Success Stories

Dave Usher

Commercial Pilot / Instructor
Leicester, UK

Dave is an inspiration having gone from zero flying experience to CPL(H) in under a year! He is now a flight instructor and and is getting paid to do a job he loves.

WHAT GOT YOU INTERESTED IN FLYING HELICOPTERS?

I’ve wanted to fly for as long as I can remember. I‘d always wanted to join the RAF whilst growing up and somehow managed to get a flying scholarship with them about 10 years ago! However, I slipped a disc in my back messing about and rendered myself unable to fly!! Very impressed with the physio and chiropractic on said injury and realising that I would simply not be good enough to fly Tornados, I chose to pursue a career as a physio instead!

SO HOW DID YOU GET FROM PHYSIO TO HELICOPTER PILOT?

One of my placements was at Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham where the county air ambulance regularly dropped in. Having plucked up the courage to speak to the pilot and spending more and more time looking at the aircraft, I realised that I was in the wrong job! I then came to one of the career seminars at Helicentre which gave a very “warts and all” view of life as helicopter pilot and the rest as they say is history!

GOING FOR YOUR CPL IS A BIG DECISION TO MAKE. WAS IT AN EASY ONE?

Yes and no! Yes in as much that flying for a living was a childhood dream but no because of the current economical climate and the concern about the potential for work afterwards. However, getting an instructor rating alleviated these fears as there is always a pool of people who want to learn to fly allowing me to get paid for doing a job I love as well as logging those all important hours.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TRAINING AT HELICENTRE?

Fantastic! The quality of instruction right from the outset was genuinely superb. They tailor it to your individual needs and have an ability to simplify a subject that can at times be very challenging. In a nutshell, Helicentre were pivotal in getting me through the course so quickly.

WHAT ARE THE MOST EXCITING THINGS YOU HAVE DONE SO FAR?

During hour building I tried to do as many varied trips as I could to maximise my experience. Long NavEx’s, crossing controlled airspace and MATZ’s, landing at as many different airfields as possible and flying the heli-lanes in London all formed part of it! A group of us also flew down to Luchon in the Pyrenees in October 2008 which was a fantastic experience. I also buddied up with a couple of fellow hour builders whereby we’d pick a place on the map, take a couple of aircraft and just go! Great laugh!


Dave (middle) and fellow pilots at Rouen Airport on the way back from Luchon

HOW DID YOU GET QUALIFIED AS A COMMERCIAL PILOT SO QUICKLY?

I pretty much went into this full time. I was lucky in that I was able to carry on with some physio privately as well as working part time for my best mates at their garage or tarmacing! As Helicentre are a registered learning provider, I was able to get a career development loan through them. I also became VAT registered and started to work for Helicentre in operations, groundcrew and marketing to maintain an income during my training. The past 16 months have been incredibly challenging with 6 – 7 day weeks been the norm, but the end result has made it all worthwhile.

WHAT WAS THE INSTRUCTOR COURSE LIKE?

Brilliant. It brought together everything I’d learned so far, and filled the many gaps in my knowledge! It’s a course where you have many “eureka moments” if you like, in that you suddenly realise the reasons behind the training syllabus and why we’re taught in the way we are.

AS A NEWLY QUALIFIED CPL AND FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO START WORKING IN THE INDUSTRY?

I took my flight instructor test on a Monday, went to Gatwick to get my licence stamped on Tuesday and had my first trial lesson on Wednesday! The amount of students that I’m getting is now steadily increasing as I gain more experience.

ARE YOU PLEASED WITH YOUR DECISION TO CHANGE YOUR CAREER?

Very. Its hard work and requires a lot of commitment but if you stay focused, its quite possible. If I can do it, anyone can!

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AND AMBITIONS FOR THE FUTURE?

I’d like to instruct for the next few years, but my ultimate goal would be to fly an air ambulance. I think it’s the pinnacle of helicopter flying and provides an absolutely invaluable service.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO NEW PILOTS WHO ARE CONSIDERING THE SAME CAREER MOVE?

Do as much research as you can before you commit and be totally honest with yourself throughout the decision making process. It’s not an easy course to get through and there are a lot of up and downs (pardon the pun!). It does require a massive amount of commitment and a real desire to learn. Helicopters are fickle things – they can give you a real sense of euphoria and conversely, be incredibly intimidating. Having spoken to dozens of high hour pilots, they all say they still learn something new everyday they fly. In other words, it’s a career that doesn’t allow for complacency but does provide a changing environment to keep things interesting!