Overview
Hields Aviation provides a variety of courses for aspiring helicopter pilots.
Our ideal Sherburn Airfield location, outside controlled airspace, means less holding time with air traffic control, allowing full time concentration on flying.
Start with a low cost trial lesson to give you an insight into the thrill of helicopter flying with immediate hands on experience. The trial lessons are extremely popular for enthusiasts wishing to fulfil the ambition of flying a helicopter as well as being the ideal introduction for potential private pilots or even someone embarking on a career as a commercial helicopter pilot.
The effects of the helicopter controls will be explained to you and during the flight you will learn how to turn, climb and descend, how to fly straight & level, how to keep the aircraft balanced, while enjoying the thrill of flying and the fantastic view. You might even attempt the difficult exercise of low level hovering.
Contact us to arrange your trial lesson and explore the links on the right to discover more about learning to fly.
Private Pilots Licence
Hields Aviation offers a variety of courses to aspiring helicopter pilots.
The course enables you to pilot a helicopter and take friends or family with you. It consists of a minimum 45 hours flight training followed by a General Flight Test. In addition to the flying, there are also 7 ground examinations - don’t worry too much about these though as in addition to the standard books you need to read, we have excellent ground instructors available to help you.
Once the student pilot has obtained his/her Private Pilots Licence/Helicopters, (PPL/H), issued by the Civil Aviation Authority CAA), they can then build their flying experience in a number of ways. In order to keep the licence current, you must fly a minimum of 2 hours per year on each type of aircraft you are rated on, and complete an annual flight check.
The qualified pilot can further their experience by qualifying on other types of helicopters, for example the Robinson R44. This 4 seat aircraft is proving very popular on a self fly hire basis because it is fast (125mph) and enables 4 people to be carried in comfort. In order to convert to another helicopter type you need to complete a 5 hour conversion course followed by a flight test.
The European JAR PPL(H) Course consists of:
- A minimum of 45 hours of flight training including
- 10 hours solo flight time
- 5 hours solo cross-country
- 1 cross-country flight has to be at least 100 nautical miles and include landing away at two licenced airfields en-route
- A final skills test taken with a flight examiner within six months of completing the flight instruction
- 7 ground exams
- Radio Telephony (RT) oral exam
Commercial Pilots Licence
Hields Aviation offers a variety of courses to those who are already qualified. Hields Aviation offers CAA approved training for a commercial licence.
Initially training for and gaining the PPL-H, followed by hour building up to the required 155 hours total flight time. In conjunction with the hour building programme, the student has to complete a CPL correspondence course covering all the ground subjects involved.
For the ground school, Hields Aviation strongly recommends Bristol Ground School at Bristol Airport. Their course is split into two sensible modules which you study before participating in a 2 week intensive course at Bristol. The exams then follow in the week after. This takes place for each module.
It is recommended to pass all the ground subjects before completing the final 35 hours flying tuition at Sherburn, under the guidance of a CAA approved commercial instructor, before undergoing the final CFT. This flight test is carried out by an examiner from the CAA Flying Unit. The 35 hour modular flying course is available all year round.
VAT can be reclaimed by candidates successfully obtaining a Professional Licence. Hields Aviation will offer work experience to all successful candidates in an effort to enhance their employment prospects
Ground School Exams
Our experienced instructors can arrange ground school classes at a time to suit you. We can arrange classes for groups or arrange one to one tuition. We recommend that you purchase a helicopter study pack. We can provide the study pack via Sherburn Airfield which will give you all the relevant documents for your flight training.
The ground exams are as follows:
- Aviation Law & Operational Procedures
- Human Performance and Limitations
- Navigation and Radio Aids
- Meteorology
- Aircraft (General) & Principals of Flight
- Flight Performance and Planning
- Communications (PPL) (written and oral)
The written examinations are multi-choice, with a pass mark of 75%.
The written exams and the Radio Telephony oral examination are all taken at Sherburn Airfield with our own examiners.
Once you have passed all the exams and passed a final flight test you will be able to explore on your own, with friends and family.
Instructor Rating
The helicopter flight instructor course qualifies the candidate to teach other students to PPL(H) standard. Initially you a limited to working under the supervision of a more experienced instructor until you have gained 100 hours of instructional experience and 25 supervised solo flights.
To start the course you are required to hold either a CPL(H) and have 250 total flying hours (100 of which must be Pilot-In-Command) or have passed JAR- CPL(H)/ATPL(H) examinations and have 250 total flying hours (200 of which must be Pilot-In-Command).
The course consists of 30 hours flying, 150 hours Ground School and is available all year round.
VAT can be reclaimed by candidates successfully obtaining a Professional Licence. Hields Aviation will offer work experience to all successful candidates in an effort to enhance their employment prospects.
Type Ratings
Conversion is a 5-hour course followed by a type-rating test. This new type is then endorsed by the Civil Aviation Authority onto your licence. The courses usually take place over a minimum of 3 days.
We are currently approved to conduct type ratings on the following aircraft:
- Bell 47 Series
- Bell 206 Series
- Hughes 269 Series
- Hughes 369 Series
- Robinson R22
- Robinson R44
- Eurocopter SA341
- Eurocopter EC120
- Hiller 12E Series
Licence Proficiency Check
The LPC is an annual check flight by an examiner that must be taken in order to keep your helicopter rating current. An LPC is required for each type rating on your licence.
The annual minimum flight time is 2 hours as pilot in command of the relevant helicopter. The LPC flight time is usually a minimum of 0.7 of an hour.
This check can be taken any time within the 3 months immediately preceding the expiry date of the rating.
Please contact us to arrange your LPC at Sherburn Airfield or at a location of your choice.
Hour Building
Once you have obtained you PPL(H), you can then self fly hire the aircraft on our fleet. For those wishing to gain flying experience and time we can structure your flying to build up a good deal of varied flying. This can often include pairing you up with more experienced flyers and someone at the same level as yourself so the knowledge can be shared and costs reduced.
Discount is available for block purchases of hours and a lower rate is also available for those wishing to hour build mid-week only.
Advanced Flying
Advanced flying is simply anything you want to cover to enhance your skills. This might be simply revision of any aspect of the PPL syllabus such as auto-rotations, navigation or confined area approaches.
As a new pilot it’s probably a good idea to periodically fly with an experienced instructor to improve your skills and to do advanced flying safely.
As an experienced pilot you might want to experience night flying or London helicopter route training or simply brush up on auto-rotations.
Whatever your idea or requirement, we can arrange it for you.
Self Fly Hire
Once you have your private pilots licence then you can hire a helicopter at our competitive rates. You can take friends and family for a flight to locations such as Swinton Castle near Masham, The Devonshire Arms Hotel at Bolton Abbey, or Walton Hall near Wakefield.
You’ll need to have flown within the last 6 weeks and have your licence, log book and medical certificate available. If you haven’t flown recently we’ll ask you to take a short check flight with one of our instructors.
FAQs
Are there any age limits?
There’s no upper age limit and as long as you are reasonably fit & well. Flight training can begin at 14 years old but solo flights cannot be undertaken before the age of 16 years. You need to be 17 years old to gain a pilot’s licence.
Are there any height or weight limits?
As long as you can reach the pedals if you flight training then height isn’t a big problem. Ideally in the Robinson R22 you will probably need to be under 6’4” (1.9m) and no heavier than 17 stone (108kg). The Robinson R44 can accommodate taller and heavier persons but no heavier than 21 stone (134kg) per seat. For the 4 seat Robinson R44 helicopter the average weight per person for 3 passengers and pilot would be about 14 stone (about 200kg).
Is it safe?
Our instructors and commercial pilots are trained to CAA standards, and are fully CAA licenced & approved. They undergo annual safety checks and medicals for fitness to fly as well as having many 100’s, and often 1000’s of hours experience. Our AOC licence from the CAA commits us to very stringent safe working methods of operation and our aircraft undergo regular compulsory safety checks and maintenance. The maintenance has to be done at an approved maintenance organisation. Should an engine failure happen then pilots are trained to glide the aircraft to a safe landing called an auto-rotation. So you can see we take safety very seriously, ensuring that pilots and aircraft are fit for purpose. Sherburn Airfield is a CAA licenced airfield; pilot training must be undertaken from a licenced airfield.
How many hours does it take to get a pilot’s licence?
The CAA minimum is 45 hours. The UK average is about 65 hours however at Hields Aviation the typical time taken to obtain your licence is about 55 hours.
Exams worry me, are they difficult?
All the written subjects use multi-choice tests where the pass mark is 75%. As long as you have read & understood the course books and completed sample questions then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t pass the tests first time. You can study for as long as you need to and then take a particular test. Our experienced instructors are always willing to assist your studying, and are happy to answer questions.
Do I need to pass a medical?
You only need to be reasonably fit and healthy to be a passenger. For obvious reasons a pilot needs to pass some basic medical checks. A Class 2 medical is required for a private pilots licence and a Class 1 medical is required for an instructor or commercial pilots licence. Certain conditions like epilepsy or anything causing blackouts would unfortunately bar you from becoming a pilot. However we can put you in contact with CAA approved doctors in your local area who can issue medical certificates. If in doubt then please consult your GP in the first instance for advice.
How long is my licence valid for?
Your pilots licence needs to be validated every year for each type of helicopter that you are rated on. You need to fly a minimum of 2 hours on each type per year. You need to keep your medical certificate current – the period between checks being dependent on your age and licence type.
How do I get started for a pilots licence?
The best way to experience helicopters is to book a trial lesson with us. We’ll brief you about the helicopter and you’ll experience the controls one by one to learn their effects. If you like the thrilling experience, and we are sure you will, then it’s just matter of booking lessons on the formal course and doing them as regularly as you wish.
How much does it cost?
The following are typical examples prices only and the final cost can be much cheaper depending on how much time you book.
| Robinson R22 flight | £230 per hour |
| Robinson R44 flight | £375 per hour |
| Robinson R22 self fly hire | £185 per hour |
| Robinson R44 self fly hire | £320 per hour |
| Bell 206B Jetranger self fly hire | £495 per hour |
| LPC check | £150 + aircraft time |
| G-OTVI Robinson TV helicopter | www.go-tv-eye.co.uk |
All prices are subject to VAT
Landing fees at some venues are chargeable
Can the helicopter land anywhere I want it to?
We can land almost anywhere, with some common sense and legal limitations. The CAA is most concerned about safety. They prohibit landing on any area where the landing would represent a "hazard" to persons or property on the ground. However, if you have the property owner's permission, the area is large enough and unobstructed, and has a clear approach, then we can land almost anywhere. Permission is usually required in writing and some venues, such as sporting events, require special permission.
How low can you fly?
It’s about what you are flying over really. Over people & property you should not be any lower than 500 feet. Over a major urban area the basic rule is no lower than 1000 feet but you may need to be higher as the guidance states you need to be able to glide safely to a suitable landing site if the engine fails. Below 500 feet and it’s more about the safety limitations of the aircraft for other than taking off or landing. We’ll explain all this is accordance with your flight.
Are young children allowed on pleasure flights?
Generally anyone can be a passenger on a pleasure flight. Young children should be accompanied by an adult.
Learn to Fly
Air Operators
Certificate Number
GB2183
