Drones are becoming more and more popular in our society for many reasons; mainly because the technology is advancing and they are cheaper to buy. Getting movie shots of your house or getting a fly-over shot of yourself out in the landscape has seemed only possible if you knew someone with a helicopter or a…

We should never complain about the nice sunny weather… except when it is boiling hot! In the morning before each flying day begins we always check the weather, and one of the first items on the weather briefing is temperature. The temperature affects both the pilots and the helicopters themselves. There is a tool that…

Behind every successful flying school there are hard-working Ground Crew dedicated to the safety of everyone that walks through the door. Ground Handlers in particular carry some of the heavy responsibilities as they escort first-time-flyers airside and conduct changeovers with the rotors running! Ground Handling is predominantly about three things: The first (and most important)…

Do you have young, budding pilots at home? Have they always dreamed of being in control of a helicopter? Bring their dreams to life at Elstree Aerodrome this Summer for a hands-on experience they’ll never forget! Keeping the kids happy (and quiet!) for six week of the year is a challenge that every parent patiently…

Threat and Error Management or TEM is a term well known in aviation as an approach to manage issues during flight so that they don’t impact safety. It assumes that everyone naturally makes mistakes, but that with training we may be able to better detect and respond to the factors leading up to them. We…

Being able to call yourself Captain is pretty decent. Being able to fly yourself and your family to lunch in France at the weekend is pretty awesome. Being able to put ‘Helicopter Pilot (PPL)’ on your CV under ‘Interests’ or ‘Achievements’ is a unique selling point for sure. Let’s face it, being a helicopter pilot…

During training we spend a large proportion of our time preparing for scenarios in which the helicopter is not performing 100% - for example a warning light coming on, a failure of the governor system which helps us to maintain our RPM, or perhaps a fire. We train constantly for these situations so that if…

It's important to have idols in your life, and who you choose as a role model can have a big influence on you, especially as a child. I think all of us had people we look up to, whether it is a musician, actor or athlete. Many boys may see their Dad as a role…

Repetition is the keyword in many aspects of becoming a good helicopter pilot. It is not only about being good at flying the helicopter it is more about being a good aviator. So what does being an aviator mean? The list is long and I do not think that there is only one answer to…

After you gain your license, you may be looking for a new challenge and flying the Heli-Lanes through London may provide you just that. You can fly through the centre of London, in a single engine helicopter enjoying the views of Canary Wharf, the London Eye, Tower and Vauxhall Bridge and of course the River…