American Helicopters Inc, Manassas | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

This School has devastated my Veteran Post 9/11 degree program. I would block out months in the schedule and then when a helicopter went out for maintenance it would go down for weeks if not months at a time. I emailed about the scheduling issues multiple times and the underlying issue was not fixed just a quick fix. Even instructors were mislead. I canceled my flights due to weather, illness, or A/C Maintenance most times with advanced notice. One big issue I had with the helicopter I was in was the Engine/Rotor TAC bouncing. I addressed it and cancelled the flight. Took 2 weeks to get back on the schedule again only to have the exact same issue, had to dig the documentation up for the maintenance record to see what if anything was actually done. I was sent over to the brand new “pretty” Leesburg center and after 3 incredible flights with an amazing instructor the A/C went for an annual. My instructor and I were told the highest priority on that A/C would be given to get it back in service and that was not true. It was over a month i waited and then my amazing instructor left and I wasn’t aware of his departure. I was given promises and reassurance but that turned out to be nonsense. one instance I had a flight scheduled and it was canceled so the A/C could be used on another separate program. As a Veteran it saddens me to see this lack of professionalism, I do not trust this place one bit and it falls in line with other centers across the nation exploiting benefits. I have the emails and text messages to prove I was having issues and asked for assistance. As a full time Firefighter I had a pretty set schedule with minor issues. The students run the schedule and very little was done about students filling the limited instructor availability with the limited Helicopter availability. Most days 2 instructors, typically 4 blocks of 2.5 hour of training and any issues with them not having an instructor or aircraft fell on the student for the most part. scheduling 6 months of training could be tossed out because of a downed helicopter that would be gone for weeks and months. BE cautious with management!! Instructors I had who are mostly gone were incredible! Really had high hopes being veteran owned but that was a flag to wave not a commitment to keep.

Overall, it’s a good school. There are a few issues that I would like you all to know about. Scheduling…it’s difficult to get flights in, especially with the same instructor. Often you will find yourself flying with multiple flight instructors, which isn’t necessarily bad, but makes it a bit difficult because you don’t have the same level of student/instructor interaction as you would normally. Just make sure you stay on top of the schedule and reserve your dates and times at your earliest convenience. On a positive note, the instructors are great, and you will learn different things with each one.

Be careful about paying for the package deal…if for whatever reason you have to leave the school, you can sell back your hours, but you will not get reimbursed. They tell you that, just be careful, specially if you’re in the military and close to a PCS.