Helicentre Aviation Academy has opened the application window for its 2024 CPL(H) Scholarship initiative. The announcement comes as the company celebrates ten years of Professional Helicopter Pilot Training Scholarship awards exceeding £1m of investment into its student pilots. The CPL(H) Scholarship has been awarded annually since the programme began in 2013 and is worth in the region of £70,000 to the successful applicant. It has given aspiring helicopter pilots life-changing opportunities to fast-track their careers, continuing the company’s exceptional track record in providing qualified pilots to the UK helicopter industry.

Recent CPL(H) scholarship recipients include Robert Goates and Harris Ramsay, who were jointly awarded the 2023 CPL(H) scholarship earlier this year. The pair are now three months into full-time ATPL(H)/IR theoretical knowledge training under the Academy’s approved CAA modular residential course, which has three intakes per year and enables student helicopter pilots to work towards their professional flight crew examinations. Rob and Harris will then benefit from the funded flight hours required in order to attain their Commercial Pilot Licence.

The 2024 CPL(H) scholarship programme requires applicants to have completed their Private Pilot Licence (Helicopter) at the Academy by the deadline of 31st July 2024. Selection and award of the scholarship will take place in August 2024, funding flight hours all the way to completion of the CPL(H) modular flying course, including hour building. Previous CPL(H) scholarship recipients are now employed in a diverse range of helicopter flying roles, including HEMS, Offshore Energy, Search and Rescue, Utility and Pilot Training.

The application form can now be completed online at flyheli.co.uk/scholarships. Applicants need not have commenced pilot training at the time of application, but must have attained their PPL(H) with Helicentre Aviation by 31st July 2024 to be eligible. Applicants are invited to participate in a number of upcoming open day events which will be held at the Academy’s Leicester and Oxford bases, in addition to a programme of online career seminars. These provide a valuable source of information to learn more about helicopter pilot training, scholarships, and career pathways into industry. Helicentre Aviation will also be attending Pilot Careers Live exhibitions due to be held in Dublin and London in October and November of this year.