Capt Rory McNamara
I can pretty clearly remember the conversation that put into motion the events that eventually helped me end up as a helicopter pilot. It was Late 2020, and I was watching the T.V show “Everest Rescue” on the discovery channel, a show which centres around the helicopter pilots who provide lifesaving and essential utility and rescue work among some of the highest and most dangerous mountains in the world. I was especially taken aback by the bravery and efforts of the pilots flying in some of the most difficult and precarious circumstances. And most importantly, I was especially impressed in the machines they operated to do this important work.
I had been watching the show alongside my parents who prompted me completely out of the blue: “would you like to do that one day?” I nodded somewhat sarcastically at the time because I thought to myself: “that isn’t the kind of thing people like me do”, but the more I thought on it, the more I knew I had to do it.
The following few weeks I began seriously delving into how I’d become a helicopter pilot. As I progressed through my research it began to dawn on me this would be no easy feat! (Duh). 9 Theory exams, at *least* 45 flight hours if not more, along with a serious monetary investment with no guarantee I’d even have the aptitude to see it all through! To further complicate things, there are precisely zero helicopter flight schools back home in my home of bonnie Scotland! I was going to have to move away somewhere fulltime to do this.
After much deliberation I settled on a school in The Midlands. I had been generally pretty impressed by their flashy advertising and the huge fleet of aircraft they operated for training. I was under the impression that somewhere as large and organised as this, I couldn’t go wrong! I bit the bullet and said my goodbyes to bonnie Scotland and made the move to Leicester to fulltime to chase this crazy dream. Little did I know what I had gotten myself into.
My first flying lesson would have been in June 2021 and overall my first few months at this school were by and large pretty positive. I flew my first solo in early October, a day that’s impossible to forget if you’re a pilot. There is really nothing else quite like that first lift without an instructor in the left hand seat. How readily the helicopter lifts without the extra weight, the combination of raw power and sheer mechanical complexity whirring away above you and you’re left in sole charge of managing it all. I knew at this point I’d made the right choice to chase this dream.
Unfortunately the headiness of that first solo was not to last. The following few months were notably less positive. General apathy and rudeness from management along with a clearly beleaguered and overworked instructing staff made getting any lessons at all extremely difficult even when I gave them my complete availability and flexibility. It was now August 2022 and my training had all but stalled after months diminishing and sporadic flying lessons. And consequently, my confidence was utterly shattered.
It was at this point I was genuinely on the verge of giving up on this all. I’d uprooted my life, moved to another city and paid a not-insignificant amount of money to a school who had all but kicked me to the kerb. “…If I couldn’t make it work here, maybe I’m just not cut out for flying…” I remember thinking at the time.
I had begun seriously debating moving back home to Scotland and resuming my life as normal and putting this all behind me. But after thinking on it for some time I promised myself before I do that I’d at least try see if there was another school elsewhere in the country I could continue my training with.
Having already had my fingers burnt, I was very cautious in my research in looking for somewhere to continue my training. I had contacted a number of different schools around England but the one that had stuck out the most through my conversations over the phone was Flying Pig / Elstree Helicopters. A far departure from the sterile, impersonal corporate environment of my previous school I was immediately won over by the more personal, family run environment that was offered there. I decided to take another leap and book an hour trial lesson to really get a feel for the school.
The trial lesson came and went and even from that early point I felt exceptionally at ease and looked after at Flying Pig. I was especially impressed by the professionality, skill and experience of Paul White who I had my first flight with, along with the friendlessness and helpfulness of all the staff. I decided this had to be the place I would get my pilot’s licence!
Switching schools midway through training is no easy feat as it turns out – having to learn a whole new set of airfield procedures along with the overall higher standard of flying that was expected of me made for some of the most challenging flying I’ve done to date! But once again between my two fantastic instructors James & Paul, the transition was made as easy as possible and even after a short time here I could feel myself regaining confidence in my flying abilities.
My training went strength to strength over the following months at Flying Pig and come June 2023 I was finally ready to sit my final skills test for my licence. The culmination of two and a half years of effort and it all sat on what I did on that day. Needless to say, I was very nervous!
On that fateful day I had arrived very early around 7am to make sure I had everything in place to start, and finally around midday after the planning phase of the test it was time to sit the flight portion. Thinking back on it now, the flight itself wasn’t only one of the most challenging helicopter flights I’ve done, but probably one of the most challenging things I’ve done in my life full stop. Two hours of back to back manoeuvres coupled with nerves is seriously exhausting. It came and went and at the end we landed back at Elstree aerodrome – I had convinced myself I hadn’t done quite enough at this point to pass and I was preparing myself for the worst. The examiner and I made our way back to the school to debrief our flight and I was preparing myself for the let-down.
Needless to say you can imagine my shock when I heard the words… “You’ve passed”.
I think I was genuinely in shock hearing that! After everything I had battle through from the previous two and half years it seemed so surreal to finally have it all vindicated. June 15th 2023 was the day I finally became a helicopter pilot. And it wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of everyone at Flying Pig & Elstree Helicopters who had all but saved me from giving up on this dream all those months ago.
I still think about that television show “Everest Rescue” and the small yet important part it played in helping me get here. I sincerely hope one day to be doing the same kind of flying as the pilots who inspired me all those years ago. While I still have a little while to go before that, I’m really chuffed to have made it to where I am now. If anyone else is currently on this path I really encourage you to stick with it. It may very well seem impossible at points, but getting a helicopter pilot’s licence is probably one of the most challenging and gratifying things you’ll ever do! And when you eventually do see the end, you won’t just be a helicopter pilot, but also a better person for it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this
Rory McNamara