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Coming Soon – Commercial Helicopter Training
Yorkshire Helicopters will soon be positioned to offer Commercial Helicopter Pilot Training and Certification from our base here in Yorkshire. Becoming a professional helicopter pilot is a lifetime’s ambition for a great many people. Few go on to achieve this objective, yet with the correct training, mentoring and accumulation of experience and flight hours, it is perfectly possible to fly helicopters for a living.
So What Does It Take to Become a Commercial Helicopter Pilot?
The commercial helicopter pilot course is obviously a much more difficult course of training, yet achieving it is immensely rewarding.
You will be pushed harder on accuracy and crisp decision making during the Commercial Helicopter Flight Training Course.
Designed to take 4 to 6 weeks subject to weather and other operational factors, to begin the course you must meet the following requirements:
- Be 18 or over
- Hold a PPL(H) – see our Private Pilot Licence information
- Hold a Class 1 Medical
- Have a total flight time of at least 155 hours, of which 50 must be as Pilot in Command and 10 of which ‘cross country’
- Hold a valid type rating on the R44 – this can also be provided. We use the R44 for all of our training
- Have gained a pass in all of either the CPL or ATPL Theoretical Examinations
The flying course consists of 20 hours visual flying and 10 hours instrument flying (30 total) with emphasis on more accurate navigation and greater handling skill. The aim is to prepare you to safely carry trusting and paying passengers. There is also a focus on crisp decision making, and threat & error management skills.
The course is designed to take around a month on a full time basis, subject to weather and other operational factors.
Most candidates will also require 5 hours of night training in addition to the 30 hour course – unless you already hold the night rating.
On completion of the training and a successful test with a CAA Examiner, you are now in a position to be employed within the industry, usually in a starting role flying single engine helicopters such as the R44 or Bell 206.