Sunny, overcast, heavy rain 2 – 4p.m. 11 Jan 2023 Having not flown since September 2022, I was keen to get going, perhaps pass proficiency of auto rotation if the clouds would part & have 2,000 feet amsl clearance & good visibility. Watching the weather forecasts like a hawk, or well-trained student.  To take responsibility, or at the very least to have an awareness of whether flying was an option, rather than leaving it purely to my flight instructor to tell me. Open discussion is always good, after all as a Captain, it is our responsibility to make these decisions on fligh ..read more

At this time of the year when everyone is getting their exam results and wondering what to do next, we thought it would be a good time to tackle the question of PPL(H) Vs University. If you’ve finish Sixth Form this year then you could be reaching a defining moment – apply for a degree course with many others or choose something a bit different? So why choose a PPL over Uni? The pressure to choose the standard route from college to university can be huge and maybe you’re not really sure what it is you want to do. Perhaps all you know is spending your time in a lecture hall isn’t particularly ..read more

I am sure those who have visited Flying Pig and Elstree Helicopters in the recent months will have seen me at the flying school. I primarily look after the Operations and look after our students and very importantly the Calendar! When I am not in the office on the phone or sending emails, my true passion is aviation. Coming from a background of fixed wing and previous experience of microlights, I have always taken interest in helicopters often daydreaming of unique flying scenarios for example: How cool it would be to land in your own garden or take off from a yacht? During a training sessi ..read more

“Junior Pilot day is something else. I actually felt like a qualified pilot living the dream at a young age.” “As a young aviator (Budding Pilot), it will be something that I will never forget. ” The day started off with a brilliant tour of the hangar and control tower and learnt a lot about ground handling and aircraft management. We then went on to do some RC helicopter flying which was also fun as well. It was a nice way to talk to the fellow young aviators and make friends. Not forgetting some Helicopter Hangman too !!! After that, we then all went outside for our ground brief which was ..read more

Flying the boys to Le Touquet for a weekend was a trip we planned during lockdown, something to focus on for better days to come and finally the stars aligned this Summer and we spent a wonderful weekend exploring petit Paris-by-the-sea. Le Touquet is a destination that Paul has flown to MANY times, so organising all the relevant paperwork and submitting the flight plan was very much his area (please get in touch if you need help with this). Meanwhile, I focused on how on earth I would pack for the weekend in just one small bag! This baggage allowance made Ryanair look generous. Rucksacks fi ..read more

Ana joined Flying Pig & Elstree Helicopters in July as part of the Marketing team. As Ana has never flown in a helicopter before we have asked her to tell us a little bit about her flying experience…   Hello flying enthusiasts. As you probably know by now (and if you don’t, where have you been) I am the new addition to the marketing department. Having recently graduated for University of Portsmouth, I wanted to get my marketing career started straight away and didn’t want to waste time gaining the right experience.   Once I secured my role with Flying Pig, I never knew flying ..read more

23 July 2022 Isle of Wight trip Bucket & spades packed, water onboard for our hydration, fuel on board for HIZZ hydration life jackets on, hazelnut crepes safely stowed from John. Cpt Paul was as always armed with his sugar free polos, and oh yes the necessary legal flying documents. Paul had planned the journey, and the Pilot log (PLOG) was complete…  I’m so spoilt… students Shanee & Tony had to do their own, ready for their flight with Cpt James & Cpt Adam respectively. And we were off to the Isle of Wight. Beautifully sunny, not too hot and visibility for miles.  J ..read more

How to hover a helicopter : Capt. White talks us through the ups and down of learning to hover! I was taught to hover from around lesson three. I had already gained good attitude control in forward flight which isn’t essential but certainly does help. The lesson, as always, started in the classroom with a briefing on the primary and secondary effects of controls in the hover, where to look whilst hovering and how we are going to put all this into practice once in the helicopter i.e. one control at a time to begin with. It felt amazing as my instructor started to hand over control, I found the ..read more

Before we commence flying one of our first tasks is to check the weather and top of the list on the weather briefing is temperature. During the Summer it’s the heat we need to watch out for. Temperature affects both the pilots and the helicopters themselves. Much of keeping cool in the helicopter is just common sense; Keep well hydrated, Sun cream obviously, a cap and/or sunglasses are a good idea to avoid glare from the windscreen and where possible fly away from the sun. Fly higher helps as the temperature at higher altitude (at least 2000ft amsl) is lower and therefore is more comfortabl ..read more

On Thursday 10 February, keen with nervous anticipation to fly to Weston Super Mare, this was my first trip with other helis.  Having previously cancelled my place on this trip last year this time I was determined to go! Capt. James informs me that I’ll be flying with Capt Paul me thinking ‘Oh no, I’d better meet the glowing student reports that James has written about me!’ While waiting for HIZZ to have clutch maintenance completed. Capt. James informs me that I’ll be flying with Capt Paul me thinking ‘Oh no, I’d better meet the glowing student reports that James has written about me ..read more