Helicopter Groundschool

03/05/2023

3 May 1956, first flight of the little H-3 "Hummingbird". As one of the few designs where the rotor blades are driven by tip jets instead of an engine and transmission.

NHi-H3 Kolibrie Helicopter

Today, 3 May 1956, the NHI H-3 Kolibrie (Dutch for “hummingbird”) helicopter, developed by Nederlandse Helikopter Industrie made its first flight. The H-3 was a two-seater general purpose helicopter with a duraluminum tube superstructure, an open cockpit and an undergear of metal skids. This ultra-light helicopter was powered by tip-jets – two ramjets, one at the tip of each rotor blade. The ramjets could burn multiple types of fuel, giving the helicopter some versatility. Variants of the H-3 came with skis, flotation devices and medical evacuation stretchers were developed and tested, but these versions were never produced. After developing a crop duster version, the H-3 was mainly marketed for that purpose.

To find out more about LHA, visit www.lha.eu

22/02/2023

Interested to become a helicopter pilot 🚁? LHA gives you a nice summary of the different steps to follow. More will be published at a later date.

Steps to become a pilot

Marianna Margeti from LHA member Superior Air has graduated from the American College of Greece majoring in Marketing Management. She started her career in Greek & International companies in the Sales/Marketing departments, but she quickly managed to combine her love of aviation with her studies. She holds the position of Sales Manager in Superior Air since 2013, with more than 15 years of experience in the Aviation industry. Her experience in the aviation market all those years has led her to one vital conclusion ‘’You get what you pay for and there is no price you can put on safety’’.

In this series of five posts, Marianna is going to give us a step-by-step guide on how to become a pilot…

• Get your high school education certificate.

• Decide if you wish to become a Private or a Commercial helicopter pilot.

• Research flight schools – go to https://www.lha.eu/approved-training-organisations/ to choose your nearest academy.

• Check weather conditions for flying at the country you will choose to study aviation.

Stay tuned for next month’s continuation of the step-by-step guide on becoming a pilot.



Find out more about LHA at www.lha.eu

03/02/2023

Our February post talks about EASA's learning objectives. A must-read for every student 👇🏻

Ben’s Education Slot - EASA’s Learning Objectives: the bible for your ATPL studies

LHA member Ben Vanhentenrijk from Helicopter Groundschool, is a specialist in ATPL theory, and is considered as an elite expert in his field, writing questions for EASA and the ECQB. Ben has kindly agreed to write a series, sharing his tips and vast knowledge around ATPL theory.

EASA’s Learning Objectives: the bible for your ATPL studies

For your professional helicopter pilot studies, whether you go for CPL or ATPL theory, you need to be enrolled in an ATO who provides you with study books, video material and maybe an online question bank to train mock questions. But… probably the most valuable document is right in front of your nose and available for free: EASA’s Learning Objectives.

A few years ago, EASA did a complete revision of the existing Learning Objectives (LOs). They got rid of the obsolete ones and created a lot of new LOs for modern applications. Per subject (from 010 Air Law until the new Area 100 KSA), the LOs are listed in a huge table. They should form the basis of your ATPL study as text books, classroom lectures and the official exam questions are based on them.

The Learning Objectives are published in Part-FCL and on EASA’s ECQB webpage (European Central Question Bank). On this webpage, the LOs can be downloaded in a spreadsheet format which is very convenient to work with during your studies. You can just mark the LOs that you have acquired, or those where you find some difficulties.

Link to the ECQB webpage: https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/aircrew-and-medical/european-central-question-bank-ecqb

Good stuff doesn’t always have to be expensive…

Ben

15/01/2023

Andreas Hennig from HELI-FLIGHT GmbH & Co. KG 'shining a light' on the use of the red, green and white navigation lights installed on an aircraft.

08/01/2023

First of the monthly posts. Stay tuned as more tips and tricks will follow in the future 📕+📗+📘=🚁

Ben’s Education Slot

LHA member Ben Vanhentenrijk from Helicopter Groundschool, is a specialist in ATPL theory, and is considered as an elite expert in his field, writing questions for EASA and the ECQB. Ben has kindly agreed to write a series, sharing his tips and vast knowledge around ATPL theory.

It’s all about maths and physics. Do you have to be an Einstein to become a helicopter pilot?

The answer is definitely NO! The aim of the pilot training courses offered by the LHA members is to become a helicopter pilot or, in other words, someone who operates the machine. The aim is not to become an engineer who performs maintenance procedures or an aerodynamicist who designs a new helicopter.
But… During both the flight and theoretical training, instructors will talk about the atmosphere, meteorology, piston and turbine engines, rotor blade aerodynamics, etc. A helicopter is the high-end result of scientific research, designing and testing. So for the man or woman who flies this wonderful piece of technology, a healthy interest in mathematics and physics is recommended. Pilot training involves some entry-level study of scientific subjects. To safely fly the helicopter, a pilot must be aware of the magic of science that makes the helicopter fly.

01/01/2023

We wish you a healthy 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣, a lot of fun and safe flights 🚁 and good luck with the theory exams 📖 !

08/11/2022

The power of uniting twelve European helicopter ATOs becomes visible with the first, pan-European International Hour Building Programme for (private) helicopter pilots who want to become a commercial pilot.

LHA introduces international hour building programme in Europe!

Leading helicopter Academies (LHA) is excited to announce Europe’s international hour building programme. Pilots can benefit by building their hours in different terrains from the mountains in northern Europe to the beaches in the south, by our unique shared collaboration of flight schools.

Learn more about the LHA’s international hour building programme at https://www.lha.eu/houbuilding/

30/10/2022

As from today, the new 🇪🇺 European rules regarding fuel/energy ⛽️ are applicable. Amendments are made to Part-CAT and Part-SPA (HEMS and HOFO), Part-NCC, Part-NCO and Part-SPO, and include a new paragraph numbering. Important highlights are the inclusion of the term ‘energy’, the fuel/energy scheme, the MINIMUM FUEL and MAYDAY(3x) FUEL procedures, and various amendments to pre-flight fuel calculations and in-flight fuel management for both VFR and IFR flights.

Our course notes 📚 on this topic are amended, but the ECQB exam questions will be updated as from next revision.

03/10/2022

Welcome, Alidaunia 🇮🇹

Italian helicopter operator, Alidaunia, joins Leading Helicopter Academies

Alidaunia, one of the largest helicopter operators in Italy, is joining LHA, Europe’s first helicopter training network. Alidaunia offers HEMS, firefighting and commercial transport, as well as its academy. Apart from specialising in professional pilot training, it also provides non-pilot training for technicians, nurses and others in helicopter-related skills, such as NVIS, HUET, HHO and EMS.

Learn more about Alidaunia and LHA at www.lha.eu/announcements

19/08/2022

What do you think about this: an armed autogyro for the Chinese People's Liberation Army?

The little missile-armed gyrocopter is certainly an interesting concept, but just how long they would last in a conflict is questionable.

15/08/2022

Have you ever seen a 'firenado', when a fire has such intensity that it generates an actual tornado?
Video credits to Tony Webber and our deepest respect to all the firemen working 24/7 these days.

14/07/2022

What an exciting day! ☀️

Today, we got our first official on-scene audit by the Belgian CAA since the start of our training end 2019.

We spend some time preparing all the required documents and we had a very good feedback from the auditors. The final report is expected next week, but we certainly can continue our helicopter theory training for the next period of time.

Top team ! And top staff ! 👍