Helicopter Services, Inc.

I initially started with the thirty minute demo flight (120.00 dollars) to see if helicopter training was for me. The demo (which counts for your flight training) gives the student the chance to meet the Certified Flight Instructors, look at the helicopters, and see what the training areas area like. Unlike other helicopter schools that advertise that they are located at an airport but train 20 minutes away at a practice area (since the airports they are located at are too congested to cater to student pilots). This means that you will spend 40 minutes of your money flying straight-level, and only have 15 minutes of actual practice time. You can start practicing maneuvers 5 minutes into your flight at Helicopter Services, Inc at Hooks Airport. The airport is relatively small and allows students to train on their runways.

The flight instructors generally work six days a week. They are will work with you if you can only come on the evenings or mornings. My instructor occasionally comes in a hour before he is suppose to be at work to do ground lessons, stays a hour after to do flight lessons, and comes in an hour on his day off to make sure that I am getting my hours in. Safety is the number one priority. Students are required to check weather, calculate their weight and balance sheets, write flight plans, display where they are flying to, and dispatch the aircraft in/out with the administration.

Instruction is on a one on one basis, therefore, there are no set classes and you can start training as soon as you want. Since Helicopter Services, Inc uses online scheduling; you can schedule what days, hours, or if you’d like to train for ground school or flight. For Instrument training Helicopter Services, Inc has its own simulator.

As for the facility itself, Helicopter Services Inc provides free wireless internet. If you forget your laptop at home, there are several computers connected to high speed internet. There is a lounge area with a huge flat screen TV, all the free coffee you can drink, a couple of vending machines, and several classrooms. The administration is friendly and willing to help you whenever you need assistance. The instructors are professional, properly certified, and will train you to meet aviation standards.

Helicopter Services Inc is located in the suburbs of Houston. Here are plenty of places to find a place to live. (I found my place on Craigslist under rooms for rent). It is a good place to live if you enjoy suburbia living, but want to escape to downtown Houston, Austin, Galveston, San Antonio, or Dallas.