The European partner of the International Helicopter Safety Team (www.IHST.org) has updated and released a comprehensive 168-page guide for helicopter flight instructors based on extensive feedback from the helicopter training community.  The goal of the guide, which was developed in coordination with the Australian Government Civil Aviation Safety Authority, is to provide a primary resource for instructors and a strong foundation for safe helicopter operations.

The Instructor Guide is organized into two parts, one focused on “teaching and learning” and the other on air exercises.  Teaching and learning (part one) includes the following topics:

• The learning process and the teaching process
• Training philosophies
• Techniques of applied instruction
• Student evaluation and testing
• Training program development
• Human performance and limitations relevant to flight instruction
• Training administration

Air exercises (part two) includes 30 areas of fundamental flight operation.  Some of the essential topics are:

• Emergency procedures
• Power and attitude changes
• Climbing, descending and turning
• Basic and advanced autorotation
• Transitions from hover to climb and approach to hover
• Spot turns, steep turns and quick stops
• Practice forced landing
• Navigation at low heights and in reduced visibility
• Limited power and confined areas
• Basic instrument flight

The Instructor Guide can be found in the Safety Tools-Training area of the IHST web site. The IHST was formed in 2005 to lead a government and industry cooperative effort to promote helicopter safety and work to reduce accidents and fatalities.