Helicopter Flight Training
KiwiAir Helicopters is pleased to offer flight instruction in the Robinson R44 Raven II. We will help you acquire your FAA Rotorcraft Helicopter license(s) by providing quality flight instruction and assisting you with your understanding of the required aeronautical knowledge.
Why learn to fly helicopters at KiwiAir?
We are not a traditional flight school. We are a Part 135 operator and our pilot(s) are also certified flight instructors who happen to enjoy teaching.
The flight industry in the US is set up so that the first job(s) that a new pilot can get is as a flight instructor. While this helps to keep the cost of learning to fly down (compared to Europe, for example), it also means that, for the most part, new students are learning to fly from instructors with only a couple hundred hours of flight time. It also means that students may be learning from instructors who do not really want to teach, or do not have a natural ability or desire to teach, but instead are providing instruction because they have to. Instructing to them is merely a means to an end ... the end being the next level of helicopter pilot jobs avaialbe to them.
At KiwiAir, we offer helicopter flight instruction not because we have to, but rather because we enjoy doing so. We feel that because of our real world flying experiences and thousands of hours of flying helicopters (rather than only hundreds), we are able to offer a more refined and higher level of flight instruction. We also have a good understanding and working knowledge of the written material, so rather than just reading or regurgitating the material, we can actually teach the material to you so that you comprehend it and can correlate your knowledge with your flying abilities. This is important for you in becoming a safe and successful pilot.
We are located in an area with diverse and challenging topography. The local climate also allows us to fly all year round. But any and every flight school seems to claim to have a great environment and weather in which to fly. So why fly here? The best advice we can give is to learn to fly in the type of environment, or close to it, in which you think you eventually want to fly. In other words, if you want to fly in the mountains, learn to fly in and around the mountains. If you want to fly over open water to oil rigs, perhaps it would serve you better to learn to fly in a similar environment. In this region, we have rugged mountains, scenic rivers, timbered wilderness, as well as prairies and rolling hills of agiriculture, all within easy reach. Personally, I love the mountains and surrounding topography/geography. If you see yourself wanting to fly in and around the mountain and backcountry, then why not learn to fly from experienced pilots of have thousands of hours in this type of environment?
KiwiAir is not a big flight school. We are not trying to recruit scores of students. We are not low time pilots on our first helicopter job trying to build hours by instructing. Instead, we are seasoned pilots who enjoy teaching, and we are looking for a few students who are serious about learning to fly helicopters. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you and helping you achieve your goal of becoming a safe and successful licensed helicopter pilot.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or to schedule an introductory flight! The introductory flight is a great way to get you on the controls and discover if you have what it takes to learn to fly a helicopter.
509.751.9000 or
fly@kiwiairhelicopters.com
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