DESIGNED FOR PILOTS READY TO ELEVATE THEIR PASSION INTO A PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Helivate’s Commercial Pilot Training programme refines your skills to the highest industry standards. This is where confidence deepens, judgement sharpens, and aviation becomes a career.
Our Commercial Pilot Licence – Helicopter (CPL-H) training is tailored for pilots who have completed their Private Pilot Licence – Helicopter (PPL-H) and are prepared to operate at a professional level. With a strong emphasis on advanced flight handling, decision-making, and operational excellence, students are immersed in real-world commercial aviation scenarios from day one.
Training is conducted by highly experienced instructors who bring industry insight, precision instruction, and a commitment to excellence into every flight. Through structured progression, personalised mentoring, and disciplined flight operations, you will develop the competence and professionalism expected of a commercial helicopter pilot.
A four-day intensive (and enjoyable) programme focused on high-altitude operations and mountain flying techniques, sessions, and advanced emergency procedure training — all designed to prepare you for the realities of a professional helicopter career.
Carefully designed hour-building experiences that push pilots beyond their comfort zones, sharpening decision-making and performance in realistic, high-demand flying environments.
Structured hour-building that goes beyond logging time. Gain airspace familiarisation, operational exposure, cross-border experience, energy management training, and advanced emergency procedures — building the judgement, discipline, and resilience required for a professional helicopter career.
Due to the absence of a formally prescribed CPL-H flight syllabus in South Africa, many students are left to build hours independently.
Helivate has addressed this gap by developing a comprehensive post-PPL-H syllabus, designed to equip pilots with the skills, confidence, and real-world experience required of professional commercial aviators.
Beyond technical proficiency, the programme focuses on cultivating command presence, situational awareness, and sound aeronautical judgement — the qualities that distinguish licensed pilots from professional aviators.
Upon completion, graduates emerge fully prepared to meet regulatory requirements and step confidently into commercial aviation pathways, equipped with the skills, mindset, and credibility to advance their flying careers.
The CPL-H requires a total of 200 flight hours, together with the successful completion of the prescribed theory examinations.
All flight hours accumulated during your PPL-H training are credited toward this total.
20 flying hours + 40 briefing hours
15 flying hours + 5 briefing hours
Following completion of your PPL-H, pilots enter what the industry refers to as hour-building, a critical phase where experience is accumulated and logged toward the 200 flight hours requirement.
At Helivate, we believe this phase should be purposeful, structured, and career-focused.
Rather than building hours without direction, we encourage pilots to use this time strategically by gaining additional ratings and advanced training, significantly enhancing employability and operational competence.
If you are driven by challenge, precision, and real-world responsibility, a commercial helicopter career offers all three.
It is not just about flying!
