the G2, looks the same, but way more heli for the money.

 

I just remembered why schools use less machine, less cost = more profit, not a better training experience.

 

412 you are right I am bragging, why, because I have the best teaching too for the $ of any school I know of.

 

If the heli you train in is irrelevant, why not use a rotorway exec, you could do that for dam near free.

 

Get a commercial experience not just a license!

 

 

As always, just my thoughts

 

Rob

[DrDukeSolomon]

You guys aren't really trying to convince me a 22 @ 800 lbs empty weight is on par with a machine like my 47 G4 which has the power to lift a 22 are ya. come on. Sure you can do an auto in one but nothing close to what we can do in our machine. Pedals to the ground, sure a 300 can, but full rights for an hour straight.

 

Lets look at the #s

 

---------------------Bell 206----------Bell 47 G4------R44--------Bell 47 G2--------R22 -----------300 CBI

 

Empty Weight......1900 lbs............1900 lbs..........1506 lbs.......1800 lbs..........855 lbs..........1088 lbs

 

Gross Weight........3200 lbs ..........2950 lbs..........2500 lbs.......2450 lbs..........1350 lbs........1750 lbs

 

Useful Load..........1300 lbs............1050 lbs..........994 lbs.........650 lbs............515 lbs...........662 lbs

 

Over all length.......39.2 ft.............43.63 ft............38.25 ft ......38.37 ft...........28.75 ft..........30.83 ft

 

Power Limit...........317 hp..............260 hp............246 hp..........200 hp............131 hp...........180 hp

 

Hourly Rate..........$1100...............$500................$700.............$465..............$450.............$450

 

 

So you 22 and 300 fans are trying to tell me you can simulate a days work in those little machines, ya you can learn to get a license in one but can you do a days work in one. Why is it I do so much advanced training in my G4 with people who trained in those machines? And why is it those people have very little knowledge on how to COMPLETE an emergency or how to do a REAL confined area.

Ya the instructor, and area you train in matters, but if the school you attend is really concerned about your education why do they use these "ultralights"! The machine is the tool an instructor uses to teach with, so how do you teach with half a helicopter.

 

The 47 G4 should not be confused with the G2, looks the same, but way more heli for the money.

 

I just remembered why schools use less machine, less cost = more profit, not a better training experience.

 

412 you are right I am bragging, why, because I have the best teaching too for the $ of any school I know of.

 

If the heli you train in is irrelevant, why not use a rotorway exec, you could do that for dam near free.

 

Get a commercial experience not just a license!

 

 

As always, just my thoughts

 

Rob

 

:punk:

[Helilog56]

:up: Attaboy Rob :punk:

[Skidbiter]

I say it has more to do with the instructor than the heli, but I think that training in the R22 with its lower power margin than your 300/Bell 47 etc is better.

 

It soon teaches you to make sure you always have an escape route, yes I know you can load the other machines up to get the same effect, but I don't think you would be less of a pilot because you trained in an R22, I tend to say maybe a better one (depending on you instructor).

 

 

I did my training in the R22 because the price was right and the boss owned one, and the 300's were just that much more per hour, that was before the CBi, so not sure now on price.

 

My 2 cents

 

Dam weather!!!

[Daz]

I spent a lot of time debating where I should go to school and what machine to train in. in the end I signed up with Bighorn in Calgary, for a few reasons:

 

- It's somewhat close to home (I live in Invermere)

- I have family in Calgary where I can stay

- After visiting Bighorn and meeting everyone (Including Richard Alzetta), I came away feeling really good about the place.

- It's near the mountains and at a relatively high density altitude (compared to the coast).

 

But, one thing I've noticed is that those that have trained in the 47 are very passionate about that machine. That did make me think about moving to the coast.

 

So, here's the $1 000,000 question:

 

Did the machine you trained in get you your first job?

 

Or to ask from a different angle - if you were hiring 100 hour wonders, would the machine the new pilot trained in make or break their chances of getting a job?