Heli Air opens new base and flight instructor academy at Gloucestershire Airport
Heli Air offers an extensive range of services and operates with more than 40 helicopters from seven bases across the UK.
Gloucester will be the latest addition to a list that includes Wellesbourne, Wycombe, Denham, Silverstone, Thruxton and Fairoaks.
The company is also Europe’s largest Robinson Helicopter distributor and operations at Gloucester will commence with a 2-seat Robinson R22 and a 4-seat R44 with plans to expand the fleet to include a 5-seat R66 and a Bell 206 JetRanger in the near future followed by additional R22s and a Bell LongRanger.
The Gloucester base will be home to Heli Air’s new Flight Instructor Academy. In addition, as the company already holds UK CAA FTO and TRTO approvals on many aircraft, the Gloucester base will also be offering full PPL(H) and CPL(H) courses and Type Ratings on the majority of single engine helicopters.
Captain Mike Buckland, a recognised specialist in training commercial pilots to become helicopter flight instructors will be the new Heli Air Gloucester Base Manager. He has extensive knowledge of piloting, flight instruction and pilot skills testing & examinations as well as public transport capabilities and Mike will be responsible for all Heli Air activities at the base, including its ongoing development.
Brian Kane, Heli Air’s head of sales & marketing, said: “The company has been expanding continuously over the past two years and when the opportunity arose to secure a newly built facility adjacent to the control tower at Gloucestershire Airport, we were quick to seize it. The airport is very centrally located, close to the M5 and the A40, and has an excellent reputation nationally for General Aviation as well as a large helicopter presence already. We’re very excited about the prospects for our new base at this airport.
Heli Air chose Gloucestershire Airport because of its reputation as a centre of excellence for helicopter operations. With the ILS project well underway and first class modern hangar facilities available, it is clear that the very supportive management team at the airport has a sound strategy for the future”.
