John and Martha King, founders of King Schools, and Matt Zuccaro, president of Helicopter Association International (HAI), announced at AirVenture this week the launch of a flight instructor refresher course (FIRC) specifically designed for helicopter instructors. This is the first time a helicopter-specific FIRC has been offered online.
As with King Schools’ regular FIRC, the helicopter FIRC puts a strong focus on risk management. The course contains several modules with real-life examples of difficult scenarios and how to best manage those situations. One example Zuccaro brought to light is that many helicopter pilots are reluctant to land their helicopters in emergency situations in areas where they feel they may get into trouble with law enforcement or other authorities. As a result, one focus of the FIRC is to give instructors and their students the confidence to bring the helicopter to the ground in a safe location, whatever that place may be, as soon as possible in case something unusual happens in the cockpit.
