The purpose of an Aviation Medical is to protect the life and health of pilots and passengers by making reasonable medical assurance that an individual is fit to fly. Pilots, air traffic controllers and cabin crew are all required to have a current aviation medical. Along with completing the Air Law and Human Performance exams,…

When you embark on the journey of gaining a PPL (H) the fear of the unknown is very rarely the flying, which has the fun factor, It is usually the thought of having to sit some challenging exams! Here at Elstree and Flying Pig Helicopters, our founder Capt Paul White, came up with the ingenious…

The phrase ‘Aviate, navigate, communicate ‘ is commonplace amongst Pilots, recommending that whilst in the air you concentrate on flying the aircraft, with navigation as a secondary focus and then fit in communication when it doesn’t interfere. On the ground,  team communication  is  key to ensuring our students get the best training they can and the most…

Preparing for my solo Qualifying Cross Country (QXC).  For those who are unsure what I mean, the regulations in the UK say that in order to qualify for your Private Pilots License in a helicopter you must complete a syllabus set out by the authority – in our case EASA, part of which is your…

It’s not just HM The Queen that celebrates her birthday in Spring! Here at Flying Pig we’ve noticed a  trend! It seems Spring Babies are most likely to find themselves gravitating towards Aviation. We celebrate no less than 24 birthdays in the Spring season, from Company Founder Paul White, to the office staff and Instructors,…

Last Saturday we held our 6th Annual PPL(H) Open Day and what a fantastic day it turned out to be! With perfect flying conditions we managed to meet and greet many new budding pilots, eager to know more about learning to fly. All four helicopters had their moment in the spotlight throughout the day, with…

Often when looking at which helicopter to start flight training in, 3 helicopters are among the most popular – Cabri G2, R44, and R22.  With over 10,000 having been produced since 1979, today I wanted to take a closer look at deciding between 2 of them - the Robinson R22 & R44 - as both…

The role of Training Liaison Manager is a fun and fulfilling one. As a Mum I think I was made for the job of organising, managing and nurturing each and every student on their PPL H journey! My enthusiasm for talking a new student through the Training programme/process has not waned in the 5 years…

With our March Open Day in just over a week let's take a closer look at the Guimbal Cabri G2 - what makes this new heli on the block so popular with student pilots and instructors alike? For most student pilots the choice of training helicopter is limited to a few common ones - namely…

I once had hovering described to me as being able to simultaneously pat my head and rub my stomach whilst hopping on one foot with my eyes closed! I found the initial lessons learning to hover were exhausting due to the concentration involved. I would find myself going home after the lesson and wanting to…