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Blue Ridge Helicopters
Publish Date: Nov/Dec 2005 | |
Over the span of his career, Atlanta native Ron Carroll has held significant roles: a soldier in Vietnam awarded two Purple Hearts, a printer for 25 years, and longtime flight instructor and owner of Blue Ridge Helicopters. Based in Lawrenceville, Georgia, at Gwinnett County Airport-Briscoe Field (LZU), Blue Ridge Helicopters is a full-service business with talented instructors focusing on flight instruction, photo flights, tours, aircraft sales, inspections, and has state-of-the-art maintenance. The company is a Robinson Helicopter factory-approved service center.
Blue Ridge Helicopters recently acquired a Frasca TruFlite H Flight Training Device (FTD) that gives students the ability to train on a significantly more affordable basis which is essential in today's economy. "To give you an idea of how important that is, in today's market cost is an issue, a Raven II will cost $514/hour with instructor. The same hour of instruction in the FTD is $160/hour and doesn't require fuel," Carroll says.
Students are able to use up to 27.5 hours in the FTD for ratings, 7.5 hours for a private rating and 20 hours for an instrument rating, according to a letter from the FAA. "Persons that are instrument rated can achieve currency in the FTD as well," he notes.
Along with the competitive offerings from Blue Ridge Helicopters, the company attracts clients Georgians are very familiar with including Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Carroll is well known throughout the Atlanta aviation community as a top instructor and one of the best helicopter pilots in the area.
"In any type of flight training, choosing the right instructor is critical for successful completion. Ron Carroll at Blue Ridge Helicopters has an excellent reputation not only in the metro area but throughout the helicopter world. In his more than 10,600 hours in helicopters, he has trained many students, both in their initial flying experience and in add-on ratings to a fixed-wing license such as mine," comments Perdue.
"I found him to be just as good as, if not better than his reputation. His comfort, ease, and competence in the aircraft gives his students the confidence they need to learn quickly and successfully. I had the confidence that as knowledgeable as he was, when he said I was ready, I believed I was ready," Perdue adds.
In turn, Carroll enjoyed working with Perdue, who was one of his star pupils. He was impressed by the Governor's dedication and expertise. "The Governor was a joy to work with. He was here at seven every morning, and I would have him in his office at 8:30 every morning. He's an excellent pilot."
Carroll first became interested in helicopters during his tenure in Vietnam. He was drawn to the aircraft due to their complexity. "A lot of people shy away from helicopters because of too many moving parts. That's what intrigued me about them," he explains. Looking back, he is proud of his decision to buy a helicopter and begin his business as a young pilot, which has certainly been successful. Carroll is the former owner of Prestige Helicopters, and the students that he has trained over the years number in the hundreds.
Chuck Kelley, Chief of Police & Fire, Stone Mountain Park, began working with Carroll in 1990, after learning of his reputation. "Eighteen years later I still use Ron Carroll for my bi-annual flight review. He is the best instructor I have ever flown with. He is easy to learn from and makes the process pleasant and fun. Ron is without a doubt the most skilled helicopter pilot flying today," Kelley says.
Accordingly, Carroll's impressive list of ratings include: Private SEL with Instrument, Commercial Helicopter with Instrument, Flight Instructor and Instrument Flight Instructor Helicopter, Instrument Ground Instructor, and A&P Mechanic. He is also a Gold Seal helicopter flight instructor, a notable certification by the FAA.
Students enjoy training in the fleet of Robinson Helicopters. "We currently operate four R44 Raven (4 seaters) and two R22 (2 seaters)," Carroll says. "Robinson's record stands for itself. Their safety record is excellent. Their sales record, probably seven out of every ten helicopter sold is a Robinson helicopter," he adds.
He bought the Frasca FTD from the bankruptcy liquidation of Silver State Helicopters, a once-extremely-popular flight training school with 33 locations across the country forced to close due to bankruptcy. Carroll feels fortunate to have hired two instructors from Silver State's McCollum location, Brian North and Frederick Yates. Also, hired was former student Travis Abercrombie. "Abercrombie was a private pilot came over to Blue Ridge Helicopters and then completed the rest of his ratings here." Blue Ridge Helicopters was fortunate to receive numerous students wanting to complete their training.
Chuck Henderson is one of those former students who chose to complete his flight training with Blue Ridge Helicopters after Silver State closed its doors. "After my experience with Silver State, it was paramount that I found a reputable operator to complete my training," Henderson says. "Everyone I spoke with spoke highly of him as a person or related positively in regards to his company's reputation." He completed his Private Helicopter Rating and obtained his Commercial Rating with Blue Ridge Helicopters.
Although Carroll "did not agree with the business philosophy of Silver State Helicopters," he is impressed by its students and training. "I really feel that they were producing a good product with their trainees who were trained all the way through and became instructors. The training syllabus and the training methods they used are excellent," he says.
Carroll notes the amount of skill that his team has. "The experience level of all instructors combined total over 30 years and is close to 15,000 hours of flight time," he says. With that kind of a trustworthy, knowledgeable background along with their equipment that is the best in the industry it's no wonder that Blue Ridge Helicopters is so successful. If you're going to learn to fly, why not learn from the best?
Carroll and his instructors provide students with the chance to obtain numerous ratings that include: Private Helicopter Pilot, Commercial Helicopter Pilot, Instrument Helicopter Pilot, Certified Flight Instructor, Certified Instrument Fight Instructor, and ATP. The ATP rating is becoming an even more popular option as students try to eke out a niche in the highly competitive field.
Along with the crew of instructors at Blue Ridge Helicopters, Kent Hurd is a highly accomplished maintenance expert. Previously with Heliserv at Peachtree DeKalb Airport (PDK), Hurd "has roughly 35 years experience working on all major brands of helicopters. He basically runs the service center," Carroll states. "We're a Robinson approved service center for 22 and 44, and have an excellent shop set up with all of the equipment and whatever we need to fix Robinsons. We also maintain the Gwinnett County police helicopters which are turbine aircraft." Along with working on Robinson helicopters, Hurd is able to work on Bell, Schweitzer-Hughes, McDonald Douglas, and Euro Copter. "He's an excellent mechanic and well known in the Atlanta market for maintenance," Carroll says.
Blue Ridge Helicopters meets all of the needs of today's pilots with their complete range of services. Then after receiving their ratings, many pilots move to the next phase of hoping to own a helicopter, and Carroll is happy to help with that as well. Perdue mentions, "I think that anyone who flies the R44 has fantasies of owning one someday, and I must confess that thought has crossed my mind."
For more information call 770 963 0590 or visit www.blueridgehelicopters.net .
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