News
A great end to a triumphant year
Posted on 22nd December, 2011A great end to an excellent year for Phoenix Helicopters with Oliver Kinnell passing his PPL (H) with flying colours. Oli has been working very hard throughout the last few months, with the ambitious goal of passing his PPL prior to the Christmas break. Oli passed his test yesterday and is really looking forward to building his skills with us over the next year, with the ultimate goal of becoming a commercial helicopter pilot. We look forward to working with Oli and helping him achieve his goal. Well done Oli, a big step towards your new career. Oli is pictured below being presented with his course completion certifcate, by CFI Paul Andrews.
Santa Flys to Schools
Posted on 15th December, 2011Phoenix Helicopters are proud to have been the official reindeer substitute for Father Christmas in the run up to Christmas. While Father Christmas’ reindeer have been resting in preparation for the annual round the world present delivery trip; Father Christmas has substituted his sleigh for a helicopter to visit schools in the West Sussex area. The sun shone for us to fly Santa into the schools, he was met with cheers from staff and children alike. Our professional photographer was on hand for everyone to have a picture taken with Santa. If you are interested in having us visit your school next year, feel free to contact the team at Phoenix.
An R44 Type Rating for Pat
Posted on 19th October, 2011Well done to Pat, who has passed his R44 Type Rating, having recently completed his PPL (H), Pat wanted to transition onto the R44 to enjoy the extra space and higher performance. These factors make the R44 a perfect machine for travelling across country with friends and family. Pat has worked really hard with us, and has managed to complete his PPL (H) and R44 Type Rating within four months. A pretty outstanding achievement. Well done Pat!
Pilot Skill Improvement Flight
Posted on 12th October, 2011As part of Phoenix Helicopters pilot skill improvement programme, we arranged a formation flight from Goodwood to Exeter airport. A chance for relatively inexperienced pilots to spread their wings a bit, while having the support of our instructors to guide them through the flight. We find this is a really helpful way of improving the confidence of pilots and helps them to plan further trips on their own.
Feel free to contact us to discuss our skill development programme; we have various trips available including France, The Scilly Isles and Channel Islands, among others.
The picture below shows us cruising along the Jurassic Coast. Beautiful views, particularly for the geographically minded among us.
First Heli-Expo a Triumph
Posted on 03rd October, 2011Sunday 2nd October saw Phoenix Helicopters host the first Goodwood Heli-Expo in aid of Sussex Air Ambulance. We were blessed with fantastic weather throughout the day, making for a fantastic day for all involved. Things kicked off at about 09:00, with the arrival of an immaculate Gazelle, followed closely behind by a fleet of R22's R44's and a HU269. Drawing crowds and so the fund rising began. Throughout the morning we had aircraft arriving in droves. Some interesting types arriving mid morning with an immaculate Hiller 12 and some beautifully painted Gazelles, as well as Squirrels, Jet Rangers and an Enstrom. The BBQ was lit to feed hungry spectators and pilots alike, with many generous donations all going to Sussex Air Ambulance. The Air Ambulance team were on hand selling merchandise to the supportive public. The fun continued into the afternoon with the arrival of G-KSSH the Sussex Air Ambulance. It was great to have them at the expo for everyone to have a look around and understand what the fund raising is all about. A big thank you to chief pilot Steve Wood for flying in. Phoenix Helicopters were also running pleasure flying for those that were enthused by all the flying, to take to the air themselves, and with all proceeds going to the Air Ambulance it was great to see people getting involved and experiencing helicopter flying for the first time.
A full gallery of the day can be found on our Facebook and Flickr
It only remains for us to thank all those that attended on the day; both pilots and spectators as well as all the volunteers helping run the event as well as Goodwood for supporting such a worthy charity. Watch this space for and even bigger show next year.
Tony Goes Solo
Posted on 29th September, 2011Well done to Tony who did his first solo in G-SUNN. Tony is working steadily towards his PPL and it was a great achievement to get the solo completed. Tony can be seen here in a steady hover.
Summer Newsletter 2011
Posted on 20th September, 2011Keep up to date with our most recent goings on with our quarterly newsletter. Our Summer 2011 newsletter is available to download here.
Another Success at Phoenix
Posted on 14th September, 2011Well done to Pat Mclarry who has passed his PPL (H) skills test today in less than 60 hours. It is great to see so many of our students passing their skills tests. Pat now plans to continue his training to the more advanced machines and we wish him well with all his forthcoming helicopter adventures. Pat is pictured here with examiner Capt. Tim Price.
Congratulations to Alastair for passing his CPL (H)
Posted on 01st September, 2011Congratulations to Alastair Lovell who has passed his CPL (H) this month with Phoenix Helicopters. Alastair has worked really hard with his training and studying and has managed to go from his first lesson in August 2009 to achieving his CPL in two years. A great achievement especially as he has had to fit all his training alongside a full time Job. Alastair is the second pilot to come through our CPL course and go on to join our commercial pilot team. Read Alastair's full story here.
Pleasure Flying Success at Tangmere
Posted on 15th August, 2011Phoenix Helicopters had a successful day pleasure flying at Tangmere open day. The sunshine brought lots of people in to Tangmere museum for the open day, great fun was had by all.
Social Sites
Stuart Russell (Student)Phoenix for me is now more than just a school to learn how to fly, it has a very homely feel to it, where students and the staff have become a family.
Kim and David Edwards (Pleasure Flight)We both had a fantastic flight and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a lovely clear day which helped make the views over West Sussex stunning.
Having a flight in a helicopter is something I have wanted to do for years, it was great to enjoy such an experience.
Kevin Piotrowicz (Student)Phoenix Helicopter Academy at Goodwood is a great place to learn to fly. Relaxed, yet totally professional. The instructors go out of their way to ensure you get the best training. Highly recommended!
Sean Larsen (Student)I really enjoyed my training with Phoenix Helicopters (even with the stresses of a tight budget and timescale!), and having now passed my PPL I will definitely be continuing my training and self-fly hire there.
