Where can I learn to fly a real heli?

[m1kebr00ks]

Just wondering if anyone knows anywhere you can go for a trial / practice flying a real helicopter?

I found this site where you can enter a comp to win a lesson:

http://www.transformers.toshiba.co.uk/competition.aspx

If you enter and win then I'll be upset...unless you take me with you!

Other than that I'd just like to know how hard it is and whether anyone would recommend it?

[SimonV6]

Found this the other day

http://www.fasthelicopters.com/


Simon

[warboysastro]

Go to WH Smith, they sell a pack for a trial heli lesson.

Be warned, going the full hog is blummin' expensive. I know a few civilian heli pilots, and they've both spent in the region of £20k so far to get their tickets and flying hours in. Not a cheap hobby.

Cheers - Rob

[Heli Hobby]

Self made (without instructor) Flying lesson

See MOVIE

[SimonV6]

OMG.....he could have done with some training gear about 50' wide lol


Simon

[rcheliflyer]

My wife got me a trail lesson with via a Virgin voucher, I went to Dragon Helicopters at Sheffield City Airport.

http://www.dragonhelicopters.co.uk/

It was an amazing experience, and I'd recommend it to anyone. I'd love to take it further, however, as said before you need a minimum of £15K to get your licence. The bit that surprised me was that you only need to fly for 2 hours and pass a test each year to keep it.

[Pulsey]

I had a trial lesson at High Wycombe a couple of years ago. Deffo recommend it and if you take it further I was told that the lesson would count towards your hours. Would love to, but with a young family in tow, I'm told that my money has other priorities....

[Fixxxer]

At a 30% higher crash rate than normal aircraft you can keep your lessons, love every aspect about them but I have only done 1 real heli flight around NY and that was my last.

[Sesame]

Been up in 2 of them loved each flight, they do lessons at my local airport, probably good place to start looking local airports, although not the major ones.

Im just not drawn to the real flying, I find that once your in the air its quite dull, until you land. mate of mine did his ppl years ago and I was always up in one of the clubs planes while he was putting in the hours.

[moyesboy]

Those "red letter day" high street experience gift outfits have a pretty large markup on top of the normal school charges for sailplane/hang glide/paraglide/flying lesson type expiences (and also screwed the operators price down to a minimum - so you can get a rather cut back experience as a result). Its probably the same with all of them.

Be sure to go direct to the heli flying school rather than though an adventure sport agency.

Note that flying a private helicopter is a lottery winners pastime! It may seem overpriced but the companies running helicopters don't make profits in the UK and are often going broke. This was the story I got from a guy last week I met in the south of france who's just flown down there from kent in his very nice compact 5 blade turbine powered heli and stayed in the same digs overnight. I'll post some pics sometime. (He'd tried RC helis and never got past tail in hover).

To make a small fortune in aviation, all you need is to start with a large fortune!

[ryan-oakley]

Last year i had a trial flight in a robinson r22, as i was going to try and obtain my ppl licence. Although because of school and important GCSE exams coming up i was unable to carry on learning to fly as i had too much work on my hands with school, yet alone trying to fly a helicopter and revising for the several exams that they put you through. Although i would highly reccomend it. I did my test flight at heliflight. in Bobbington, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. Everyone there were really helpful they even explained to me a few things about how everything works and also because i lived so close, they even let me fly over my house and over my village. All at my controls!!! Anyway i have got a website it is www.heliflightuk.co.uk I hope this advice is useful to you and also i have posted a picture below of me hovering! he he he

[Sesame]

All this talk of flying the real things made me start wondering, so I did some online searches re my local airport, Southend, what I found was a company who are offering a trial 30 min and 60 min lesson for around £150 and £250 and I tell you what i'm very tempted to have a go, I always found flying the real thing a little dull, but I think a heli would definately be diferent.

[warboysastro]

As a one-off 'something exciting to do' I'd say go for it.

Just bear in mind to go the full-hog and gain your PPL, you're looking in the region of £20k as I mentioned before.

Mind you, one heli pilot I know jacked in a very lucrative job to do his training, and now with a commercial ticket, he earns even more.

5 and the bonus out of Guinevere and I'd probably sign up for some lessons

Cheers - Rob

[mattydred]

hi mate, i had my first lesson a couple of weeks ago. central helicopters at tollerton airfield. just down the road from you. it was brilliant mate - i highly recommend them. check out the link
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMCpff6Lp2k[/ame]

[pxr5]

ive always been a frustrated pilot thats why i fly rc and use flight sims but id never fly again. i know its safe but if something happens you're almost certainly worm food.