Based on the author's EASA ATPL(H) modular distance learning course, this book provides all the material required for the FAA, EASA or Canadian exams (according to your preference), including the PPL(H), CPL(H) and ATPL(H), plus a few extras, like the Instrument Rating. The book has been specially designed for the needs of professional or military pilots seeking to gain an alternative licence, but newcomers to the industry can use it, too, since it assumes no previous knowledge.
Just as important as the exams is the interview panel, and this is the book for those who want to deal with both - its purpose is to help you become a professional, for which the exams are but a step on the way - doing the bare minimum to pass them makes you ill-prepared to be a pilot, which is not fair to future passengers and painfully obvious to employers (and interviewers) who certainly expect you to have more than a basic knowledge.
It is a reference book that follows the ATPL(H) syllabus, so you can use it before, during and after your exams, for the whole of your career! Because it provides an overview of the whole study syllabus, and the usual study materials are not easy to read on the bus or the train, the book is suitable for many types of reader:
- Those who want to see what they are letting themselves in for.
- Those who want to do some pre-study before starting a flying course.
- Those who cannot understand the materials on the course they are already on.
- Those who want a reminder of the trouble they went through!
People trying to keep current while waiting for a job or an interview to turn up will also find it useful. In fact, there's a lot in its pages you don't get taught in flying school, and a lot you should be taught, were it not for time constraints - many professional tips and tricks have been included to help make your transition to being a working pilot as easy as possible. Much of the contents are based on common questions asked during recurrent training, and known exam questions, and include the usual subjects, that is, radio, weather, law, flight planning, etc., plus Going For a Job (with lots of interview questions!).
Note that, with the EASA system, you must be recommended by an approved Flying Training Organisation before you can take the exams. However, ATPL (H) holders with at least 1000 hours (PIC or copilot) on multi-pilot helicopters type rated for the (multi-pilot) machine to be used for the skill test, with at least 500 hours on type, are exempt from the TRTO course or any training for the theoretical exams, and the skill test (no, you are not exempt the skill test, just any knowledge requirements for it!) With less than 500 hours on type, you are exempt from the theoretical exam training, but will still have to do a type rating course, which may be reduced anyway because of previous experience. This means that you can just book the exams, read this book and take them, with no sign-off from a training school - there is a slot on the application form for exemptions claimed.
"More than you need for the exams, but the minimum you need for survival."
