Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences › Physical Sciences
This course equips learners with the skills and knowledge to safely perform helicopter take-offs, air taxi, hovering, landings, and go-arounds. It focuses on developing precise aircraft control, situational awareness, and adherence to aviation safety standards essential for professional helicopter operations.
Aspiring and current helicopter pilots seeking to obtain or renew their license, as well as flight instructors and aviation professionals requiring competency in basic helicopter manoeuvres.
Valid Student Pilot License (SPL) or higher, and a completed Helicopter Ground School covering aerodynamics and flight regulations.
Objectives:
• Understand basic helicopter aerodynamics and flight controls.
• Perform pre-flight inspections and cockpit checks.
• Identify safety procedures and emergency equipment.
• Explain the effects of wind and weight on hover performance.
Topics:
• Principles of helicopter flight: lift, thrust, drag, weight.
• Main rotor system and tail rotor function.
• Flight controls: cyclic, collective, anti-torque pedals, throttle.
• Pre-flight inspection procedures.
• Cockpit familiarisation and start-up checks.
• Safety procedures and emergency equipment.
• Hover performance factors: density altitude, weight, wind.
Objectives:
• Execute hovering in ground effect and out of ground effect.
• Perform hover taxi and air taxi manoeuvres.
• Maintain altitude and heading during hover.
• Recognise and correct for drift and oscillations.
Topics:
• Hovering in ground effect (IGE) and out of ground effect (OGE).
• Hover taxi: forward, sideways, and rearward.
• Air taxi: low-level flight at reduced speed.
• Pedal turns and spot turns.
• Correcting for wind drift and maintaining position.
• Common hover errors and corrective actions.
Objectives:
• Perform normal take-offs and departures.
• Execute maximum performance take-offs.
• Conduct rolling take-offs from a taxi.
• Understand rejected take-off procedures.
Topics:
• Normal take-off: from hover to forward flight.
• Maximum performance take-off: obstacle clearance.
• Rolling take-off: from ground taxi to flight.
• Crosswind and downwind take-offs.
• Rejected take-off procedures.
• Departure profiles and noise abatement.
Objectives:
• Perform normal approaches and landings.
• Execute steep approaches and autorotative landings.
• Conduct slope landings and confined area landings.
• Understand go-around procedures from various stages.
Topics:
• Normal approach: deceleration and touchdown.
• Steep approach: high descent rate landing.
• Autorotative landing: power-off descent and touchdown.
• Slope landings: uphill and downhill.
• Confined area landings: obstacle avoidance.
• Go-around: from low hover and during approach.
Objectives:
• Execute go-arounds from various flight phases.
• Practice emergency procedures during take-off, hover, and landing.
• Demonstrate integrated manoeuvres combining all skills.
• Perform a successful solo flight (simulated).
Topics:
• Go-around from hover, approach, and landing flare.
• Engine failure during take-off and hover.
• Tail rotor failure and loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE).
• Hydraulic failure and control binding.
• Integrated flight: take-off, air taxi, hover, landing, go-around.
• Simulated solo flight and instructor debrief.
The practicals provide hands-on flight training in a helicopter simulator or actual aircraft. Learners will apply theoretical knowledge to perform take-offs, air taxi, hovering, landings, and go-arounds under instructor supervision, developing muscle memory and decision-making skills.
Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.
Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.
Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.
On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.
| Component | Out of | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Practical Assignments (rubric-scored) | 100% | 30% |
| Daily Average (multiple choice) | 100% | 20% |
| Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice) | 100% | 50% |
| Final Total | — | 100% |
All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.
Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.
Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.
| Delegates | Discount |
|---|---|
| 5 | 3% off |
| 10 | 6% off |
| 15 | 9% off |
| 20 | 12% off |
| 25 | 15% off |
| 30 | 18% off |
| 50 | 30% off |
| 75 | 35% off |
| 100 | 40% off |
3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.
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