pilot
Events
-
-
FREE Ground School – Meteorology
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomNext up it’s Meteorology on Tuesday 12th October from 18:00-20:00. Being able to anticipate the weather is akin to a super power for a pilot as will affect you, the aircraft and your operation. In this session we will focus on creating a pre-flight MET briefing, cloud formations, thunderstorms, decoding TAFs and METARs and what to do if you are caught out by the weather.
-
FREE Ground School – Flight Performance & Planning
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomNext up our ground school is Tuesday 26th October we will be focusing on Flight Performance & Planning at the usual time 18:00 - 20:00. The 7 Ps is a British Army adage for Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents P*** Poor Performance.
-
-
FREE Ground School – Radio Telephony
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomWe are super excited for our next session Tuesday 9th November when we will be focusing on Radio Telephony (RT) at the usual time 18:00 - 20:00. We will be joined by special guests ATC and RT examiner Capt Helena Hughes and Radar Controller Amanda Rhodes.
-
FREE Ground School – An evening with Flt. Lt. Richard Luck
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomNext up, our second super special ground school's this month... On Tuesday 23rd November from 18:00-20:00 we are delighted to welcome back guest speaker and friend of the flying school Flight Lieutenant Richard Luck for another trip into this 'Lucky Aviator's' world.
Signing up in 1986 Rich has had an incredible flying career both in the military and commercially. He has flown across the globe in just about every helicopter the RAF have to offer and is now based at RAF Benson as a Puma Operational Evaluation Pilot and spends his spare time writing about his experiences in his blog Behind the Drag Curve link below. Richard will be sharing more of his fabulous stories with us under the wonderful title Mixing Business with Pleasure: A Life in the Support Helicopter World before opening a Q&A session where he will be delighted to answer all questions you have. Whether you are currently learning to fly, studying for your exams or just want to brush up your knowledge, this is a 'not to be missed' Ground School.
-
-
FREE Ground School – Human Performance & Limitations
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomNext session Tuesday 7th December we will be focusing on Navigation at the usual time 18:00 – 20:00. When flying as PIC (pilot in command), you also need to become a navigator too. It’s critical you are able to apply the correct practices to navigational tasks and developing your navigation skills is the very essence of flying solo, hence the importance of this section of the PPL(H) syllabus.
-
FREE Ground School – PPL(H) Quiz Night
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomOur next Ground School is a lockdown favourite on Tuesday 21st December it's our PPL(H) Quiz Night - Christmas Special at our usual time of 18:00 - 20:00. As always, the quiz will be based on questions across the entire theoretical knowledge syllabus from ALPHA to ZULU!
-
-
Student Trip to Duxford via QXC route Winter 2022
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom -
FREE Ground School – Air Law
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomThank you to everyone who joined us for our last session PWQ's. There were some fantastic questions leading to great aviation discussion. Next up this Tuesday 18th January we will be looking at Air Law from 18:00 - 20:00
In simple terms Air Law is a series of rules governing the use of airspace tends to be one of the first exams taken by student pilots as is a requirement prior to your first solo flight. Remember, much of Air Law is common sense and demonstrating good airmanship. Essentially the procedures are there for good reason and you need to prove that you understand them.
This week we will be looking at the Rules of the Air, Sovereignty of Airspace, Airspace Classification, ANO (Air Navigation Order) and all things Air Law. Capt. White will be giving us a few tips on how to learn and more importantly retain the information. This session is perfect for all NEW and pre-solo students and a great way for those more experienced pilots to refresh your memory.
-
Student Trip to Jimmy’s Farm Winter 2022
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomFly with us to this super Suffolk sanctuary. Our first visit was back in 2015 and has since become a bit of a favourite with self fly hirers as a lunch destination with friends or family. Great route options either along the south east coast or cross country with of course the added bonus of the Farm/Wildlife Park to enjoy when you arrive! Great food available on site with a few shops including a butchers/farm shop should you want to take a slice of Suffolk home for tea.
-
-
FREE Ground School – Principles of Flight
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomWe hope you enjoyed last week's Air Law Ground School. It was great to have such an interactive session for what can be a quite laborious topic, I think we proved the point of why not to bash the question banks! On Tuesday 1st February it's one of Capt. White's favourites... Principles of Flight at the usual time 18:00-20:00
Principles of Flight (POF) is best described as the science bit of the PPL course. This time we will refresh our knowledge of the fundamentals of helicopter flight physics, starting from the basics of the main rotor aerodynamics, Bernoulli Principle and flight control. Obviously we can't miss out our POF favourites; Vector force on rotors, Vortex ring including the 'Vuichard Technique' and Flat Back! We will also look at ground effect, autorotation and stability, and how all affect our in-flight decisions as a pilot.
-
Student Trip to Heli Museum Weston-Super-Mare Winter 2022
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomThis is a REAL ROTORHEAD trip! The Helicopter Museum is the largest dedicated Helicopter Collection in the world with over 100 helicopters on display. Exhibits include two of the Queen's Royal Flight helicopters, the current world speed record holder G-LYNX, a Vietnam Veteran Huey and a Russian Hind Gun Ship.
Out of Elstree SW towards Marlow and Henley upon Thames continuing westbound over Reading and through RAF Benson MATZ turning at Newbury Racecourse, over Devizes remaining south of Bristol and to fly over one UK's famous geographical landmark Cheddar Gorge! From there it's NW to Weston Super Mare and the Heli Museum...
-
FREE Ground School – Operational Procedures
Elstree Helicopters Elstree Helicopters, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, United KingdomWe hope you enjoyed Principles of Flight last time, I know many of you were keen to continue on the subject so will try and juggle the schedule to make room for that. Next up is... Operational Procedures on Tuesday 31st August at the usual time 18:00 - 20:00.
For the most part, understanding Operational Procedures requires common sense and often good airmanship is the key. Essentially, the procedures are there for a reason and basically you have to prove you understand them. We will focus on, among others; Squawk codes, flight plans, GARs, radio intercom and headsets, ground resonance, emergency procedures but welcome any suggestions or questions you have across the topic.