Our main flight training helicopters are the Robinson R22 and R44. These piston engine helicopters are the most popular ab-initio training helicopter in the world, and they are often the types of helicopter that a new pilot will fly for their first job. The R22 is a cost effective way to obtain your initial helicopter pilot licence. With experience in the R22 the transition to the R44 is quick and easy. We also offer training on turbine helicopters using the Bell 206 JetRanger. Students may choose to do their entire course in the JetRanger, or just an endorsement.

Mountain View Helicopters is both a flight training unit as well as a successful commercial operator. Although we cannot guarantee employment to every student, we do hire some of our graduates to operate our seasonal tour base near Drumheller, Alberta. Also, our company president, Paul Bergeron, is well known in the helicopter industry and has worked to establish relationships with operators throughout Canada to help place our graduates.

No previous experience is required. Most people that enrol in our training program have never flown a helicopter before.

No fixed wing experience is required. Helicopters and airplanes fly using different principles and controls. Although the general aviation knowledge you acquire while flying airplanes may prove useful in your helicopter training, some fixed-wing habits actually make learning to fly helicopters more difficult.

You can begin training at any age, but you have to be 16 years old before you can fly solo. You must be 17 to be issued a private helicopter pilot licence, and you have to be 18 years old to get a commercial helicopter pilot licence.

No. You only need vision that is correctable to 20/30 with glasses or contact lenses.

Students enrolled in the Commercial Helicopter Pilot program will need a Category 1 Medical Certificate completed before their first solo flight. The exam begins with an approved Civil Aviation Medical Examiner filling out a Transport Canada application/medical history form. You will be required to have an ECG as well as an audiogram to complete the Category 1 Medical requirements. The validity period is 12 months if you are under 40 years of age and 6 months if you are over 40 years old. For a list of Civil Aviation Medical Examiners near you contact our office, or visit the Transport Canada Civil Aviation website.

Location? Flight Instructor experience? Reputation: is the school well known and respected within the helicopter industry? Number of helicopters and variety of types? Is there in-house maintenance? What are the facilities (classrooms, simulator, common areas, etc.) like? Possibility of employment after graduation?

The Commercial Helicopter Pilot course takes approximately 4 months full time. The Private Helicopter Pilot course takes approximately 3 months full time. The completion date is weather dependent. If the training is done part time the course will take more time and this depends on both the weather and the students schedule.

Our full time programs are offered with either a mid-September, mid-January, or mid-May start date. Part time training can be accommodated for those who cannot attend our full time courses.

The best way to get started is to contact us to discuss the training options that are right for you. You may wish to tour our facilities or schedule a Discovery Flight to learn more about our training program. You will need to complete an enrollment form and return it to us with a deposit to hold a place in one of our courses. Although you can begin training before you obtain a Category 1 Medical Certificate, we recommend starting the process prior to your course start date. This will ensure any issues that arise can be dealt with ahead of time. Then arrive on your scheduled start date, and take it from there.

No, and you should be wary of any school that requests full tuition at the start of the course. At Mountain View Helicopters we request instalments for your training in increments throughout the program. As you fly, your account balance decreases. When your account gets low, we ask for another instalment. The frequency of the instalments increases as the course progresses due to the student flying more hours per day than at the beginning of the program.

Mountain View Helicopters does not provide financing, but is approved by Alberta Advanced Education as a Private Vocational Institute, Student Aid BC, and by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) as an Educational Institution. Our facility is approved for RESP use. Student Loans, grants and other bursaries are available to the students that qualify for them. Alberta Students can check online through www.alis.alberta.ca. Student funding is also available for some people through EI, HRDC, and WCB for flight training. The Government of Canada provides a ‘Lifelong Learning Plan’ where students may withdraw up to $10,000.00 per calendar year from their RRSPs to fund their education. The funds are paid back over several years, which helps to ease the financial burden. Many students have used their savings from working as well as other funding to obtain their helicopter pilot licence. The bank that you have been dealing with for your other financial needs is also a good option if you are looking for funding.