I am disappointed in Colorado Heliops. My son started their flight school 1.5 years ago. The Rocky Mountain Regional Airport is very busy and my son was having a hard time feeling confident to speak to the air traffic controllers. I asked if a flight instructor could arrange for my son to go with him into the airport's control tower to see how hectic their job was in comparison to my son talking into the headset. They said they had no arrangement for that. Unfortunately, my son took a break from his training. I pulled my $1900 out of his account when they told me it would not secure his place he went from 6th on their list to a 150th. read more

I spent over $40,000 and 2 years of my life at this school. The instructors told me to leave after I got frustrated about not making progress here. They told me that I do not have the skillset to become a pilot and that I should not fly. However, instead of falling on my face, I immediately finished my private helicopter rating in the third busiest class D airspace in the USA. I was finishing college in Denver, and did not want to switch schools and move cities. So, as HeliOps is the only rotorcraft flight school within 6 hours of Denver, I had to fly or drive 6+ hours to and from flight schools to finish my helicopter ratings. I have now finished all my ratings needed to be hired in the industry and have received a total of 4 job offers even before completion of my commercial rating. The instructors at HeliOps are manipulative and do not seek to create qualified, competent pilots for the industry. They say that you are the only one not making progress here (even though almost all students who have stayed at HeliOps to complete their ratings have up to 100 extra hours over minimums, or left and excelled at other schools). Another phrase they like is that students at this school end up with higher hours because they hold them to a higher standard than other schools do. However, students end up with higher hours because there is enough time left between when a student learns a skill (for example, an autorotation) and the next time they fly, so that their skills perish and they have to learn the skill again. Once that skill has been re-learned, it has now been 3+ weeks since the other maneuvers have been practiced and they have to learn those skills again. There are so many skills to be learned in order to pass a checkride that training can take almost an unlimited amount of time if a school is not focused on getting students past a checkride. I have used the same examiner for my instrument rating that HeliOps uses for all their students. They lie about the difficulty of the checkride, what items will be on it, and what the examiner will be looking for in order to justify the fact that they make many students repeat lessons tirelessly. The instructors of HeliOps have told me and many other students to see an aviation therapist/psychologist. If you go here, remember this review when they tell you to see one. To add insult to injury, a previous male Schweizer 300 instructor has been SEXUALLY HARASSING ME through Facebook Messenger. This HeliOps instructor has asked me to allow him to do sexual things to my friends and I, and when I did not comply with his request, he told me to go F*** myself. I write this review with the hope that at least one person will be kept from the pain and financial drain that I have been a victim of through attending flight training at HeliOps. Do not go to this school. read more

As an aspiring pilot I've been waiting for over a year now for a position in Colorado Heliops flight school program and after a dozen plus emails/calls and physically showing up to the property I've given up on pursing an education with these guys. They are of course quick to get you in for a discovery flight and take your money but after that plan on not hearing from them. I've talked with the owner who assured me that I would be in for lessons as soon as possible and have emailed my "designated instructor" numerous times. Whenever I call I get the same song and dance of accommodating to current students and keeping students hoping to gain admittance on the back burner. It's been a year, I don't think I'm unreasonable after this long to leave a one star review. If you want flight training don't go here. read more

I bought a Living Social deal to take my husband on a helicopter flight for his birthday this year. Before I say anything else, I have to say that he absolutely loved it, so it was well worth it regardless of anything else. The location is not the easiest to find, it's a little hidden on the airport grounds and there's not a huge sign or anything. The building it's in is kind of just a warehouse, not like it needs to be great since they're mainly teaching people how to fly and taking up photographers. We had a briefing in small conference room, and then got to try out the simulator before going out. I can tell you that I probably will not be taking up a career as a helicopter pilot any time soon. Going up in the helicopter was excellent though. Our pilots were very friendly and the view of downtown was fantastic. So much fun to fly around a skyline I'm so familiar with. Normally it's rather expensive to do, so I probably wouldn't do it again unless I got another deal (my deal was $150 for a 15 min ride, plus the extras before the flight). read more

Amazing Company!!! I flew several trips with them over a three month period for photo work and I have to say they are the best! My pilot, Dave, was great to work with as was the entire staff. I would highly recommend them! read more

For our anniversary, I wanted to surprise my wife with a helicopter ride to dinner at the Fort last Saturday, and called Dave a couple days in advance to set this up in secret. Weather was very iffy but he kept me updated on the latest forecast. We got lucky, and weather that evening was great. When we showed up at the helo place, my wife was floored by the surprise! Dave is a great helo pilot - I've ridden in helo's before, and instead of the usual lurch on takeoff, you could barely tell we had gotten into the air. My wife sat up front and LOVED it. He was up for little side trip to fly over our house on the way. When we got to the Fort there were maybe 100 eyeballs watching us leave the helo. We liked that too - my wife felt like some Italian supermodel going on a date. We had great and fast service at the Fort and I got to tell the server "we're in a little hurry - our helicopter is leaving at 8:25" which I've been waiting all my life to say. It was a perfect evening. read more

We did the 30 minute ride over downtown. It was fantastic. Erik was our pilot and was a terrific tour guide. We did the trip in December and had to reschedule a few times due to wind/weather and they were great about communicating any changes. This is a great activity. read more

I have had the opportunity to fly with many helicopter operations in the past, but our experience with Colorado Heli-Ops surpassed our expectations. They were professional right from the start of our interaction and when we arrived we were greeted by smiling and eager staff. The facility was great, for an airport hanger, and the Helicopter was in fantastic condition - clean and obviously well taken care of. Our Pilot described our tour beforehand and gave us a thorough safety talk before we approached the aircraft. He was honest and clearly explained the processes and safety systems that the operation uses on a daily basis, which was something I had never been told in the past. The tour of the city and surrounding area was amazing. It was such a great way to see the city and the mountains were beautiful. I would highly recommend flying with these guys and I will be looking forward to doing some flight training with them myself. Great company and cool business. The experience of flying is well worth it. read more

The employees aren't honest. Paid for my books in cash and the women who took my money put it in her pocket. 10 months later I was getting emails (from probably the same women) that I walked out without paying my bills. Also, they had me paying for ground school at the same hourly rate I was when flying. Pilot would have me read my handbook while he went for coffee. 30 minutes and $25 dollars later, he'd come back and give me a pop quiz on a subject that had no relation with the chapter I'd been reading. Furthermore, he didn't follow the course syllabus (which left me wondering about my progression) and wasn't prepared to teach at the beginning of the day. If you think you're a good teacher- you're probably not! Note: If you're serious about learning how to fly helicopters, it's in your best interest to travel to an area that isn't a mile high! You'll save on fuel costs flying in thicker air and the wind, heat, snow- won't cancel flights as much. read more

I saw a video on the news the other night about a Colorado helicopter company that was *supposedly* charging people for rescues from the recent flooding. It was a complete surprise to me that it was Colorado Heli-ops. I am currently training there and can personally attest to the character and quality of the instructors and ownership. I really can't recall ever knowing a more honest and generous man than Dennis Pierce. I've known Dennis for over a year. I've come to experience the level of devotion that he gives his students and his pilots as well as the community at large before ever considering his income. He is running a business and it has to make money to survive, but his overarching priority is to produce safe, quality pilots for the helicopter community. He provides an environment that allows us, as students, to experience commercial operations in a way that is uncommon for flight schools in general. From the instruction to the maintenance department - Colorado Heli-ops is a top notch operation. Dennis even pays out of his own pocket for regular safety meetings that the entire pilot community benefits from (and they are well attended!) as well as being involved in and providing services to other charity organizations. I've been to other flight schools and there really is - no comparison. These are the kinds of things that I know of Dennis Pierce and Colorado Heli-Ops. These are the things that people need to know. Not the video of Dennis trying to discourage someone who really didn't need a ride to save room for someone else who might. I found a quote from Dennis online about the video. It makes things so much clearer: "It was us in the video, but it was totally taken out of perspective. The story was completely debunked by Chanel Nine News. We were NOT rescuing people that day, we were doing safety inspections for the Utilities. No one was hurt at that location, they had shelter and lots of food and water and were in no danger. We did however, fly for over one hour up into the mountains to check on the ladies' family, for free. We also stopped many times to check on people that waved us down, and we dropped off water where we could. The guy that was asking for the price probably just wanted a video for his blog and has changed his story a couple of times. If you really knew us you would have known immediately that it was edited for sensationalism. We care about everybody in Colorado, that's why we were up there in the first place. If you have any further questions about this you can call Nine News or our offices at 303.466.4354 Thanks, Dennis Pierce, Owner/Operator" I've noticed 9News has not made the story available for viewing on-demand or online. I was thankful for their attempt to "debunk" the "viral video". I felt that more needed to be said. read more

I bought a groupon deal and was looking forward to having my daughter expericence this for her birthday. I have been calling for 2 months to get this booked and each time was told that they only book 2 weeks out. I called now and they can not get this booked until after her birthday! Customer service was not a big priority to them! Got my money back from groupon- DO NOT RECOMMEND! read more