FIRECHOOK69
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:unsure: TRYING TO FIND A GOOD PLACE TO DO A MOUNTAIN COURSE IN CANADA . LOOKING FOR VALUE FOR MONEY WITH AN EXPERIENCED OUTFIT
Mountain Courses
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cyclic monkey
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Hi there Chook, welcome.
The answer is all relative to how much money you have to spend.
If it's lots, then you would want to try a place like Canadian Heli in Penticton, they train on a 206, and are considered experts at mountain training.
http://www.canadianhelicopters.com/frame/c.../penticton.html
For cheaper, try Dick Wood at Valley Helicopters in Merritt. He has a superb reputation and trains with a Bell 47, which makes the flying tougher, but that's what the course is all about.
http://www.valleyhelicopters.ca/training.htm
There are several other good schools, the key is to look for an instructor with lots of real operational, mountain, and instruction time.......and of course, some mountains near to the school. Check that the course will satisfy the BC Forest Service standards.
Good Luck, a search on Google will help.
P.S. Please stop SHOUTING at us.
The answer is all relative to how much money you have to spend.
If it's lots, then you would want to try a place like Canadian Heli in Penticton, they train on a 206, and are considered experts at mountain training.
http://www.canadianhelicopters.com/frame/c.../penticton.html
For cheaper, try Dick Wood at Valley Helicopters in Merritt. He has a superb reputation and trains with a Bell 47, which makes the flying tougher, but that's what the course is all about.
http://www.valleyhelicopters.ca/training.htm
There are several other good schools, the key is to look for an instructor with lots of real operational, mountain, and instruction time.......and of course, some mountains near to the school. Check that the course will satisfy the BC Forest Service standards.
Good Luck, a search on Google will help.
P.S. Please stop SHOUTING at us.
the ones cyclic monkey has mentioned are all good schools........
i will throw our hat into the ring.........
we at BC Helicopters ( www.bchelicopters.com ) have an mountain course RECOGNIZED by BC and Alberta forestry...........
check the website and you can see the hours that the instructors have.......
find the school that's right for YOU and good luck............
i will throw our hat into the ring.........
we at BC Helicopters ( www.bchelicopters.com ) have an mountain course RECOGNIZED by BC and Alberta forestry...........
check the website and you can see the hours that the instructors have.......
find the school that's right for YOU and good luck............
The mountain course offered by Canadian Helicopters in Penticton is second to none! I will say this even though I dislike the company as a whole. The instructors there will teach you to do many amazing things with your helicopter, and keep you alive in the mountain environment!
FIRECHOOK69
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Thanks for the info on mountain courses you blokes i have heard good reports on all three companys mentioned should be back in canada in march sometime hopefully for another stint in your lovelly country that kokanee sure is nice beer i,ve had withdrawl symptons
mrwhirlwind
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Remember you get what you pay for
FIRECHOOK69
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True you do only get what pay for but surely it would be nice to complete it in a turbine but it,s pretty expensive. In what ever machine you are hopefully going to get the adequate training and come out a wiser driver and at least meet some of the requirments implemented by various organisations . 
Col. Kilgore
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Hey chook...
Also check out Chinook Helicopters: http://www.chinookhelicopters.com
They don't have the info on the website yet, but they just revamped their mountain course. They are worth giving a call. 604 855 1100
Chinook is just around the corner from BC Helicopters, so if you are checking out them, you might as well go down the street and pop into Chinook.
Like Valley Helicopters, they use the Bell 47G2 as a piston trainer. The old 47's will teach you a new respect for altitude and I guarantee it will teach you how to fly.
If you have a big bag of money, they also have a 206 to fly around in. One of the instructors, Craig Joiner has mega time in the mountains with 206's and you could learn a lot from him.
Do your homework before you commit the moola. Good luck.
Fly safe,
KL
Also check out Chinook Helicopters: http://www.chinookhelicopters.com
They don't have the info on the website yet, but they just revamped their mountain course. They are worth giving a call. 604 855 1100
Chinook is just around the corner from BC Helicopters, so if you are checking out them, you might as well go down the street and pop into Chinook.
Like Valley Helicopters, they use the Bell 47G2 as a piston trainer. The old 47's will teach you a new respect for altitude and I guarantee it will teach you how to fly.
If you have a big bag of money, they also have a 206 to fly around in. One of the instructors, Craig Joiner has mega time in the mountains with 206's and you could learn a lot from him.
Do your homework before you commit the moola. Good luck.
Fly safe,
KL
"they use the Bell 47G2 as a piston trainer. The old 47's will teach you a new respect for altitude"
No kidding, we slung one of Chinook's 47's off a mountainside last summer. They ran out of power and crashed at around 2500'!!
Only problem is, the mountains around Canada are a little higher!
Also, if you are spending the money for a Mountain Course, be sure that the Forestry Agencies recognize the course or it may be for not!
It's your money and like the man said..."you get what you pay for"
No kidding, we slung one of Chinook's 47's off a mountainside last summer. They ran out of power and crashed at around 2500'!!
Only problem is, the mountains around Canada are a little higher!
Also, if you are spending the money for a Mountain Course, be sure that the Forestry Agencies recognize the course or it may be for not!
It's your money and like the man said..."you get what you pay for"
407 Driver
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It's not all about altitude Huey, it's all about technique. A powered out G2 at 2500 feet can teach you as much about technique as a powered out 407 at 16,000!
Most of the basic Ops in OKanagans (not CHL's!) mountain course are (were)taught on Bud's Knob, a non-descript piece of rock about 4500 feet. That rock has caused more grief and more suffering to the Mountain student in the last 55 years than any other rock in the country.
Success is not measured in just landing there, it's measured in how many percent Q you used, and if you can match the master...at 76% or if you needed 79%.....
But Tillotson and Wayne Grover etal wrote a great course, and the present group have carried the quality forward.
I agree with T-Rex, greatest school, shame about the company 😀
Most of the basic Ops in OKanagans (not CHL's!) mountain course are (were)taught on Bud's Knob, a non-descript piece of rock about 4500 feet. That rock has caused more grief and more suffering to the Mountain student in the last 55 years than any other rock in the country.
Success is not measured in just landing there, it's measured in how many percent Q you used, and if you can match the master...at 76% or if you needed 79%.....
But Tillotson and Wayne Grover etal wrote a great course, and the present group have carried the quality forward.
I agree with T-Rex, greatest school, shame about the company 😀
i agree with 407D, it is all about technique.............
what i heard about THAT crash though concerns me as to some techniques....
i never went through penticton, (i went through smithers during the NMH days) but i have heard great things about the school. just that turbine cost!!
what i heard about THAT crash though concerns me as to some techniques....
i never went through penticton, (i went through smithers during the NMH days) but i have heard great things about the school. just that turbine cost!!
Happy Valley is worse and Bud's knobb is off limits(can't believe I just wrote that,,OF COURSE IT IS) most of the time due to noise complaints.
Was the best course in the world for many years and maybe still is.
sc
PS Buds knob is about 3400' it just seems higher. Would love to show the place to the anti helicopter people, it's probably been landed on more times than the laps at slack alices and shows no sign of a helicopter ever being there(course nor do the laps-well most of the time)
Was the best course in the world for many years and maybe still is.
sc
PS Buds knob is about 3400' it just seems higher. Would love to show the place to the anti helicopter people, it's probably been landed on more times than the laps at slack alices and shows no sign of a helicopter ever being there(course nor do the laps-well most of the time)
407 Driver
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Thanks for the altitude correction SC....I gotta admit that I guessed !! It's been a long time since I was at Buds Knob...and NEVER EVER have been to Slacks B)
Happy Valley was an eye opener the first time I was in there. That whole area is such a great training area. Shame the environmentalists are chasing them out of all the good spots.
Happy Valley was an eye opener the first time I was in there. That whole area is such a great training area. Shame the environmentalists are chasing them out of all the good spots.
Ah yes, the look of dismay of all who came out of happy valley was priceless, never would any of us trust some one who said "hey we're going to a really nice place called happy valley" again. Although it really is a nice place to visit. Cows, deer, bears, coyotes, no sheep though.
"when you have upslope illusion keep your eyes down and infront, don't ever look up unless you want to ..........oh well try again, this time maintain your altitude and not climb more than 50'......" Just like yesterday!
sc 😀
"when you have upslope illusion keep your eyes down and infront, don't ever look up unless you want to ..........oh well try again, this time maintain your altitude and not climb more than 50'......" Just like yesterday!
sc 😀
