completely dried up. In the two years fol- lowing the collapse, I saw at least 15 schools become victims of circumstance and go out of business. At some point in late 2010, I began to
F
see a shift in strategy among helicopter schools. They were not only scouring the earth for paths to new revenue streams, they were inventing new products and pro- grams out of thin air. Colleges, Part 141, VA money, and specialty training pro- grams became the saviors of most schools operating in a tough market, and it’s still true to this day. Many unique and interest- ing training programs have surfaced over the last couple of years and I thought I would share a small sampling of them.
FILLING THE 100 HOUR GAP For example, Mountain Ridge Helicop-
ters in Logan, Utah has been providing traditional Private Pilot through ATP flight training for the last 5 years. They are lo- cated north of Salt Lake City in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Oper- ating R22’s in 7000+ density altitudes, they are focused on providing a safe, con- trolled, and cost-effective learning envi- ronment in mountainous terrain. The owners of Mountain Ridge also op-
erate a commercial outfit that performs fire fighting, heli-skiing, game management and utility operations, so it is safe to say that they have personal knowledge of the skills required to be successful the real world. As a result of this experience, they also recognize that a gap exists between what good flight schools are producing, and what the commercial world is demanding. The historical model has been for flight schools to cost effectively train pilots to meet the PTS minimums, while the com- mercial industry was burdened with train- ing those pilots for real world operations. While Mountain Ridge Helicopters has
enjoyed a very successful placement rate of their students into the industry, they re- alize the challenges flight school graduates face in securing those highly competitive
36 June 2012
ast forward to the fall of 2008, when the U.S. financial mar- kets collapsed, the nail was driven into the coffin of many schools when funding sources
first jobs. Many new CFI’s attempt to dif- ferentiate themselves with another 100 hours of time building. While that can be effective, it is typically done in straight and level cross-country flight, with little additional skill acquisition. Mountain Ridge has introduced a cre-
ative new program that provides a low- cost option to secure those additional 100 hours, while safely gaining advanced skills that assist in getting that first CFI position and ultimately differentiate them in the commercial market.
STARTING OUT
Part I of the course is an Introduction to Mountain Ridge Helicopters' standards. It includes 25 hours of flight with a CFII per- forming autorotations; off-airport confined and pinnacle landings at altitudes above 5000 feet, and advanced emergency proce- dures. Part II is 50 hours of complex Sce- nario Based Training (SBT) involving mountain cross-country, night flying, and complex Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) drills with an instructor on board. Part III of the course has two options. Op- tion A involves 25 hours of additional train- ing on Advanced Maneuvers including touchdown and zero speed autorotations, and an introductory Mountain Flying course. Option B involves the same, doing the last 15 hours of that time in a turbine helicopter with an introduction to External Load and Vertical Reference. The cost of the 100-hour Career Ad- vancement Course piston option is an all- inclusive $18,000. This works out to be a $100 an hour less than the industry average training cost for piston helicopters. The tur- bine option is an additional $7,000 but is still less per hour than the average training costs for an R44. The training is done one- on-one, and is customized to the individual pilot’s strengths and weaknesses. With an average schedule consisting of one-day flight and one night flight each day, the pro- gram could be completed in 4-6 weeks. Bottom line: The goal of this course is
to produce a safer and more competent pi- lot that can secure that first CFI position and more easily transition into the com- mercial market.
WWW.MOUNTAINRIDGEHELI.COM
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