Helicopter flight school

Learn to fly a helicopter in Switzerland

Piloting a helicopter yourself is a great privilege. But making this extraordinary activity your profession is probably one of the most beautiful dreams of your life. Together with selected partner flight schools, we offer you helicopter training on modern helicopters at various locations in Switzerland. Make this dream come true!

With a private license, you can carry out private flights and transport passengers. With a professional license, you can make flying your profession. After training, you have the opportunity to work as a pilot for a helicopter company. Many additional training courses are open to you afterwards! Further information on training, opportunities and costs can be found below.

Consultation

Helicopter private license

Every pilot training course starts with a private pilot's license (PPL). With this training, you are authorized to fly a helicopter on private flights and also to carry passengers. Passengers are also allowed to pay for the helicopter. This is a good opportunity to fly with friends and acquaintances after completing the training and to build up flying hours. However, no financial gain may be made from the flights. The private pilot training course lasts approx. 12 months.

Requirements private pilot

No prior knowledge required
Medical 2 (see below)

Minimum age
17 years

Helicopter professional license

For the majority of pilots, a private license is enough to fulfil the dream of flying a helicopter. If you want to make helicopter flying your profession, you can start your commercial pilot training (CPL) after completing your private pilot training and gaining at least 155 hours of flying experience. With this license, you can carry out commercial flights for a helicopter company.

In order to gain the necessary hours to start professional pilot training after private pilot training, you can complete additional training for mountain landings (MOU) or night flights (NIT) in addition to private sightseeing flights.

Professional pilot requirements

Valid private license PPL(H)
155 hours on helicopters
Medical 1 (see below)

Minimum age
17 years

It is also possible to skip the private license step and start training as a professional pilot directly. However, this integrated professional pilot training can only be completed full-time, which takes approx. 9-12 months.

Opportunities as a professional helicopter pilot

At the moment, we have an ageing population of experienced professional pilots in Switzerland and in some areas there is already a shortage of pilots. This situation will become even more acute in the coming years, which will greatly increase the chances of finding a job as a pilot. In addition, you can apply to the federal government to have your costs covered as part of the young talent promotion program. After training as a professional helicopter pilot, however, you must have the opportunity to start as a sightseeing pilot in a helicopter company. This provides a good entry into commercial helicopter flying. It is therefore important to choose a flight school that makes this possible. However, the path remains rocky and training is no guarantee of employment. It takes a lot of initiative, building up contacts, additional training and a bit of luck to get into commercial flying.

Medical suitability

In order to complete private pilot training, a Class 2 medical certificate (Medical Class 2) is required, and a Class 1 medical certificate (Medical Class 1) is required for commercial pilot training. Medical fitness is confirmed by a flight physician after a thorough examination. Whether you take Medical 2 or Medical 1 directly depends very much on your goal in helicopter flying. Our flight instructors will be happy to advise you.

Training process

Practical training
Practical training can be started at any time after consultation with the flight instructor. You should make at least two training flights per month in order to make good progress in your training. Ideally, you should plan one training flight per week. The complete training to become a private pilot takes approx. 12 months, depending on the student's available time, and approx. 6 months to become a commercial pilot. There is no minimum period in which the training must be completed. We have an online booking tool where students can book their training flights themselves. Training flights are possible seven days a week, whereby no external landings may be made on Sundays. A minimum total flight time of 45 hours is required by law for the private pilot license and a minimum total flight time of 30 hours for commercial pilot training. Up to 5 hours of this can be completed on an approved simulator.

Theoretical training
The theory courses take place at Altenrhein airfield in classroom lessons. On request, all theory courses can also be completed online in a virtual classroom or at home via distance learning. This system allows you to complete the theory courses in a geographically independent and time-efficient manner. It is advisable to attend theory lessons at the same time as practical flying lessons.

The following subjects are covered:
Subject 20 - General aircraft knowledge Heli specific
Subject 30 - Flight performance and flight planning Heli specific
Subject 70 - Operating procedures Heli specific
Subject 80 - Fundamentals of flight (aerodynamics) Heli specific
Subject 10 - Air law general
Subject 40 - Human performance general
Subject 50 - Meteorology general
Subject 60 - Navigation general
Subject 90 - "Voice" (radio telephony) general

Costs and financing

The costs depend heavily on the type of helicopter chosen. As a guideline, you can expect to pay around CHF 35,000 each for private training and professional pilot training. An additional CHF 25,000 will be added for the hours between the private and professional license as well as the retraining course for a larger helicopter. Only the actual flight hours flown will be charged. Payment of the total amount can therefore be spread over several months or years, depending on the duration of the training.

If your goal is to obtain a commercial pilot's license, complete courses including mountain training (MOU) and hours between PPL and CPL training are also possible. After completing the course, there is a chance that you will be employed as a sightseeing pilot.

Step 1 - Trial flight

To see if you like helicopter flying at all, we recommend that you first take a trial flight. During the briefing, you will be given an in-depth look at helicopters and then take a flight with the instructor. You can do a lot of the piloting yourself at the dual controls and your instructor can already give you some helpful tips. This is an important step before you tackle any other tasks on your way to becoming a pilot. The flight time flown on a trial flight will be credited in full towards any training. The trial flight can be booked at various locations. You can find more information directly on the trial flight page.

> to the helicopter trial flight

Step 2 - Personal consultation

A good consultation is essential for a successful start at the helicopter flight school. Experienced flight instructors are always available for a consultation to answer all your questions and explain the training process in detail. It is also possible to view the hangar with the various helicopter types. To see if you like helicopter flying, the consultation can also be combined with a trial flight. Simply enter this request in the comments field when registering for the trial flight.

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