In this first episode VP of Helicopter Operations Jared Friend and Chief Instructor Eric Doughtie discuss what the first day of your training looks like. From orientation at the school to getting connected with other students. Hopefully this helps you get a glimpse and helps you launch your dreams into a career.
00:00 – Intro
Welcome to the Heli Academy podcast, your guide to success at Hillsboro Heli Academy. Whether you're a current or future student, we hope each episode will help you on your journey in aviation. It all starts here, where your dreams take flight.
00:31- Jared Friend
So Eric, what are we talking about today?
00:33- Eric Doughtie
So here's the scenario. You're a student, you've gone through the whole application process, and you've just got the email that you've been accepted. You have an orientation date, and you're ready to get started. You made the jump, you made the commitment, you're starting flight training. So we're gonna talk about everything from that moment to getting here, to starting your training, to those orientation days, and going from there.
00:57- Jared Friend
That's awesome. Yeah, it could be really scary, right? We have students that are from all over the world. Some that are from the U.S. some that are from Europe, Asia. And so doing the travel, making the move could be, could be pretty scary, huh?
01:10- Eric Doughtie
Yeah, absolutely. I still remember when I came and visited to still doing the application to orientation, it was, it was a lot. It was, but it was, it was extremely inviting. Honestly, just touring the school, going for a demo, and then getting that acceptance letter. I mean, that's ultimately what sold me. And yeah, it was a big move. It was just about halfway across the country for us, but we have students that are even coming from, you know, halfway around the world.
01:41- Jared Friend
Yeah, yeah. So what are some of the things that we do to make things a little bit easier for these students? Let's talk about the housing situation.
01:50- Eric Doughtie
Absolutely. So, we do have student housing available where, you know, it's designed to be kind of a short-term, transition kind of space. But it's available for students when they come over. Trying to set up housing from a long distance away is extremely challenging. So having that buffer of like, it's there for as long as you need it until you find something permanent for your training. That's really nice. As well as we have our co-pilot program, actually.
02:19 – Jared Friend
Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, talk a little bit about the co-pilot program.
02:23 - Eric Doughtie
So it's actually completely student led. It's not even something that, you know, I as a Chief Instructor, even remotely involved with.
02:31- Jared Friend
That's cool because that's the students caring, right?
02:34 - Eric Doughtie
That's right. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's like kind of the first step in the community is we have these students that volunteer and they say, hey, yeah, I'll help this new student coming in and answer all their questions. And that's kind of the first little step into the getting into the community, right?
02:52- Eric Doughtie
So you got a buddy that'll show you around town, show you around school, right? Recommend like, hey, these apartments are great and all these kinds of questions. And that's really cool. And I just love that it's all the students, right? That's all community coming out.
03:11- Jared Friend
Yeah, yeah, because community is really important here. We really, really encourage students to get to know each other. And that's why we only do the short-term housing, right?
03:20- Jared Friend
Is because after you get here, you're going to meet people, you're going to get to know people, you're going to find somebody that you want to roommate with. You can go get your own place with your own things, you know, and set things up just like that. Right.
03:34- Eric Doughtie
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.
03:36- Jared Friend
So when they get into it, when they get into the country, either their co-pilot or somebody from the school usually meets them at the airport, takes them to the apartment, takes some grocery shopping.
03:50 – Jared Friend
And then you go to, if you chose to do student housing, you go to student housing, right? Yeah. What's, let's talk about what's in student housing for them available.
04:01- Eric Doughtie
Yeah, so, you know, it's fully furnished. You know, you got Wi-Fi and everything like that. Everything that you need is already set up, you know, to make that transition nice.
04:10- Jared Friend
Bed, washer, dryer, towels. All the things, kind of like a hotel might be, only maybe a little bit more because you got cooking supplies too.
04:19 - Eric Doughtie
That's right. Absolutely. Yeah, it's a full furnished apartment.
04:22- Jared Friend
And then co-pilot shows them around town, brings them to the school, check out the school. Yeah. What would you say? How long before your orientation date do you think you should show up?
04:37 - Eric Doughtie
Gosh, I would say about a week's kind of a safe mark. I think that's about what I what I did just on my own internal planning. But especially people that are coming from different time zones.
04:53 – Jared Friend
Oh yeah. Come in. Getting over the jet lag.
04:55 - Eric Doughtie
Yeah, get acclimated. You know, it's an overwhelming process. It really is. I mean, a lot of our students, this might be their first time away from home, right? This could be the first time that they move to a totally foreign country, right? Give yourself time to get here and get acclimated and not...not feel like you're getting hit by a tidal wave, right?
05:21- Eric Doughtie
I actually love the process. It was, you know, for my wife and I, it wasn't the first time we moved away from home, but it was definitely the first time that we moved cross country, right? And, you know, as a helicopter pilot, you could get some jobs where you're moving around a little bit.
05:40 - Eric Doughtie
And so it's scary at first, but it's a- It's a good process, right? It's a healthy process, kind of gives you the confidence to go, you know, if I need to do this again, I can, right? Second time isn't so scary. But I think that's kind of why the community jumps in the way it does, right? Why we have the pilot, you know, the co-pilot program and all that kind of stuff.
06:05 - Eric Doughtie
And our students care so much is because they went through the same experience, right? Of kind of that like, oh boy, I guess we're doing this type of thing. And...and I think that's just really valuable. So I would say a week is great. Give you time to get all your ducks in a row before orientation, because orientation's a lot. So it's nice to kind of feel settled before you start there.
06:29- Jared Friend
Okay. So you get yourself acclimated, get to know the area a little bit.
06:34 - Eric Doughtie
No more jet lag.
06:35 – Jared Friend
Get over your jet lag. And where did you move from? You moved from Texas, is that right?
06:38 - Eric Doughtie
I moved from Texas, yes.
06:39 – Jared Friend
Yeah, so that's kind of like a foreign country.
06:41 - Eric Doughtie
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And we we drove that long way. It was like 35 hours or something crazy. And yeah, showed up showed up in Portland at like 11:30 at night. Just crashed for two days. Like it was a lot.
06:57 – Jared Friend
OK, so so then we get to orientation day. Yeah, you show up. How many students can you expect to be starting with us at the same time?
07:07- Eric Doughtie
You know, usually right now we're about anywhere between like five and 10 students. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you'll have other students that maybe aren't starting orientation with you, but you're in the similar courses that you'll kind of get to know as well. But yeah, orientation day, five to 10.
07:25 – Jared Friend
And we start orientations once a month.
07:28 – Eric Doughtie
Once a month. Yeah.
07:29 -Jared Friend
So you could start any time during the year with the exception of December, right?
07:33 - Eric Doughtie
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
07:35 – Jared Friend
Why is that?
07:37 - Eric Doughtie
The holidays are right around the corner. It's, you know, we don't want anybody coming in, getting stuck in and then, you know, holiday break and all that kind of stuff. So as well as, you know, just CFI availability, weather, all that kind of stuff. December is a great time for us to kind of clean up all of our stuff from the previous year, kind of get everything off the docket and then start fresh in January. So that's usually why we like that January start date.
08:05 -Jared Friend
I agree. So people might wonder before showing up, what's the best time of year to start their training? Is there a best time or can they start any time again, outside of December?
08:17 - Eric Doughtie
You know, I really think there's no bad time to start. Yeah. Why is that? You could say, oh, you wanna be, you know, spring, summer, fall kind of weather, all that kind of stuff, but.
08:33 – Eric Doughtie
But honestly, the way that you go through training, no matter when you start, it's kind of advantageous for at least one phase of your training, it will fall within those really good flying months. Yeah. Right? But then when you get done, right? It kind of naturally falls with different hiring seasons too.
08:53 – Jared Friend
Oh, that's true.
08:54- Eric Doughtie
You know, with us and then, you know, with industry stuff. And so, you know, I think there's enough opportunities throughout the year.
09:02- Eric Doughtie
I don't think there's a bad time to start. The biggest thing is just get here and get started. Yeah, right.
09:06 – Jared Friend
I know I started my training in January.
09:09- Eric Doughtie
I did as well.
09:10- Jared Friend
Oh really?
09:11 - Eric Doughtie
Yeah.
09:12 – Jared Friend
That's funny. For me, it was the best time. It was like holidays were over, new year starting, new thing. And I thought it was great. And so yeah, I mean, we'll touch on weather and flyable days and things like that on another episode. But I think, yeah.
09:30 – Jared Friend
I totally agree with you. Anytime of the year is gonna be great to get going, get started. Because the training is typically 14, 15 months, somewhere around there. And so you're gonna experience all the weather anyway.
09:44 - Eric Doughtie
All of it.
09:45 – Jared Friend
So it doesn't really matter when you start.
09:47 – Eric Doughtie
Yep, absolutely. And you know, us as pilots, it's all about, you know, risk mitigation and figuring out how, you know, what we can do in different conditions. And so, you know, we don't just shut down.
09:59 – Eric Doughtie
Right? Because the weather is not what we want it to be. We go in and see what it gives us and we keep training ultimately. And so, yeah, there's no bad time to start.
10:10 – Jared Friend
Yeah. Cool. Okay. So orientation day, you get here, show up. What are we talking about?
10:17 - Eric Doughtie
Holy smokes. That is a, that's a big day. That's a big day for the CFIs. That's a big day for the students. You, you know, as a student,
10:27- Eric Doughtie
you're just having everything thrown at you as far as information. And we know that, and we're very gracious about that, right? And that's what your CFI is for. It's kind of like, you know, your second co-pilot, you know, the guy that's gonna get you, you know, accustomed to how we do training and the operations of the school and the ins and outs and that type of thing. They're your resource, they're your teammate for that. And so, yeah, we know it's a lot of information for the first day, right?
10:56 - Eric Doughtie
But you know, you got somebody there to help you through it and remind you and to coach you through, you know, as you get used to all of our operations. But yeah, so we come in, you meet your CFI, we all kind of get together. You meet the students you're doing orientation with, which is so valuable, because those are, you know, gonna be your contacts and your friends throughout your, potentially your entire career. I still know exactly who I went through orientation with. Oh yeah. Right?
11:23 -Jared Friend
Yeah. And it might be the guy that gets you the job10 years from now, right?
11:27 - Eric Doughtie
Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely.
11:29 – Jared Friend
Yeah. We have a lot of graduates in the industry. And so, yeah, get to know those people. I think that's important.
11:35- Eric Doughtie
Absolutely. Yeah. And the people that you go through training with, you know, you just create a bond. You know, you're going through, it's like anything. You go through something together and you just create these really, you know, deep lasting friendships. And yeah, we have a lot of students and a lot of former instructors that have gotten jobs because
11:55- Eric Doughtie
you know, the people that they went through orientation with went to their operation and gave a recommendation, right? And then all of a sudden we're finding, we got these little, you know, transplanted Hillsboro communities all over the country. And these-
12:07 – Jared Friend
All over the world too.
12:08 - Eric Doughtie
All over the world, absolutely. And, you know, our alumni are slowly taking over operations here and there. And so it's a lot of fun, but yeah. So you get to know everyone and then you got your CFI and they'll-
12:24- Eric Doughtie
You know, we'll do a larger orientation as a group and then you'll get with your CFI. And then our goal.
12:31 -Jared Friend
Yup. Oh, this is good I like this.
12:33 – Eric Doughtie
As much information as we're throwing at you. Our goal is to get you in an aircraft day one.
12:39 – Jared Friend
Yeah. And in fact, I don't know if you guys can hear it, but we got a helicopter flying right now and I was just thinking about it like that very first day when you get to get in the helicopter, start, turn the key, start the engine up and go for your very first flight. It's, it's, you know, it's something you'll remember for the rest of your life.
12:54 – Eric Doughtie
Absolutely. Yeah. And there's been all this buildup, right? You went through the whole process, you maybe had a little bit of waiting time for your orientation date. Like there's a lot of buildup, right? We wanna kick it off right, right? We're here to do a fun thing. Let's get you in the air. Let's show you, hey, oh snap, I'm flying a helicopter day one. You know, that's just starting on a good folk.
13:15 – Jared Friend
And we try to do something fun on day one, right? So they can expect to...Do like go see something cool, go do an off airport landing, maybe go to downtown Portland and land at the downtown heliport. Just get out there and go enjoy it, right? Yeah.
13:31-Eric Doughtie
Yeah, starting in January, we went down and saw all the waterfalls down the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls, and then we landed on an off airport spot that was actually covered, dust it with snow. So we came in, the snow's popping up, and I'm just like, oh my gosh.
13:51- Eric Doughtie
And then my instructor goes, do you want me to take a picture of you? And I still have that picture. Oh yeah, I do. Oh man, we should show that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I have a folder where I just, I dump all my pictures from flight training in there. And so yeah, I still have a picture of myself standing in front of a helicopter. My hair was much longer than I think it's been in a very long time. Standing in front of a helicopter.
14:17 – Eric Doughtie
my instructor, you know, giving me the briefing before we went on a demo. And then I got the same thing for that first day of training. So yeah, it was very memorable.
14:27 – Jared Friend
That's really cool. So you go for your first flight, learn a little bit about the helicopter, you know, maybe do a brief ground lesson or something.
14:38 – Eric Doughtie
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. They'll meet with their CFI, they'll be introduced to the training course, right? There's gonna be a lot. And then...
14:45- Eric Doughtie
Yeah, they might get a little pre-flight lesson or something like that. And yeah, talk about the helicopter, go fly. And then they'll sit with their instructor and kind of get the schedule moving forward so they know when to show up for their instruction. And yeah, it's honestly great. And then the biggest thing that I can recommend to a student starting out is be at the school, be involved, right? Get into that community.
15:13- Eric Doughtie
You know, those are, your friends are resources for you, especially when you've just done, made this big leap, right? Yeah. And that's something that I think we're really proud of at this school is the type of community that we have. I know when I first showed up my first day, they were like, hey, do you want to come like helicopter camping with us? They had a camping trip on the coast. And I was like, oh wow. Like, I mean, but that was it is, our students recognize when somebody's - somebody's new and they just grab them. And it's, honestly, it's amazing.
15:48 – Jared Friend
Yeah. So don't go home, don't go hide yourself in a cave.
15:53 – Eric Doughtie
No.
15:54 – Jared Friend
Like go get lunch with somebody.
15:56 – Eric Doughtie
Absolutely.
15:57 – Jared Friend
Go out, maybe hang around. I mean, are they allowed to hang around here at school?
16:20 – Eric Doughtie
Absolutely. We just so encouraged that. You know, we got the garage, they can sit and play pool and hang out with everybody.
16:12- Eric Doughtie
We got rooms for studying and yeah, you know, it's just a phenomenal kind of environment, right? If you're here, if you're here making friends, if you're here talking about helicopters, right? You're just gonna be more successful in general. So getting in here and sticking around, you're gonna find opportunities and you're gonna get to talking with people
16:42 – Jared Friend
And you can learn things from other students too.
16:43 – Eric Doughtie
Absolutely. Yeah. And just being in the environment leads to success as a student. Yeah.
16:51 – Jared Friend
Well, I think that's probably all the time that we have, but any like big takeaways from first day, like anything they should really know about that very first day.
17:01 – Eric Doughtie
Yes. I'd say it's the start of the best thing of you've ever done in your life.
17:09 – Jared Friend
Yeah, I agree. Yep.
17:10-Eric Doughtie
It's just the start and be excited. Get excited about it, right? And cause you'll remember it forever and just enjoy it. Right? There's not too much expectation on you. Just you're here to start and that's what we're through.
17:26- Jared Friend
Yep. And we'll help you out with the rest of it.
17:28 - Eric Doughtie
That's right.