ADVANCEDTRAINING
Autorotations, confined areas, mountain flying, and safety courses, all delivered by instructors who live and breathe this aircraft. Push your skills further with HQ's advanced programme.
Sharp Skills.
Safer Pilot.
Holding a PPL(H) is the beginning of your journey, not the end of it. Advanced training at HQ covers the techniques and scenarios that your initial licence didn't: the situations that separate a merely-legal pilot from a genuinely capable one.
Captain Quentin Smith, world helicopter aerobatics champion and holder of multiple world records, leads HQ's advanced programme. You won't find this calibre of instruction anywhere else in the UK.
Quentin Smith, World Aerobatics ChampionWhat You'll Learn
Full Autorotations
Engine-off landings to a point, not just routine practice flares.
Tail Rotor Failures
Jammed, broken and loss-of-drive scenarios worked through properly.
Loss of Tail Rotor Effectiveness
Recognising LTE before it bites, and getting out of it if it does.
Vortex Ring State Recovery
Entry, recognition and the correct recovery technique.
Engine Failure Drills
Hover, takeoff, cruise and climb. Every phase, under pressure.
Hydraulic Failure
Flying the aircraft heavy-stick and landing it safely.
Governor Failure
Manual throttle handling when the governor quits.
Inadvertent IMC
What to do in the first 60 seconds after losing visual reference.
Carburettor Icing
Detection, prevention and recovery on piston Robinsons.
Power Management
Knowing your margins, and flying inside them with precision.
Quick Stops
Aggressive deceleration drills for tight approaches.
Precision Hovering
Spot landings, wind corrections and close-quarters control.
Unusual Attitude Recovery
Disorienting attitudes and how to get back to level flight.
Low-Inertia Rotor Technique
Flying the Robinson rotor system the way it wants to be flown.
Running Landings & Takeoffs
When hovering isn't an option: performance-limited operations.
Mountain Flying
Route planning, density altitude and turbulence in the hills.
Pinnacle Landings
Approach and departure from elevated, exposed sites.
Slope Landings
Left-slope, right-slope, nose-up and nose-down techniques.
Confined Area Operations
Reconnaissance, power checks and the go/no-go decision.
Off-Airport Site Assessment
Judging a field or paddock before you commit to landing.
Over-Water Operations
Planning, survival briefing and the specifics of flying blue.
Hot-and-High Performance
Density altitude maths that actually gets used in the cockpit.
Night Flying
Night currency and the sensory traps of dark-sky operations.
Crosswind & Gusty Conditions
Wind strategy, cyclic input and when to wait it out.
Weather Decision-Making
Reading weather products, and the discipline to turn back.
Performance Planning
Weight and balance, H-V diagram and real mission planning.
Single-Pilot CRM
Workload management and self-checking when you're alone up front.
Decision-Making Frameworks
The mental models professional pilots actually use.
Precision Navigation
Map-reading, VFR navigation and in-cockpit nav discipline.
Lost Comms & Radio Failure
Procedure, lighting signals, and staying calm when radios die.
Aerobatic Principles
Insights from Q's aerobatic world records, applied to everyday flying.
Long-Range Expedition Planning
Lessons from circumnavigating the globe and crossing the poles.
Captain Quentin Smith
Quentin Smith has flown around the world solo, crossed the poles by helicopter, and set multiple world records in aerobatics and long-distance flying. As HQ's founder and managing director, he brings 30 years of frontline flying experience to every advanced training session. This is not classroom instruction. It's knowledge earned at altitude, across continents, in conditions most pilots will never see.
Denham Aerodrome
Mon – Sun · 08:30 – 17:00
Frequently Asked
What does your Advanced Training programme cover?+
Do I need a PPL(H) before undertaking Advanced Training?+
What is a Mountain Flying course?+
What is a sling load or external load endorsement?+
How is Advanced Training different from a type rating?+
How long do Advanced Training courses take?+
Book Advanced Training
Contact our training team to discuss which course suits your hours and goals. Captain Q's autorotation clinic books up early, so reach out to secure your place.