Helen’s Latest Book!

This informative and readable book is aimed at all those who are doing the Helicopter Private Pilot’s Licence course, those who have qualified recently, and those who are planning to learn to fly helicopters in the future.   It is based to a large extent on the author’s own experiences, both as a student and instructor, and it covers all aspects of the PPL(H) course.

After a general introductory section discussing topics such as how a helicopter flies and the best way to choose a flying school and instructor, the book follows the PPL(H) syllabus as it is taught in the UK, with a detailed account of each flying exercise. The idea is that the student can read about the relevant lesson before he or she attempts it with an instructor.

A Manual for Helicopter Enthusiasts

‘The Helicopter Pilot’s Companion’ is based on articles which Helen wrote for ‘Today’s Pilot’ and ‘Flight Training News’ over a number of years. It starts by covering a whole range of topics related to rotary aviation, such as common myths concerning helicopter flying, choosing a flying school and instructor, the basics of rotary aerodynamics, plus all aspects of actually learning to fly helicopters. It then looks at issues which are important when the new helicopter pilot has gained his or her licence and is let loose to fly alone, such as flying with passengers, coping with more challenging weather, and dealing with emergencies. Finally, it offers advice to those readers who are considering becoming professional helicopter pilots.

Articles from Flight Training News 2011/12

This book is based on the aviation articles which Helen wrote for the magazine Flight Training News during the years 2011 to 2012. It begins with an article from Helen’s early days of learning to fly, My Learning-to-Fly Nightmare, which should provide encouragement for anyone who is struggling with the PPL course. The next three articles are about topics of general interest to private pilots. Then come a group of helicopter related articles, but these should still provide food for thought for anyone interested in any type of flying. The last chapter answers the thought provoking issue, Why People Give up Flying. Altogether there are over 22,000 words of flying related information.  If you enjoyed the earlier books, you should like this one too!

Collected Articles on the Life and Work of a Helicopter Pilot

Helen for many years combined working as a helicopter flight instructor with writing about various aspects of rotary aviation for a number of magazines. This latest book is a collection of seven very different articles which could be particularly useful and interesting to those wanting to know about helicopter pilot careers.
The first two articles discuss the qualifications and experience needed to become a commercial helicopter pilot and then a flying instructor. After that come Helen’s experiences of the different jobs available to helicopter pilots, generally obtained from meeting people who did that work. Thus the next two articles are about different aspects of the worthwhile work of air ambulance pilots. Then come two further articles about the work of the Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit. Finally we have some details of the less well known jobs of those pilots who patrol and monitor the gas pipelines throughout the UK.

New Book of Interest to Both Aviators and Travellers

Helen has done a lot of flying over the years, both by aeroplane and helicopter, for she had licences to fly both for a number of years. Most of it was during the time before she settled down and became a helicopter instructor, and it was done partly – though not exclusively – to gain the flying experience needed for that career. Some of it has been in foreign countries, and much of it has been very exciting by all usual standards. Many of these adventures have been published in the past – in flying magazines, the British Women Pilot’s Association newsletter, and various other publications. And it seemed like a good idea to put them all together in book form – and so the idea for My Foreign Flying Adventures began to take shape.