All Helicopter Pilot Training Exercise Briefings

Whether you are just starting out on your journey to become a pilot, or you are a seasoned TRE: It is always a good idea to (re)familiarise ourselves with the fundamentals of what we do every day: flying!

It is easy to take the basics for granted, especially while being submerged in the complex nature of all the jobs that are out there. And during training, the quality of briefings given in the industry is extremely variable, so what if you want a high quality reference for your flying exercises? Well, Pilots Who Ask Why has got you covered!

In this article, you will get access to ALL exercise briefings that are part of the EASA training syllabus. All the content here is 100% compliant with the latest EASA Part-FCL AMC requirements (Subpart J – FCL.930), and is based on evidence as well as research based data.

Every single detail you are supposed to explain as an instructor, and know as a student pilot before each exercise, is included inside the briefings in this article – so you don’t have to worry about missing anything that is required by the regulations!

The briefings are specifically designed for Pilots Who Ask Why, in the most clear, concise and structured manner. If you are an instructor yourself, or manage a training school, feel free to use our content for your briefings before flight, as long as you credit us.

However, always consult your company’s OPS and ATO manual, as well as the national and local regulations. Please keep in mind that the exercise numbers inside the briefings are based on the Flight Instructor AMC’s, so they are slightly different compared to the PPL(H) exercise numbers, but not to worry: the titles and content are exactly the same!

The Structure of the Briefings

Before we dive in, let’s explain how these briefings are structured. After each title, you will see the aim in blue, which explains in 1 sentence what exactly is being taught.

Below that you will find the airmanship / TEM section in red, which will cover all the non-technical skills that should be taught and focussed on during the exercise. Nope, it’s not just about moving some cyclic and collective sticks! These should be briefed by covering their individual threats, errors, and how to manage them (TEM), in the form of facilitation and discussions with the student.

You will then see a blocked section to the right of the main briefing area, which are called the ‘enabling objectives’. These are structured sections covering important principles that need to be understood before moving into the main briefing.

They will also be referred back to regularly during the board briefing, so it is an easy way to reference back and to test students during a briefing or explanation to see if they’re still awake! After covering all of these, you can move to the main body of the brief, the flow will look like this:

Important Considerations

Please keep in mind that all these briefings are based on a basic training aircraft: the Guimbal Cabri G2. For reference, please find the Rotorcraft Flight Manual of the Cabri (FOR REFERENCE ONLY) at the bottom of this article, where you can als download a nicely accessible PDF version of all these briefings!

If you fly a type that has differences compared to the Cabri G2 such as anti-clockwise rotating blades, please apply those changes accordingly and use common sense. All helicopters are slightly different!

The Briefings

Please find all exercise briefings below in a nice overview. If you prefer the combined PDF with all of them in the highest quality, just scroll down and download it to your device. As the regulations and requirements change over the next few years, I will keep updating the database, so feel free to come back in the future for the latest changes.

I hope they help as many people as possible, whether it is for studying, reminding yourself of the basics, prepping for a flight or just out of interest. They are all based on EASA Part-FCL, which you can find here.

References