Courses

FAR PART 61/141 CERTIFICATION

FAR Part 61 defines the requirements for certification of pilots and flight instructors. It describes the eligibility requirements, aeronautical knowledge, flight experience and limitations for each of the certificates and ratings a pilot may receive. Many general areas such as logging of flight time, testing requirements and flight currency requirements are also covered.

FAR Part 141 details the regulations governing FAA-approved flight training schools. Part 141 includes the specific qualifications needed by the personnel, aircraft and facilities the flight school uses.

When training under Part 141, a student follows a training syllabus that has been tested, proven and approved by the FAA. This ensures that all necessary training areas are covered in a logical and expeditious manner. Some time savings are possible when training under a Part 141 program compared to a Part 61 program. The determination whether a student trains Part 61 or 141 is based upon the most advantageous path for meeting the student's flight training objective.

Private Pilot Certificate

The Private Pilot Certificate allows you to fly for fun, take friends and family for rides, provide yourself with transportation or gain additional knowledge and experience for future ratings.

During the process of achieving your Private Pilot Certificate, you receive instruction in the basic operations of a helicopter. We integrate the ground training with the flight training and students are in the cockpit from day one getting hands-on practical experience. Ground training covers diverse topics such as airport and heliport operations, radio procedures, weather and navigation.

Your first major goal is to fly the helicopter solo. In preparation for your first solo flight, you learn maneuvers such as hovering and autorotations and how to operate safely at a tower-controlled airport. After solo flight training, you move onto more advanced lessons such as night and cross-country flying.

During the final stage of training, you sharpen and polish your skills in preparation for the FAA’s practical examination (checkride) conducted by an FAA-designated examiner. Upon successful completion of the checkride, you are issued a Private Pilot Certificate.

The FAA minimum hourly requirement for a Part 141 Private Pilot Certificate is 35 hours of ground training and a minimum 36 hours of flight training, although the average completion time is around 50-60 flight hours. We cannot guarantee a specific amount of time for your private pilot training because each individual learns at his/her own pace. We do not compromise your safety to guarantee a minimum number of hours towards your certificate.

Instrument Rating

The instrument rating is necessary for flight into adverse weather conditions. Without the instrument rating, you are restricted to flight in fair weather only. Our instrument training program teaches you to control and navigate the aircraft solely by reference to the instruments. The training begins with the basics of attitude flying and progressively moves to advanced approach and landing procedures. We offer numerous options for instrument training equipment including Frasca TruFlite simulators and Robinson R22 and R44 instrument trainers.

The FAA minimum hourly requirement for Part 141 Instrument Rating is 35 hours of flight training and 30 hours of ground training.

Commercial Pilot Certificate

The Commercial Pilot Certificate is required to fly for hire. In addition to perfecting the maneuvers you learned during your private pilot training, your commercial pilot training introduces you to advanced helicopter maneuvers. Your ground training includes advanced helicopter aerodynamics and the rules and regulations governing commercial helicopter operations. A greater emphasis is placed on professionalism, helicopter power management, pinnacles, confined areas and good judgment.

Some students may opt to include an Instrument Rating during the commercial training. This is a way to build the required hours between the Private Pilot Certificate and the Commercial Pilot Certificate.

The FAA minimum hourly requirement for a Part 141 Commercial Pilot Certificate is 30 hours of ground training and 115 hours of flight training. A minimum of 20 of those hours is required to be with a flight instructor, but the actual amount of dual training depends on your choice of additional training modules.

Certified Flight Instructor Rating/Certified Flight Instructor Instrument Rating

Flight Instructor is often the first flying job a commercial pilot will have. A Certified Flight Instructor Rating (CFI) is required for a pilot to give instruction to other pilots, and CFIs are responsible for all aspects of training pilot applicants. Our CFI program is designed to provide you with the skills to instruct both helicopter flight and ground lessons. The primary focus of our CFI program is to train you to be an effective educator, evaluator and motivator.

The Certified Flight Instructor Instrument Rating (CFII) is a natural progression after earning an Instrument Rating and provides you with a much wider variety of training and teaching experiences.

The FAA minimum hourly requirement for a Part 141 CFI Rating is 40 hours of ground training and 25 hours of flight training. Generally, the flight time for the CFI is the difference between your flight time upon earning a Commercial Pilot Certificate and 200 hours of total time which are required for those who wish to instruct in a Robinson R-22. If you plan to instruct in the Schweizer 300CB you may graduate with less than 200 hours total helicopter flight time.

Airline Transport Pilot Certificate

The Airline Transport Pilot Certificate (ATP) is the highest level of aircraft pilot certification. Those certified as Airline Transport Pilots are authorized to pilot an aircraft in air carrier service with a max gross weight over 12,500 pounds or 5,700 kg and/or over nine passenger seats. To achieve an ATP, you must have at least 1,200 hours of flight time.

Specialized Training

During the commercial pilot training, students have the option to expand their experience and education by taking these specialized training courses:

• Turbine Transition Course – We offer a Turbine Transition Course in Bell JetRangers for those students who want to build experience in turbine helicopters. The course covers turbine theory, power management, operational considerations and care of the aircraft. Our turbine instructors have completed a Bell Helicopter factory safety course and have thousands of hours of real-world turbine experience.

• External Load Course – We offer a major advantage over most schools in this area because our charter department is very active in real-world external load operations. Whether we’re fighting fires with a water bucket or lifting an air conditioning unit to the top of a high-rise building, our pilots have the experience desirable to students. We offer this training in either the Schweizer 300CB or the Bell JetRanger.

• Mountain Flying Course – For pilots who have never flown in mountainous terrain, the first experience can be daunting. Taking mountain flying training from one of our instructors is crucial for flight safety. During your training, you fly in the Cascade Range and the Oregon Coast Range, experiencing a wide variety of flight conditions and learning how to avoid dangerous situations.

• Extended Cross Countries – Our helicopters are often available for extended cross-countries for time-building purposes or just long scenic trips. Students have taken our helicopters to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Reno and Las Vegas.