Students

International Students

If you are from outside the U.S. and are thinking about starting or completing your helicopter flight training in Florida, then look no further.

We can offer advice to all international students from all over the world.
Whether you are from the UK, Australia, Canada or The Caribbean we can help you.

Ocean Helicopters has contacts with flight schools in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe, The Caribbean and the Far East.

These relationships allow us to keep up to date with the requirements and regulations for each country and offer you the best advice when it comes to flight training.

Please contact us and tell us of your individual needs and we will do our best to cater for you.

UK Students

Flying in Britain is expensive. We have unfortunately been there and done that. Helicopter instruction in the USA is on average about 40 % cheaper than back in the UK.

This is a huge saving and a very good reason in itself to make the trip, but coming to America is not only about saving money.
As we all know the weather in the UK is somewhat unpredictable, here in sunny Florida, with the exception of the odd couple of days here and there, it is all year round flying conditions.
However, this doesn't mean that you will only be used to flying in good weather. With our location being very near to the ocean, we also experience the coastal winds.
These two factors in the weather make for excellent conditions to learn in because not only do you manage to get you licenses or ratings done quickly but also you get real time weather experience.

The main question that you may be thinking is "Will my licence be valid back in the UK?". The simple answer to that question is "Yes". If you come to Ocean Helicopters and obtain your Helicopter Private Pilots Licence, you can then go back to the UK and legally fly on that licence without any conversion.

"Can I convert to the JAA/PPL?"
Again the simple answer is "Yes". If you have less than 100 hours then you would have to do all the written tests, which, to be honest are not difficult and if you have more than 100 hours, you only have to do two of the written tests. In both cases you would have to do a flight test, but after gaining your flight training at Ocean, you will be more than prepared to breeze through that.

Some people don't go overseas for their flight training, the simple reason being because of the uncertainty of going to another county, especially if they haven't been there before. Here at Ocean we understand this fully and have taken several steps to make your stay as accommodating as possible. The following lists just some of the services we provide:

Pick you up at Palm Beach International Airport or the train station when you arrive
Take you to your already pre-arranged accommodation
Pre book you in the daily flight schedule
Provide 24 hours - 7 days a week emergency contact numbers
Make sure that your stay is as comfortable as possible

All you would have to do is book your flight to Palm Beach International Airport and that's it!! We do recommend, for your convenience, that you acquire a rental car for the duration of your stay.

When you have passed your licences or ratings, Ocean Helicopters will then drive you back to the airport and stay with you until you are checked in and safely on your way home.

Before you decide on any flight school to do your training, you should really go and visit them before you commit to anything, so why not come and see us, maybe coupled with a holiday. We offer a package called "An Introduction Week" and it is aimed at people that are thinking about trying their hand at helicopter flying before they commit to a whole course. Or simply for people that want a week in the sun trying something a little different.

For the people that come over here to try helicopter flying before making the big decision of committing themselves, this is a particularly good idea. If you come here and like it and decide you want to go ahead and carry on, EVERYTHING that you do whilst here in that week will count FULLY towards your next course. So in monetary terms, everything that you spend on this course towards your flight training will be taken off the cost of your final course. On the other hand, if you come here and decide that helicopter flying is not for you, then you haven't committed, time wise and financially to a whole course.

So we see the introduction week as a "win/win" situation for our students, but not only do we think this, our students' do too. Every student, bar none that has come over to Ocean Helicopters to do this, has come back to us to complete their training.
Call us for a complete breakdown of what's included in the "Introduction Week".

Ocean Helicopters staff will pick you up from the airport
Drive you to your luxury accommodation and settle you in
One weeks accommodation in our student house
5 hours dual instruction in a Robinson R-22 with a certified flight instructor
5 hours ground school. This is conducted on a one-to-one basis in a classroom
Headset hire
Insurance whilst in the helicopter
Driven back to your departing airport, to catch your flight home

We offer the Private Pilots license, Commercial license, Instrument rating, Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) license, Certified Instrument Flight Instructor (CFII) license and Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license to our UK students.
If you want to convert back to the JAA licenses, we also offer free honest advice on how to do this. We already have in place good relationships with flight schools all over the UK, that we will email on your return, to inform them of your exact needs and requirements, so you can continue where you left off after your training with Ocean Helicopters.

If you need any more information regarding training, please feel free to contact us via either our U.K or Ireland phone number, or email us.