December 31st, 2011
Congratulations to our newest Private Pilot, McLovin! (Michael du Breuil). With hard work and his commitment to flight training, Mike has proven that the FAA 40 hr minimum is still an attainable goal! Mike studied hard throughout our Helicopter Private Pilot ground course which runs 12 weeks, flew through his solo requirements, and shortly after, greeted his examiner with full confidence as he became a licensed pilot! His training was based at our Marlboro (9b1) location, with training flights conducted at nearby airports such as Minute Man, Hanscom (Bedford), Worcester Regional, Mansfield, Norwood, Lawrence, Fitchburg, and Plymouth. Michael even had time to get some extra Class Bravo training/experience as he navigated around the Boston skycrapers, Fenway Park, and the Charles River! McLovin is now preparing for Part 141 instrument training beginning early in 2012. Chicka Chicka YEAH!!!!!
Confined approach practice
Preflighting the helicopter
At North Andover Flight Academy, we have the facilities and instructors to get your rating done for you as efficiently as possible. Show up ready to work and we will get you flying! Our next ground school starts at our North Andover location on January 21st – you are welcome to come and check it out, whether you’re an old student returning for a refresher or someone who’s just interested in helicopters and curious about training. Come and see what makes North Andover Flight Academy Boston and New England’s top choice for helicopter flight training!
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Posted in Boston Helicopter Instruction | 1 Comment »
December 19th, 2011
It’s hard for me to imagine NAFA without Steven – he’s one of those students who has really become a part of the place. He came out to New England from Montana a couple of years ago to train in our Part 141 helicopter program and it was obvious from the start that he was truly passionate and committed to becoming a professional helicopter pilot. He trained hard through the private, instrument and commercial ratings, and he worked hard, not only at learning everything he could about helicopters but also helping out around the school and generally becoming one of the family here.
Helicopter CFI training in New England
Autorotations, confined area approaches… flying the helicopter was something Steven picked up quickly and he flew with skill and confidence in the left seat as well as the right. Then we stuck him in front of the white board for some practice CFI time and the REAL work began. Sometimes it’s hard to resist the urge to run out of the classroom and practice those full down autos one more time when you really should be getting your lesson plans together, but he stayed and soldiered on. He gave us lessons on all aspects of helicopter flying and answered dozens of questions from us as we played ’student’ and did our best to stump him.
Teaching approaches to a Boston helipad
When we could stump him no more and he had two phone-book sized notebooks of lesson plans, it was time for his checkride. After all of the time spent with our instructors, especially Anthony, going through the lessons, the final test was a breeze. As usual, Steven did an excellent job, and walked out a newly certified helicopter flight instructor.
A couple of happy CFIs!
At NAFA we are committed to our students’ success, from the private through the CFI and CFII ratings. We are fortunate to have a great group of students at the school and would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Steven and others like him whose positive attitudes and hard work make our jobs that much more rewarding and fun. We couldn’t keep Steven away from the mountains for Christmas – he’s back in the west breathing some of that good high altitude air for now – but we look forward to seeing him again in the coming year and watching his helicopter career take off.
Tags: boston helicopter, boston helicopter school, boston helicopter training, boston part 141 helicopter, flight school, helicopter filght school, helicopter flight training boston, helicopter school boston, helicopter training, helicopter training boston, part 141 helicopter boston, r22 boston
Posted in Boston Helicopter Instruction, Marlboro Helicopter Flight School | 1 Comment »
December 12th, 2011
We’ve been busy (as usual) at NAFA this month. You may have seen us on Groupon, Trubates, or Boston.com – we’re in full holiday mode and solving people’s gift giving problems with awesome helicopter intro flight deals. But let’s step into the wayback machine for a minute to give credit to a couple of awesome pilots who’ve moved on to new levels in the last month.
You may remember Chris – he’s been with us since he started flying helicopters last year. Once he successfully completed his private rating he began training for his instrument rating under our Part 141 instrument program. Chris is a veteran, and is moving forward with his training with help from the VA in funding his instrument and commercial licenses. He’s put in a lot of hard work and studying towards that instrument rating, and after a weather delay, finally got out for a few approaches. Everything went perfectly and Chris finally got a chance to take the ‘foggles’ off for a while. Well done Chris – we’re looking forward to some fun flying while you finish your commercial rating with us!
Meanwhile, down at our Marlboro school…
Michael came to us at the beginning of September. He came to Marlboro with his sister (who is training as a skater and can teach him all about Coriolis effect) and had heard good things about our flight instructor Anthony. Michael jumped in and got to work, flying several times a week and attending our group ground school on Saturdays. His hard work and intensive flying paid off and in no time he was ready to solo (and with the written test already passed too)!
A couple of trips around the patch and back for an awesome set down. He did a terrific job and there were post-solo smiles all around.
Stay tuned for more news about Michael – he’s going to be flying on his own as a private pilot in the very near future!
Posted in Boston Helicopter Instruction, Marlboro Helicopter Flight School | 2 Comments »
