Flight Simulator Saved Her Career

By Cynthia Laddon Kaase

I recently approached Corporate Helicopters about some additional training in which I was interested.

As a newly rated instrument pilot in airplanes I was eager to add on my instrument rating in helicopters. My goal was to accomplish this in the minimum time required by the FAA as I was on a very limited budget.

To add to my challenge, I would be transitioning from the Schweizer 300 into the Robinson 44, a ship in which I had zero flight hours. After five hours of flying the R44 I was still having a tough time with basic attitude flying under the hood and my attempts at flying an IAP were abysmal.

At this point meeting my goals seemed next to impossible. Fortunately, Corporate Helicopters had recently added a FLY IT Flight Simulator to their already impressive fleet of helicopters.

With encouragement from the Corporate staff and a healthy dose of determination I set out to master the FLY IT Simulator. To my surprise, in as little as three hours training time in the sim, I was able to hold altitude, heading and airspeed in full IMC.

A few more hours had me flying holding patterns and instrument approaches within the PTS. My results in the sim were nothing short of remarkable, as was evidenced on my next flight in the R44.

With the help of Garner Shepard, my flight instructor and the FLY IT sim, I was able to attain all of my goals. I earned my Add -On Instrument Helicopter Rating with under 19 hours in the R44.

Of those, 15 hours were in simulated instrument conditions, the minimum required by the FAA.

Whether you are a student pilot just starting out, a private pilot working on an instrument rating, or a high time pilot looking for the thrill and challenge of "popping out" at minimums, I highly recommend you invest some time training with Corporate Helicopters in their FLY IT Flight Simulator. Don't miss this great opportunity to hone your skills, save money and have fun all at the same time!

Cynthia Laddon Kaase is CFI, AGI, Commercial Pilot Helicopter, Instrument rated, Private Pilot Airplane, Instrument rated Complex, High Performance, Tailwheel.

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Cynthia Kaase was the student who wrote the article, with Garner Shepard, full time company pilot for Corporate Helicopters, ATP, CFI, CFII also 135 in R44 and Bell206 JetRanger and LongRanger.