Anyone familiar with East Coast Aero Club in Bedford, MA?

At ECAC You'll probably fly with Phil Greenspun - he's a great guy and their chief flight instructor. I haven't seen the R44 offered for less anywhere else. Phil's take on it is that the R22 isn't safe for training and that you're better off with the R44.

 

I took rotary lessons at East Coast a long time ago and they were great. I got my fixed wing at Executive Flyers at Bedford but for rotary I ended up with Blue Hill at Norwood. Bedford was too crowded, especially on weekends and I spent too much time taxing, hovering and in general staying out of the way of the fixed wing guys. The controllers at Bedford are great but at Norwood I could just grab the end of 28 and practice. It’s a little quieter there and the Norwood controllers are very accommodating. It’s also an easy run into Boston on the Fenway route when you want a distraction on a nice summer day (imagine doors off at 400 feet over the North End).
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Partenavia: Thanks for the kind words and I have always wanted to fly a Partenavia Observer (twin-engine airplane with clear bubble nose like a helicopter).

East Coast Aero Club has seven helicopter instructors right now, one of whom is an FAA designated examiner. My 3800 or so hours of total time actually make me one of the junior instructors at ECAC compared to guys like Paul Cantrell. Because of my airline and jet experience, I like to think that I do a good job teaching instrument flying, but otherwise I defer to the more senior instructors on a lot of issues.

One thing that I do have over the other instructors at ECAC is that I have some experience driving a Ferrari F355, chronicled in http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/cars/ferrari-355tb

Kieran: The important thing is to start flying, whether at ECAC or elsewhere. Achieving control of a helicopter is a tremendous accomplishment and one that few people ever experience. Plus it is great to be up in the air. This morning I flew with an instrument student at 0700, then taught a short intro helicopter lesson at 10 am, then helped a friend fly his jet to Newburgh, NY for service, then came back to Hanscom Field in a Piper Warrior (ECAC actually has a branch office in Newburgh, NY because the owner used to work for the Air Force there). I enjoyed every flight, each of which included a curious passenger in addition to the pilots involved.

If you want to evaluate different schools, visit each one and talk to the mechanics first and ask to see the aircraft maintenance logs. Then pick a topic from the FAA Rotorcraft Flying Handbook (free online) and ask a couple of instructors to explain it to you. Then, if you like what you hear, take a lesson with each of the instructors who seem to be effective teachers.

We're doing a helicopter ground school on Saturday, March 19, one at 0900 and one at 1 pm. You're welcome to attend (no charge). Just do some reading in advance, e.g., the core chapters of the Rotorcraft Flying Handbook!