Elite Helicopters have expanded their base of operations for their helicopter flight training and commercial air transport operations, with a suite of offices taken on at Fairoaks Airport in Surrey.
Sharon Douglas & Glenn Curtis, who have co-owned and managed Elite Helicopters for the last 21 years, say that this a perfect extension to their business at Goodwood Aerodrome in West Sussex.
Glenn Curtis said, “We see this as the perfect enhancement of our existing business at Goodwood and in our 21st year we are very excited about this opportunity. Fairoaks Airport is ideally located just to the south of London with easy access to the M25 and links to the south east. It offers us a ‘corridor of opportunity’ as we will now be able to offer a variety of helicopter flight training courses from either base, effectively giving us an area of operation for the training school stretching between the South Coast and London, and the location will also ideally complement our already very busy air charter operation.”
Elite Helicopters operates as an ATO and conducts ab-initio private pilot (PPL/H) training as well as type ratings, CPL(H) modular and Flight Instructor courses. The Company will be operating the Guimbal Cabri G2, Robinson R44, Bell 206 Jet Ranger and AS350 Single Squirrel helicopter from both its Goodwood base and the new operation at Fairoaks. They say that they are hoping to add more aircraft types depending on demand.
Elite Helicopters is also an approved EASA AOC holder and currently operates a fleet of fifteen single and twin engine helicopters (Robinson R44, Bell Jet Ranger, Bell Long Ranger, AS350 B3 & B3e Squirrel and Agusta A109 Power, Grand and SP models) on Commercial Air Transport ops. To this fleet an Agusta A169 will be added to the AOC later this year with two A169’s intended to be operational by the start of 2017. Glenn Curtis said, “As well as expanding our training facility for the various courses on offer our intentions is to also enhance the charter service we already offer with particular emphasis at Fairoaks on services to and from London and The London Heliport at Battersea, the special events at Goodwood and all the major horse race meetings. We will also be offering general and corporate charter, aerial filming & photography, sightseeing trips and pleasure flights alongside the flight training business from this new location.”
