Managing my way

/ 01 March 2010

Mike Horrell, director of air operations, MFH Helicopters

Mike Horrell, director of air operations and chief pilot, MFH Helicopters

I originally started flying helicopters because I wanted to work for an airline, so I went through Oxford air training school. When I was halfway through the course I had a lesson on helicopters and found them much more exciting. I was at the point where I could swap from fixed wing to helicopters, so I did and studied for a helicopter commercial licence.

I run a helicopter training school at Connington Airfield, near Peterborough, and I started working here about nine years ago. I am qualified to instruct or examine clients for private and commercial pilots’ licences.

I probably teach around 15 lessons a week. The majority of people I teach for the private licence are doing it for their own personal use. It’s really rewarding –sometimes I’m amazed at the range of people who come along. They’re certainly not all wealthy and you do get to know them during teaching, which can last up to a year, sometimes more.

Mastering the hover

The minimum number of hours they have to do to get a licence is 45 hours flying, which actually doesn’t sound very much, and usually people take longer than that. I’m also a ground examiner, as there are about eight ground subjects they have to do as well, which they can sit at Connington.

We have a set programme of exercises, which learners work through until they’re proficient enough, and then they go solo.

A big difficulty is that you have to let the students get on the controls and you have to let them recover from their mistakes as much as possible. And you have to try and make it fun, even when they find it difficult. Most people struggle when learning to hover – it’s not a natural thing to do. When they can do it, they wonder why they couldn’t do it to start with, but it does take a bit of practice.

I worked in aerial photography for 25 years. That’s quite difficult – you need to map read fairly well and it can take you anywhere in the country. In areas where there’s a lot of air traffic control that makes it more difficult.

Before I started instructing, I did a lot of flying for underslung loads in Spain, and I enjoy defensive, low- level flying. I also run a spraying course in Derbyshire – the art of spraying. I’ve done hundreds of hours bracken spraying in Scotland for MFH, but I don’t do much spraying now, purely because I’m getting too old!