Wanaka Helicopters’ Advanced Mountain Flying Training

New Zealand is blessed with having many great flight schools and many great places to learn to fly, but Wanaka is truly unbeatable as a location for real mountain-flying training. As Rob Neil reports, Wanaka Helicopters recently received NZQA accreditation for its training programme, including its brand new advanced mountain-flying training courses that are unlikely to be bettered anywhere in the world.The town of Wanaka, situated at the southern end of Lake Wanaka, has long been appreciated for its scenic beauty by New Zealanders and overseas visitors alike. However, while for many years it was nearby Queenstown that was always thought of as the “ultimate” South Island tourist destination, this is no longer the case; for many visitors, Wanaka has become the destination and not just another place to visit on the journey to Queenstown. Wanaka’s permanent population, which swelled by 50% in the five years between 2001 and 2006, continues to grow as ever more people appreciate what the place has to offer in the way of climate, scenic beauty and lifestyle.

Long before it became fashionably popular, Simon Spencer-Bower and his wife Carolyn recognised what Wanaka had to offer when they moved from Canterbury to set up Wanaka Helicopters in 1994. The company has since specialised in helicopter pilot training and has grown from a one-man-band—Spencer-Bower instructing on his own, with a single Robinson R22—to a current staff of five instructors operating a fleet of eight machines (four R22s, two R44s, one AS350 and a Hughes 500C).

Simon Spencer-Bower is a well-known name in aviation circles throughout New Zealand and overseas; he is acknowledged by Frank Robinson as probably the world’s highest-timed Robinson R22 pilot. However, it is not only as a helicopter pilot that Spencer-Bower is known; he is also an experienced vintage fixed-wing and champion aerobatic pilot (a de Havilland Chipmunk still resides in the Wanaka Helicopters hangar), has been a display pilot for several of the famous warbirds flown at the Warbirds Over Wanaka air show, and is an experienced helicopter flight examiner.

Because his comprehensive experience in general aviation (both fixed-wing and helicopter) has been mainly in the rugged South Island of New Zealand, it was not surprising that when the New Zealand CAA wanted to “helicopterise” an AC (Advisory Circular) about mountain-flying—the fixed-wing version of which had been formulated by Carlton Campbell—Spencer-Bower was the one they came to. The AC arose from a number of crashes that highlighted deficiencies in mountain-flying skills, and the CAA wanted operators flying in the mountains to be able to employ pilots that had been appropriately trained in mountain flying.

As he worked through the AC, Spencer-Bower realised that Wanaka Helicopters (although not uniquely) was already providing what the final document proposed as the “ideal” curriculum for mountain-flying training. However, he also realised the importance of its becoming “standardised” and “auditable”. “It’s one thing to know you’re doing something right,” says Spencer Bower, “it’s another thing to be able to prove it.” What was needed, he decided, was for Wanaka Helicopters and its entire flight-training programme—including a new advanced mountain-flying training syllabus—to become NZQA accredited in line with international standards and trends. Changes to student loans and the way flying training is funded only added to Spencer-Bower’s determination to follow the NZQA path.

Paul Johnson was the man to whom the Spencer-Bowers turned for assistance with obtaining their NZQA accreditation. Johnson, whose background is in education, was happy to see that Wanaka Helicopters already had many of the necessary quality assurance systems in place that would be required to achieve NZQA approval. “It’s been about adapting aviation systems and procedures to fit with the Education Act,” says Johnson (“and whipping us, mercilessly,” adds Carolyn). “Things like the training practice for international students. To a large degree, this has been a case of increasing the number of documents to cover many of the things that were previously in instructors’ heads.”

What began as a casual enquiry by Carolyn for his advice became a full-time job for Johnson as Wanaka Helicopters’ “compliance officer”. His services have been invaluable to the Spencer-Bowers and their instructors, none of whom were able to just “down tools” in order to focus entirely on the NZQA approval process.

Johnson agrees with Spencer-Bower’s self-assessment that, overall, Wanaka Helicopters had been doing virtually everything now covered by the new NZQA standards. It was just that many of them weren’t documented. However, as he makes clear, “it is the documentation and recording of every aspect that ensures consistency.” While it was the Spencer-Bowers’ decision to follow the NZQA path, Simon had some sympathy for his instructors’ (initial) antipathy towards the additional paperwork required. “To be totally honest, their take was, ‘What’s wrong with what we’ve been doing? It works well.’ And it had,” he says. “But it all comes back to accountability and proof of compliance.”

In the end, although it has taken a little getting used to, there is now some recognition that the paperwork is not quite such a burden in that it makes auditing much easier than it was in the past. Everything is about audits these days; CAA audits, Qualmark audits—now NZQA audits —and probably in future, DOC audits for aircraft operating in and around national parks. There is no escaping the necessity to prove everything, nor the reality that the future will only demand more compliance. So while it might have been a nuisance to come to terms with the changes involved, in the long term, Johnson and the Spencer-Bowers believe that the robustness and complete transparency of the quality management system they now have in place will make it that much easier to achieve and prove compliance in future.

“Whatever happens, we can just go back to the documented proof—of everything,” Spencer-Bower says. “No one ever wants more paperwork but when much of the documentation is now stored electronically, it is much easier. The most important thing is that it raises the company to a new level of professionalism and expertise.” Indeed, the new system even encompasses such things as carbon footprint awareness and reduction.

Johnson and Spencer-Bower both believe there is a national move towards plugging perceived “gaps” in aviation training by all manner of agencies, and a concerted effort to improve safety. Increasing the quality of training is seen as a way to help achieve this. Historically—and not unnaturally—the aviation authority has been the only agency overseeing flying training, which has been—again, not unnaturally—highly technically focussed. Both Johnson and Spencer-Bower believe that it is possible to improve training by incorporating all the requisite technical skills with different training methods—methods that can be monitored and assessed under NZQA unit standards. Johnson suggests that in future, the CAA might introduce such standards for all training.

There is unlikely to be any argument within the industry that all must strive constantly to improve training standards. This is especially important at a time when the demand for pilots has lowered the minimum experience levels required to get a job. “Ten years ago, if you tried to get a job, you needed at least 1,000 hours minimum—turbine time! Now companies are hiring pilots with only 500 hours total time or even less. Improved training and higher standards are essential if this is going to work,” insists Spencer-Bower.

As a result of his experience as a flight examiner, Spencer-Bower believes that flight training has, in the past, been an aspect of the aviation industry that has “slipped through the cracks” as far as oversight and systems are concerned. While there are all manner of requirements for premises and facilities for air transport operators, an instructor—once out of supervision—can set up from a caravan or car boot and instruct anywhere. Spencer-Bower hastens to add that this does not necessarily mean that such training is inferior to that offered by big schools, but simply points out that with no controls or QM systems in place, it is only at the end that inadequacies become apparent. Quite apart from obvious safety ramifications, this is unfortunate for students who have been paying good money for flight training.

Flight training standards are intended to be just that—standards—so that instructors and testing officers are all on the same page. NZQA standardisation will contribute to ensuring this is reinforced so that, for example, a student who is taught to fly at a small flying school on the West Coast of the South Island will learn the same things as a student flying at Ardmore, and that testing officers throughout the country will expect the same and test the same wherever they test.

Spencer-Bower accepts that “standards” do exist for most aspects of a licence test—they are clearly laid down in writing. However, he points out that these are minimum standards and believes that instructors and schools shouldn’t be training students to just reach them and no more. “Good flight training is about what pilots know above and beyond the minimum,” he insists.

The NZQA standards applied to Wanaka’s advanced mountain-flying training course are, likewise, minimum standards, but Spencer-Bower believes his company offers both an environment and an instructing staff that provide far more than the bare minimum.

Mountain training was one aspect that in the past, according to Spencer-Bower, had been rather “hit and miss” at best and, at the very least, inconsistent. While exercises like cross country flying are well documented, “standardised” and measurable, mountain-flying varies greatly between instructors—each teaching students according to what he or she knows about mountain-flying, which, in some cases, isn’t very much—the foothills around Auckland hardly compare to Fiordland or the Mount Cook National Park.

With Johnson’s assistance—and one arduous year after beginning the process—Wanaka Helicopters finally achieved its NZQA approval, both as a training organisation and for its advanced mountain-flying course. While there are other training organisations that are NZQA certified, Spencer-Bower believes his is the first to have such accreditation for an advanced mountain-flying course and those who complete it will receive a formal qualification in the form of a nationally recognised certificate in advanced mountain-flying.

Spencer-Bower is pleased that this new course provides and documents a set of standards by which mountain-flying training can now be measured and assessed. Furthermore, it also allows for various components and individual skills to be taught independently and recorded.

As part of its overall approval, Wanaka Helicopters incorporated a procedure to facilitate the procurement of student visas for flight-training candidates from overseas. The amount of work that has been done to effect this procedure (among others) means that such procedures are now streamlined, documented and auditable. Importantly for students, it means that the entire process of applying to train in New Zealand is completely “pain free” because Wanaka Helicopters has already done all the hard work.

When an overseas applicant—whether for ab initio or advanced training—first approaches Wanaka Helicopters with a request to train at Wanaka, he or she is immediately entered into the company’s system so that every stage of the process is documented from the beginning. Staff then follow clearly defined guidelines in questioning applicants in order to avoid uncertainty on either side. After preliminary enquiries are completed, the company then forwards all of the appropriate documents for an applicant to consider and complete—things like enrolment forms, “fit-and-proper person” application—and an outline of fee structures in which all fees area clearly explained, ensuring that there are no “hidden” costs or nasty surprises for them later. These documents can be either emailed or posted in hard copy form.

Only if an applicant meets all of the relevant criteria will his or her application for enrolment be accepted. Once an applicant is advised of acceptance, the next stage is a test flight, after which he or she will be thoroughly briefed on the entire training programme, with every stage of the process being checked off against appropriate documentation. Even such information as the locations of various facilities around the Wanaka area is provided to applicants. Once an applicant is offered a place at the school, his or her papers will be forwarded to Immigration for approval.

It is up to Wanaka Helicopters to ensure that applicants meet the essential requirements of having medical and travel insurance and valid student visas. The company’s ability to administer the student visa process means that its students know they will be able to remain in New Zealand for as long as legitimately necessary to complete their training. Furthermore, students are safe in the knowledge that as signatories to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students, Wanaka Helicopters is also responsible—under clearly defined guidelines—for safeguarding their course fees in a company trust account and ensuring their personal wellbeing, including providing communication paths for them in the event of problems or difficulties they might experience during their stay.

New students are given passwords to secure online personal files and access to a self-directed “e-learning” system. Wanaka Helicopters doesn’t provide a dedicated theory course; as Spencer-Bower says, “there are organisations—with their own high quality systems and good QM in place—specifically set up to cater for this.” Nevertheless, Wanaka Helicopters provides online support for theory subjects for those wishing to undertake (and who feel they can cope with) online study for aviation examination subjects and provides sample exams that give feedback to students. This electronic system allows the Wanaka team to monitor students’ progress while simultaneously allowing instructors to monitor the amount of time students are spending online to see if they are applying themselves to their study.

Spencer-Bower sees the NZQA accreditation as an important step up for Wanaka Helicopters as an organisation because it can now more easily attract overseas students. However, his personal drive to improve safety across the board means he is particularly happy about the new mountain-flying course.

“We are so lucky here in New Zealand in being able to operate in and on mountains. I’ve had people from places like Austria and the US who are amazed that we actually land in the mountains.” In many places around the world—including many widely recognised for their alpine environments—“mountain-flying” often only involves flying over or around mountains. During the course of their “mountain-flying”, many overseas students only ever land on sealed helipads and at airports, and they never even operate from a grass surface until they arrive in New Zealand.

Needless to say, it is somewhat problematic for budding “mountain” EMS or heli-skiing pilots to learn what they need to know in such an environment. Wanaka Helicopters’ mountain-flying training programme has three different “courses” which have been designed to cater for pilots of every experience level from PPL trainees through to highly qualified, experienced commercial pilots who need to increase specific mountain-flying skills.

The first course is aimed at the private pilot and involves minimum of five hours. It covers general familiarisation with the mountain environment, and things like unusual horizons, visual illusions and mountain landing techniques at altitudes up to about 4,000 feet.

The second course is aimed at commercial pilots. It involves twice as much flying—ten hours—and involves similar flying to the first course, but to a higher standard.

Finally, the third—advanced—course is intended for pilots who want to gain experience over and above the commercial standard. It is particularly suitable for pilots who may already have significant experience in terms of hours, but who might wish to take up a position with an organisation that does a lot of mountain flying. For example, a pilot who has learnt to fly in the UK or Australia will not even understand what a mountain is. However, as Spencer-Bower admits, “The reality is that each of us is only good in the environment we operate in. Take me to downtown London and let me loose in a helicopter, and I’d be way out of my depth.” There is little doubt that should a “flatlander” apply for or get a job with a company that operates in real mountain areas, it would be extremely challenging without adequate training. “What we provide is the kind of training that will equip them to operate safely and with confidence, in the most difficult terrain, anywhere in the world.”

The uniqueness of the Wanaka Helicopters’ course extends to its location. Not only is New Zealand unique in its weather and topography, but also, Wanaka is unique within New Zealand in having such diverse landscapes so readily accessible to the airfield and where the mountains are only minutes away. Although nearby Queenstown also has mountains right on its doorstep, it suffers significant restrictions in the form of weather and extremely busy controlled airspace. Wanaka—just over the hill from Queenstown—has more benign weather and its training opportunities extend from easy, rolling, non-intimidating hills all the way to the steepest, highest and most intimidating of mountains—all in uncongested and virtually unrestricted airspace.

Perhaps Wanaka Helicopters’ most important asset is its instructing staff. It is the nature of the flight training industry globally that frequently, instructors are barely qualified commercial pilots whose teachings derive largely from theory. Spencer-Bower is not completely critical of this situation and accepts that in many training organisations, where instructors have adequate supervision and need to teach only basic skills, the “status quo” works just fine. However, he simply won’t employ inexperienced instructors because of his belief that pilots should be trained beyond “minimum” standards—particularly in the potentially hazardous mountain environment.

Thus, Wanaka Helicopters’ students can be confident that their instructors are all highly experienced and know what they are talking about. They have seen Wanaka and the mountains in all of their seasons and moods, and know the hazards of winter’s snow, ice and poor visibility and the summer’s heat and high density altitudes.

While it might seem “natural” to assume that flying in mountains is different from flying on the flat, many people fail to grasp the significance of some of the important points. Spencer-Bower likens such dangerous complacency to the analogy of sailing on Lake Wanaka compared to sailing the Southern Ocean; clearly, there are very different skill sets required to survive in the Southern Ocean.

For example, while all pilots understand the (basic) effects of wind, in the mountains, winds there are usually stronger and significantly gustier. High density-altitude and its effects on performance and tail rotor effectiveness cannot be taught by theory and must be experienced to really make sense. Similarly, mountain snow operations cannot be learnt from a book or in a classroom. At Wanaka, students don’t only go flying on beautiful sunny days. Experience in bad weather and difficult conditions is vital to really understanding mountain-flying and this is where Wanaka’s instructors’ experience is so important because decision making—particularly of the all-important “go, no-go” kind—is perhaps the most essential of all flying skills.

Wanaka Helicopters’ reputation as a training organisation has ensured that it has always had a steady stream of students wanting to train there and the company has never needed to advertise. This remains true for its “standard” training, but because of its uniqueness, the company will be advertising its mountain-flying course overseas.

Despite the fact that he will be advertising overseas, Spencer-Bower intends to remain small and personalised. “We don’t want hundreds of students coming through, because we want to be able to provide quality training, which requires highly experienced instructors—and there simply aren’t many of them. For overseas students travelling to New Zealand, we want it to be worth their while and for them to get the maximum benefit from the training without feeling as if they are part of a ‘factory’.”

From the New Zealand government and education ministry’s points of view, they are happy that the course provides a specific career path for helicopter pilots. They are happy to have students graduating with specialised—and reasonably high—skills in this area. As a result, the course is now something that “Education New Zealand” is able to market as an export product. Overseas students can secure qualifications beyond basic aviation skills and ratings—which, in many cases, are country-specific—and leave with an internationally recognised educational qualification.

In the current global climate of reducing pilot experience levels, the industry should be pleased that such training is available. Students should be particularly happy because even while there is a pilot shortage, it is a shortage of experienced pilots. Thus, any additional qualities or skills that make him or her “stand out” from amongst the thousands of fresh new commercials has to be a good thing for a new pilot.