Resources on Helicopter Pilot Schools

Helicopter Pilot Schools

Helicopter

A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors. Helicopters are classified as rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them from conventional fixed-wing aircraft. The word helicopter is derived from the Greek words helix (spiral) and pteron (wing). The first single-rotor, fully-controllable helicopter to enter large full-scale production was made by Igor Sikorsky in 1942.

Compared to conventional fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters are much more complex, more expensive to buy and operate, relatively slow, have shorter range and restricted payload. The compensating advantage is maneuverability: helicopters can hover in place, reverse, and above all take off and land vertically. Subject only to refueling facilities and load/altitude limitations, a helicopter can travel to any location, and land anywhere with enough space (approximately twice the area of the rotor disk).

Compared to other vertical lift aircraft like tiltrotors (V-22 Osprey for example) and vectored thrust airplanes (also known as VT-OL jets, standing for Vertical Take-Off & Landing) (AV-8 Harrier for example), helicopters are very efficient, carrying more than twice the payload, consuming less fuel in hover and costing considerably less to buy and operate. However these other configurations have considerably more cruise speed than a helicopter (270 km/h for a helicopter, 460 km/h for a tiltrotor, 900+ km/h for a vectored thrust airplane).

Excerpt from "Helicopter." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 24 Oct 2006, 22:51 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 27 Oct 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helicopter&oldid=83519865

Flight Training

Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft.

Although there are various types of aircraft, many of the principles of piloting them have common techniques, especially those aircraft which are heavier than air types.

All training courses consist of some combination of theoretical learning conducted on the ground, and practical exercises conducted in the air. Initial training is often conducted in specialised training aircraft, which are designed for benign handling characteristics and lower costs compared to the aircraft which the pilot concerned is ultimately aiming to fly. Flight simulators are also used to train pilots in many procedures, at much lower cost and risk than actual flying.

In basic training, the following fundamentals of safe flying are covered for almost all aircraft (with a few exceptions for the smallest ultralights missing some features):

• Principles of Flight
• Flight Regulations
• Meteorology
• Navigation
• Radio Communications
• Flight Instruments
• Human Factors
• Medical Certification

For powered aircraft:

• Airframes, Engines and Systems

Excerpt of "Flight training." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 May 2006, 17:06 UTC. 7 May 2006, 22:21 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flight_training&oldid=51703906