WHAT IS IT ABOUT

THE HELICOPTER IS THE ONLY VEHICLE THAT HAS SAVED MORE LIVES THAN WHAT IT HAS TAKEN.

CURRENTLY THERE IS A WORLDWIDE SHORTAGE OF QUALIFIED HELICOPTER PILOTS.

The “HOVER IS DIVINE HELICOPTER CLUB” was formed for a group of like minded people that all have a dream and the passion to one day become commercial Helicopter Pilots. As you will read through their motivations, there is a common thread of the journey, sometimes difficult and sometimes downright impossible to actually realize their dreams.

The club is a legal entity that has, for the first year, selected and approved 20 students, that were obtained through 2 x aviation information forums. This has ensured that the students where already dreaming aviation even though they have not obtained their licenses yet. They were selected purely on application motivations which proved their passion and determination for aviation.

All of these students have tried various methods of obtaining financing to actually become a COMMERCIAL HELICOPTER PILOT. The inability of the financial institutions to provide either student or personal loans for the students stems from the fact that the training is extremely expensive. The training is in certain cases more expensive than a luxury vehicle and in some instances a house. Together with he high cost of training, the chances of such a newly qualified Commercial Pilot obtaining a high salary is very little as he/she is still considered a low time pilot and therefore an insurance risk. This is the factor that the banks look at, since the repayment on a high value loan would be far more than what the student can actually earn a month in more or less the first year of employment. It is actually only after a few hundred hours in the air that the Pilots will start earning proper salaries that will provide sufficient money to start repayment of any type of loan.

Because helicopter training is extremely expensive most of the students out there only train for what is absolutely necessary to become a Commercial Pilot. Only the basic necessities will be done and although there is nothing wrong with this approach, the student might find himself/herself losing out on certain employment opportunities as extra training is also expensive. It usually takes around 10 to 15 hours training in a helicopter at anything from R3500 to R7000 per hour. Many employers would prefer the pilots to already have qualifications that they require than to send them on an expensive training exercise.

The concept of the Club is very simple, but can be difficult to understand. Every student has a certain amount that he/she needs to become a Commercial Pilot which includes the normal Private Pilots License and then the extra 150 hours to build a total of 200 hours. Within these 200 hours there are classes that needs to be competed and exams that need to be passed at 75%. If the student does not pass these exams by the 2 nd try, the complete set of exams needs to be rewritten. It takes dedication and commitment to complete the Ground School.

Added to this there are extra instructor fees and flying costs to cover a full training schedule for the students to be of exceptional standards and therefore employed almost immediately upon completion of the Commercial License as required by the CAA.

The students have all become Honorary members of the “HOVER IS DIVINE HELICOPTER CLUB”. These students have the responsibility to sell normal memberships to the club, for the students training fund. Membership cost R600,00 per person and this entitles the normal members of the club to a prize-draw once a year, around the 9 th May. These prizes are cash equivalent prizes to 2 x 5% of each of the students training funds. This 5% equates to around ( R36 000,00 ) in value. All of the members will receive a monthly update on the progress of the students via an email written by the student.Terms and conditions apply.

The students or Honorary members of the club are therefore responsible to obtain a total of around 1500 normal members per student. This will cover the prizes, the administration of the club, the instructors and of course the extra training that the students will receive. I want to make a request to all of you reading this. You have obviously been prompted by a student to read the website and sponsor him/her. In order for this student to reach his/her full potential it will take hard work in these economic times and the success of his/her training lies by receiving sponsorship from you and your friends. PLEASE pass an email to your friends to sponsor any of the students. Ask these friends to do the same. These students will really appreciate and value your commitment to them. Since each student has to obtain in the region of R900 000,00 for their training it is going to take hard work, dedication, and motivation to keep on raising the funds. HOWEVER, this will ensure that they turn out better pilots.

Helicopter flying takes dedication and commitment, since any pilot uses all four limbs simultaneously to fly the aircraft. On a 3 to 4 hour flight you have hardly time to scratch your nose, let alone stretch your legs as the helicopter needs flight inputs on a constant basis. On a long navigation flight, you have to be absolutely sure of your flight plans and the routes, since there is no margin for error as you are not able to use your hands quickly to scan the map or draw alternative routes while in flight.

YES, the helicopter pilot is able to fly close to the ground and see where he/she is, but if you have a 300ft cable underneath with expensive survey equipment, or if you fly a helicopter as an Eskom Live Line pilot, you dare not be slack in your commitment for one second.

The CLUB has an operating budget and there is a 15% of the fund amount that is allocated to management of the club, their lawyers, bookkeepers and auditors, advertising, telephone and website fees as well as a secretary. This is the only person that will receive a salary from the club funds. She has her work cut out for her and it will be a full-time position. The club is responsible for the communication between the selected instructors and the various flight schools and the management of the funds on behalf of the students.

Students can make the decision to start the flying lessons with either 25 hours flying time money in the bank account or they can stretch it to a 50hour mark. The reason for doing this is for continuity. If you only fly every 3 to 4 weeks you spend the first 15minutes revising your previous lesson, but if you are flying every day, your muscles develop a muscle memory and the revision time is cut short.

All of the students have agreed on a dress code for classes and flying and we want to instill a feeling of discipline and integrity into all students that go through our training program. Please see the training schedule further on in the website.

We are certain that the students will reach their goals and become professional Commercial Helicopter Pilots that will sooner, rather than later be in a position to help anybody of you in a time of need.