For many, the achievement of a Private Pilot’s Licence to be able to fly a helicopter is the achievement of a long held dream. Here at Central Helicopters we are delighted to help make dreams come true!

For some, the achievement of a PPL(H) is the first step on the ladder of a new career – a job with one of the best office window views! We can help with the next steps, all along the way.

Starting with self-fly hire, we can offer Robinson R22s and a Robinson R44 for hire as budding commercial pilots build the necessary hours and experience required before they start a commercial flight training course. As part of this journey we can also offer refresher training or training in more advanced flying techniques as skills are honed before the CPL(H) training starts – learning to fly the London Helilanes is always a great way to develop new skills whilst gaining those essential hours!

We can also offer Type Rating training – add a new helicopter type to your Pilot’s Licence, and it all counts towards the magic hours requirement.

Hour building is normally carried out at the same time as the ground school training required to pass the CAA’s CPL written exams. We don’t provide the training at Central, but we can point you in the direction of the people that do!

Armed with your exam passes and your flying hours, we offer the intensive CPL(H) flight training course required to gain that all important CPL(H) qualification and begin to earn a living as a commercial pilot. With our own dedicated heliport and comfortable, well-equipped briefing rooms (and a café to keep you sustained) we have all the facilities available to make your CPL(H) training as good as it can be.

Our commercial course is run by Capt. David Marsland who has risen through the ranks since completing his own initial PPL(H) with Central Helicopters back in 2004 and CPL(H) in 2006. He continued on and completed his instructor rating and has been running courses and flying commercially for us during the last 7 years amassing in excess of 4,000 hrs in the process.

We are also delighted that one of the most experienced instructors in the UK has now joined the Central team to offer the benefit of his knowledge and experience. Capt. Geoff Day is a welcome addition as he has successfully taught hundreds of students throughout the UK over the years.

With 14,800 hours of instructional flying under his belt, Geoff is one of the most experienced Flight Instructor Trainers in the country. Central Helicopters has gained CAA approval to offer Flight Instructor (Helicopter) training programmes from Nottingham Heliport. The FI(H) programme is a challenging, intensive programme designed to help develop the next generation of helicopter flight instructors. Our new briefing rooms and boardroom are ideal environments for the ground school and theory sessions and our purpose built site is ideal to train the practical skills required to be a successful instructor.

Call in to Nottingham Heliport or call 01664 823846 for a chat about our Type Rating, CPL(H) and FI(H) programmes – we look forward to seeing you soon!