Over 100 Pilots Have Been Trained At The Facility Near Lake Tahoe

More than 100 pilots from several countries have been trained at Bristow Academy's facility in the Lake Tahoe region, the company announced Thursday. The Flight Training Center, which opened on May 23, 2011, specializes in high altitude operations.

Military and police units have been drawn to this course, primarily from Latin America, where such operational expertise in mountainous terrain is at a premium in order to support their national security objectives.

The training is bilingual Spanish/English with the standard syllabus of four weeks encompassing 40 hours of academics and 18 flight hours to include seven flight hours under night vision goggles (NVGs). The syllabus can be modified to fit a customer’s specific training requirement. The instructor pilots are the best in the business with more than 14,000 hours between them as they operate at the upper limits of aircraft capabilities in mountainous terrain. The core concepts of the course include performance planning, weather, operational techniques, emergency procedures and NVGs. Lead Instructor Oscar Gomez explains, “This training is just as much about decision-making as it is about flying techniques. A pilot operating at high altitudes in an unforgiving environment with a limited power margin must have an enhanced situational awareness in order to safely and successfully conduct the mission.”

Bristow Academy currently provides high altitude training with a fleet of Bell 206s. The Bristow Military Training Program Manager, Armando Martinez comments, “Since inception the chief interest has come from Latin America where our mountain program has and will continue to satisfy their particular training needs. However, we’re getting increased interest from other geographical sectors to include more foreign militaries and commercial entities. This kind of training is unique and infinitely valuable.”

FMI: www.heli.com