1. CPL
Commercial Pilots
Licence
(Helicopter)

2. Commercial Pilots Licence (H)
The JAR Commercial Pilot’s Licence is the professional pilot’s licence that enables you to earn
money from your helicopter flying. There are two forms of licence, CPL (Commercial Pilots
Licence) and ATPL (Airline Transport Pilots Licence). In the fixed wing world most people will opt
for an ATPL as the CPL has limitations, but in most operations in helicopters, a CPL is quite
sufficient. I would say that the North Sea operators are really the only ones that would prefer you
to have an ATPL as you can not fly as captain with a CPL only become a first officer. If the North
Sea is your intention then you should go the ATPL route. As far as the flying goes it makes no
difference to your course length but there are two extra exams to do. Once you have completed
the CPL flying course and exams you have a full CPL with a frozen ATPL. You must then, within
5 years gain an instrument rating.
There are two ways to gaining this licence, either
a modular route or an integrated course. Most
training facilities for helicopters offer the modular
route due to the high costs and requirements of
providing the integrated course. An integrated
course means that you will be learning both the
flying and ground school from one learning
provider and therefore you skip the necessity for
doing a PPL. A modular course means the
individual elements of a CPL course such as the
flight training and written exams can be done in
sections and by individual providers. This seems
to suit most people as they don’t have a full year
or so to take out of their life for an intensive
integrated course. Saying that you can undertake
an intensive modular course if you wanted to
gain your CPL/ATPL quickly.
At Phoenix we offer the modular course. This means we offer the PPL (H) as one course of 45
hours training. Structured self fly hire followed by a CPL (H) flying course. A course of 30 to 35
hours depending on whether you have a night rating.

3. The pre entry requirements for taking a CPL course are
 Hold a Class 1 Medical Certificate
 Be the holder of a PPL(H) or ICAO CPL(H) issued in accordance with ICAO Annex 1
 Have completed 155 hours flight time as pilot in helicopters, including 50 hours as PIC
of which 10 hours must be cross-country
 Have undertaken the theoretical ground school and achieved a pass in all 13 exams, 15
for ATPL
We will talk later about converting from an ICAO (licence gained in another country) CPL (H)
later.
The Modular Route
In the modular route you split the training elements into different section. Firstly you do a PPL,
let’s assume you do it on the numbers, you can view our PDF or down load it from our student
area on our web site to see the requirements.
You will now have 45 hours flight time of which 10 will be solo and 5 simulated instrument; you
will then go on to build your hours to 155.
This seems very daunting and a long way off, but
there are many ways to build hours. Self fly hire,
repositioning flights; maybe even do some flying
abroad to expand your horizons. You can also use
this time to do some type ratings if finances allow.
We would also recommend possibly getting a FAA
PPL (H) and doing an FAA instrument rating. We can
arrange to do this for you here. This will save a lot of
time and money towards a JAR instrument rating as
the FAA course can be carried out on a single piston.
Once you have completed your CPL (H) you can
then do a conversion to JAR Instrument rating being
an additional 15 hours on a twin turbine rather than
the 30 hours.
During this time you will be studying for your CPL (H)
ground exams. There are 13 altogether for CPL and
15 for ATPL. This is normally done as distance
learning. You send off to your learning provider for
the text books, normally there is an internet
correspondence learning between yourselves and
before you sit the exams there is a brush up course of about two weeks to make sure you are
ready for the exams. The work itself is not that difficult but there is a large volume to get through.
This is estimated to be about 500 hours of reading depending on your ability. We’ll cover the
exams and ground work in more detail in a different section. Once you have completed all the
exams and have accumulated your 155 hours you can then do the CPL flying course.

4. The CPL (H) Flying Course
The aim of any CPL (H) Modular Course should be to provide the flight instruction necessary
to train experienced PPL (H) or ICAO CPL (H) holders to the levels of proficiency necessary to pass
the Skill Test for the issue of a JAR CPL(H). If you looked at the two flight exams next to each other,
PPL and CPL, you would not notice too much difference but there is a big difference. For a PPL holder
the examiner is looking mainly at safety. For a CPL he is looking at professionalism because once he/she
issues you with the licence he is accepting that you are capable of taking other people’s lives in your
hands. A big responsibility!
The flying course itself is divided into four main parts with roughly ten hours on navigation, ten on skills and
you must do ten on instruments followed by five hours night flying if you don’t already have that as a
qualification. We highly recommend you to do the CPL course as intensively as possible, full time. This
should take between 2 weeks and a maximum of 6 months dependent upon the student and their
obligations.
Towards the end of your flying training, you will have to undertake a 170A Assessment, which is
in principle a “mock skills test”. This should be done with about 5 hours of training left. It is
conducted by an experience CPL instructor or examiner separate from your training instructor. The
object is to look for areas of weakness so that you can use the last few hours to highlight those areas
and allows us to ensure that you are ready to take the final test.
From the start you will be encouraged to build a
one-to-one relationship with your instructor. You
can agree with him the frequency of lessons
and he will give you the best advice on how to
complete the course.
Lessons are normally offered in two-hour
sessions; apart from the requirements for solo
during your night exercises all the lessons will be
dual. The lesson plan includes one hour of flying
and one hour pre- and post- flight briefing. This
is not rigid and your instructor will devote as
much time as necessary. The aim of the pre-
flight briefing is to ensure that you know in detail
the flying exercise before it is flown, maximising
the value gained from the flying time. The post-
flight briefing gives you the opportunity to
discuss in detail with your instructor and analyse
the exercises you have just put into practice.
As apart of your training you will be expected to
show motivation and initiative. There is not much
in the way of theory but a good understanding of
aviation and commercial operations will be
encouraged and taught, particularly on your flight
planning. Much of what we will teach you is
airmanship and decision making.
Weather and other practical matters may limit what can be undertaken as far as flying is concerned
but although there is no official ground work as you have passed your exams there is a lot to learn
in relation to the flights themselves.

5. Air and Ground Exercises
1. Pre-flight operations
2. Mass and balance calculations
3. Helicopter inspecting and servicing
4. T a ke -of f s a nd la ndin gs
5. C i r c u i t s a n d e m e rg e n c i e s
6. Approaches
7. Simulated engine off landings in the circuit
8. Sidewa ys and backwa rds f light
9. Spot turns
10. Recovery from incipient vortex ring
11. Advanced autorotations
12. Autorotations to practice forced landings using 30° - 45° of bank
13. Low level manoeuvring and quick stops
14. Advanced take-offs, landings and transitions
15. Sloping ground
16. Limited power
17. Confined areas
18. Cross country navigation
19. Instrument Flying – Straight and level flight
20. Instrument Flying – Level flight speed changes
21. Instrument Flying - Level flight heading changes rate 1
22. Instrument Flying – Level flight heading changes 30° bank
23. Instrument Flying – Climbing / descending speed changes
24. Instrument Flying – Climbing / descending changes rate 1
25. Instrument Flying – Climbing / descending heading 30° bank
26. Instrument Flying – Climbing / descending at constant heading and speed
27. Instrument Flying – Recovery from unusual attitudes
28. Instrument Flying - Limited panel exercises 19 to 22
29. Instrument Flying – Radio Navigation
30. Abnormal and emergency procedures (simulated where appropriate)
31. Night Qualification Course – Revision of basic instrument flying
32. Night Qualification Course – Radio Aids
33. Night Qualification Course - Radar assistance
34. Night Qualification Course - Night flying techniques
35. Night Qualification Course - Solo circuits
36. Night Qualification Course - Cross country

6. Flying Test
Once all the ground exams and flying are completed you will take a Flight Test with a qualified CAA
examiner. The test has five sections but is divided into two main halves; navigation and skill or air
exercises. In the test the examiner will look to see that you demonstrate that you can fly
competently and safely with a professional attitude. The test itself is normally a very much all day
event. First the examiner will talk you through the test explaining what he’s looking for and give you
some guidelines and standards to meet. Then he will give you a navigation exercise to plan. You
will have about an hour to assess the weather and plan your route after which he will go out to the
aircraft with you and watch while you do a walk around. Once satisfied you will then fly the test,
about an hour for the navigation and about an hour for skills and emergencies.
Ground Training
The ground exams have to be done prior to the CPL flying; there are a few distance learning
providers but we recommend Caledonian Advanced Pilot Training.www.captonline.com. We have
built up a relationship with them and find from feed back that the course is highly recommended.
Unlike some providers it is entirely helicopter based and not a fixed wing course with a few helicopter
bits added. The subjects covered are
.
For CPL
 Aviation Law
 Aircraft General Knowledge
 Operational Procedures
 Human Performance and Limitations.
 Navigation
 Meteorology
 Aircraft (General and Type)
 Aircraft flight planning and Performance
 VFR Radio Communication
Additionally for ATPL their subject matter is slightly more intense with the additional subjects of IFR
Communications, and Mass and Balance. You need to consult the latest Lasors for the full
information. If you are going for the instrument rating you may as well do the ATPL as this limits the
exams for instrument because you have completed two of them.
Once you have completed your ground studies there are no extra exams to do on your CPL course
but as a part of the course we will teach you to put all the elements you have learnt into practical use
in a commercial helicopter environment. These will include aircraft mechanics, in-depth flight
planning, helicopter commercial operation and procedure. We won’t just teach you to pass your
skills test but will enhance everything you have learned so far.
Medical Certificate
You must have a medical certificate class 1 current before you undertake the course. If you are just
starting out we highly recommend that you do this before any flying. A PPL only needs a Class 2. It
would be too much if you found after outlaying money on flying that you were colour blind in a
particular spectrum. Really they are only looking for things that would completely incapacitate you
like diabetes or epilepsy. Although the initial medical can only be done at Gatwick with the CAA,
renewals can be done at a chosen CAA approved doctor. In our links section you should be able to
find a list.
http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=49&pagetype=65&appid=21

7. Converting From Non JAR
In order to convert to a JAR CPL you must still fulfil all the requirements of a JAR CPL - basically you
must have an ICAO CPL with 155 hours of flight time, pass all the relevant CPL or ATPL exams and
hold a class 1 medical. From there it differs slightly as there are no set hours to complete the
course. You will be required to have a flight with our CFI who will assess your level and set out a
training plan with you. You will have to do the hours required to pass a 170A and then your CPL
skills test. If you are converting from a CPL A, ATPL A there are some concessions for the ground
exams. This information can be found in LASORs or if you email us we will try to find the answers
for you. Converting from the military is also an option but again its best we look at your application
on an individual basis as many cases vary but if you are converting from military please contact us
before you leave as once you go out of currency it becomes much more difficult.
Pay Scale
Median Salary by Years Experience
Job: Helicopter Pilot
The pay scale chart is provided by PayScale. It shows that in the early years the level of pay you
could receive is between about £20,000 to £40,000 per year. After your experience level increases
and subsequently opportunities increase to fly larger more complex machines then you can expect
your pay for flying these machines to also increase.

8. About Us
Phoenix Helicopter Academy is a relatively new
contender recently set up at Goodwood. Although
the school is new the instructors are not. The
company is owned and run by instructors who
between us have been in the industry for a long time
and have taken the best of our experiences to
approach training in a new way. Unlike many training
environments, Phoenix is a dedicated training facility,
and although we are connected to helicopter
commercial operations our core business is training.
Our instructors are very experienced and dedicated to
instructing. We are also all experienced commercial
pilots and can therefore pass on real life information
that will hopefully aid you in your whole career. We
don’t allow new instructors to instruct on the
commercial courses even under supervision. We try
to instil a very personal service where our students
are not treated as a number but on a more personal
basis. Flying helicopters either for a hobby or as a
career is one of the best things you can do and we
believe the training you receive should be of the
highest standard and something you will remember forever. Once you have completed the course
we then carry on to help you in finding a job from interview techniques to using our facilities free of
charge for C.V posting or anything else you require. The Helicopter industry is a very small one and
our whole company approach is that if we do right by our students, in years to come the
recommendations will pay off. Besides which we as instructors have all at some stage been exactly
where you are now.
Although we are a small company this gives us the ability to treat you individually. All student
lessons are based on a two hour slot with an hours flying. Although the school income is only
generated from the flying hours it is crucial that students get the benefit of a full lesson.
Take the time to have a look though our web site in the student area, and feel free to come down to
see us for a coffee and a chat. Deciding on a school or helicopters as a career is a big step.

9. GOODWOOD
Well what you can say about petrol head heaven. Goodwood is one of those nostalgic places that’s
very well kept. It’s a grass strip aerodrome with a racing circuit round the outside. It is a wonderful
training environment for helicopters with large hover training areas, no fees for helicopter circuits and
in uncontrolled airspace so you are training the minute you get in the air. What’s more, there are
small landing fees, only one per lesson, and you will be training in the beautiful south coast with no
restriction on airspace. Because of its location we don’t tend to have the poor weather that other
fields can get although it can be windy as we are close to the sea and relatively flat. After Silverstone
Goodwood also hosts two of the biggest helicopter events in the country, being the Festival of Speed
and Goodwood Revival. Its very helicopter friendly! Take a look in our link section to see for yourself.
You won’t be disappointed.
Prices
The price for the CPL course is either based on an hourly rate or a pay in advance rate. The price
we show is all-inclusive of flying hours. There are no additional costs for ground courses. The only
additional costs are landing fees and VAT. We do pay our CPL instructors more as we do not
restrict them on lesson time as the CPL is more intensive than PPL.
Standard CPL hourly £ 275.00
CPL course in advance £8000.00
The above price is for 30 Hours training. The 170A fee, CAA exam fee and exam flight time are
charged separately. Funding for your course may be available as it’s a professional course and we
will be happy to tell you your options an additional 5 hours may be necessary if you don’t have a
night qualification.
Hopefully this has answered all of your
questions regarding the course and
requirements but feel free to attend one of our
free monthly seminars where we cover
additional topics like funding, VAT,
opportunities and routes to take. They are
designed to be none pressurising and require
no obligation from you. They are simply a way
for us to help you in answering any questions
you may have. If you have any other specific
question please contact us on
info@phoenixhelicopters.co.uk

10. Finding Us
Phoenix Helicopter Academy
Goodwood Aerodrome
Goodwood
Chichester
PO18 0PH
01243 790900
Info@phoenixhelicopters.co.uk
Once entering Goodwood Aerodrome/Racing circuit go directly ahead. You will see a tunnel.
Go straight through and after the tunnel follow the road round to the left. About 200 yards on
the right hand side you will see us. We are the last building before the aero Club. For your
Sat Nav our postcode is PO18 0PH