Aviation Associations Work Together to Protect Veterans' Benefits

If you follow aviation news at all, then it has been hard to miss the hype surrounding HR 476, a bill designed by lawmakers to "close loopholes" in flight training that really just hurts veterans. While these politicians believe they are acting in good faith, they seek to lessen the cost of veterans benefits. Veterans seeking to become pilots or enter the aviation industry now have less access to the benefits they fought for and earned. Lawmakers fail to do their research into the cost of flight training and to weigh it proportionally with veterans seeking to enter other fields. Upper Limit Aviation is proud to support veterans who seek to fulfill their dreams of becoming tomorrow's pilots.

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Source: Helicopter Association International (HAI) May 19th, 2015 (aviationpros.com/press-release)

On Monday, May 18, the Helicopter Association International (HAI) and six other aviation associations sent a strongly worded letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Committee of Veterans Affairs, urging their committee to reject a bill (H.R. 476) that would impose a detrimentally low cap on Veterans Administration (VA) funding for college flight training degree programs for veterans (Click here to see the original letter).

HR 476 may very well hurt veterans H.R. 476 was introduced to close a loophole in the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. But as is often the case on Capitol Hill, the solution is an overreaction...

Continue reading this article on our website

Our Favorite Upper Limit Videos

Sometimes, when I have nothing better to do I find myself searching YouTube to keep busy on a slow day. And while I love cat videos as much as the next guy, helicopter videos are what have won me over. I often tell myself that I'm just going to watch one or two, but there are thousands of them available, and before I know it I've spent 20 minutes watching the best chopper videos on the web. While there are a lot of great aviation videos out there, I admit I'm partial to the videos uploaded by Upper Limit. The music, the pilots, and most importantly the footage is AMAZING. Every time I watch some of these videos, it makes me want to make the decision all over again to come to Upper Limit.

We've rounded up some of our favorite videos from the Upper Limit channel, but you can check out all of the videos here.

Mike Mower is the type of pilot we all want to be

This auto-rotation makes me feel like I'm the one flying

If everyday is like this, I wish I had signed up years ago

Spoiler Alert: When I get married I want it to go down exactly like this

I love a good ball game, but to me, this was the highlight

Caught in the Moment

Our commercial students flying HX, a Bell 206 LongRanger at +Upper Limit Aviation - Cedar City.

You know that feeling you get as a student when you first take off and you're hovering just above the ground? And how intense it is the first few times and after a while you get used to it, but it's still there in the pit of your gut every time you take off? It's like a kid on Christmas, it isn't as overwhelming as when you were young, but it's still something that you look forward to and can't wait to experience again. Don't you just wish that you could freeze that moment sometimes; and that when it is finally time to come back down to reality that it all feels like it went by way too fast? Well, that's why  we're lucky to capture moments like this. When students are still new to flying and we can freeze that moment forever as they lift off from the ground and begin to soar towards their dreams. Thanks, Ben, for the photo!

Long Lining

Long lining... Just another day at school at +Upper Limit Aviation - Memphis.

Photo by: Craig McComsey

Flying in Southern Utah

Do More Than Dream at +Upper Limit Aviation - Cedar City.

Recent Filming Session

Nothing but blue sky at a recent filming session for +Upper Limit Aviation - Cedar City.

Flights at Twilight

Flights at twilight at +Upper Limit Aviation - Cedar City.

Photo by: Benjamin Mlynek. Submitted on +Instagram.

Rainy Day

Rainy day at +Upper Limit Aviation - Cedar City.

Photo by: earthbrew21 on +Instagram.

Solo to Parowan

Solo flight from +Upper Limit Aviation - Cedar City to Parowan in the R44 in April.

Photo by: Devynn. Submitted on +Instagram

In the Mountains

Up in the mountains from +Upper Limit Aviation - Cedar City.

Photo by: Chris Powell. Submitted on +Instagram

Fixed-Wing Pilot Flight Training Foundations

Fixed-Wing Pilot Flight Training Foundations

Upper Limit Aviation has developed a reputation within the flight training industry for providing some of the best flight training available to commercial students. Our program is built on the fundamental concepts that underpin all successful aviation instruction. We teach a balance of theoretical flight knowledge and practical flight experience. Our training emphasizes developing good traits such as patience and caution, while also teaching problem solving and confidence. There are inevitable hiccups encountered while flying, and we teach you the skills necessary to confront them as part of the ordinary course of a day’s flight. We teach you to regard them as they are, part of the unpredictability that can make flying a fixed-wing aircraft such a joy. Upper Limit Aviation (1-855-HELIEDU) can help you cultivate the knowledge necessary to become a high-flying success in the aviation industry.

Flight Training Helps Pilots Know How to Manage All Aspects of Fixed-Wing Aviation

There are a variety of issues that pilots may face that they must be well trained in order to overcome. Good pilots recognize that everything that happens in the aircraft has an appropriate response. Learning how to respond the right way quickly is part of the art and craft of aviation. Stalling, spatial disorientation or failure to maintain directional control can all be issues that lead to serious consequences for pilots who don’t know what they’re doing. Make no mistake, there are perilous circumstances that can arise in an aircraft. But Upper Limit Aviation can teach you how respond to any situation you may come across inflight. There are effective ways to deal with each of those issues, and they can all be covered in flight training.

Upper Limit Aviation provides what we feel is the best flight training today’s pilots can receive. We have designed the best flight education program that we can, and we feel that our graduates embody the qualities that top employers are looking for, such as attentive to safety, detail-oriented and problem-solving capabilities. We are able to offer training to any students, but we have programs that are especially appealing to veterans, due to the fact that many vets are able to use the benefits of the Post 9/11 GI Bill in order to receive a free or deeply discounted flight training education. To learn how Upper Limit Aviation can change your life, call 1-855-HELIEDU.

Fixed-Wing Pilot Training: Developing Skills

Fixed-Wing Pilot Training: Developing Skills

Our society has moved in a direction that forces us to constantly prioritize our attention. We have all developed the ability to focus on many things at the same time. We’ve all gotten used to staring at so many screens  but one has to wonder if we’re able to focus the same amount of concentration and absorb the same amount of information from all these sources, as we used to get from one. Professional fixed-wing pilots are all too familiar with the notion of multitasking. Ask a pilot how many things he has to focus on and it’ll blow your mind. However, recent research suggests that people who describe themselves as multitaskers may actually be terrible at multitasking. If that’s the case, then what is it that pilots are doing right? And how we can Upper Limit Aviation (1-855-HELIEDU) promise to be able to make our graduates excel at this difficult skill?

What Can Fixed-WIng Pilots Do That Others Struggle To Grasp?

Studies show that people who describe themselves as multitaskers have an extremely difficult time setting aside unnecessary incoming information. They have problems focusing on the task at hand. They have trouble remembering things and organizing their thoughts. Basically, they have trouble performing all of the central functions pertaining to multitasking. So what is it that pilots have that has not been observed in this research. Basically, professional fixed-wing pilots are excellent at task switching, problem solving and planning ahead. These are the three key traits of successful multitasking. Airplane pilots must focus on monitoring the visual field, observing the instruments of the aircraft, listening for audible cues as well as taking in information from air traffic controllers, stay on the flight plan and navigate their route, in addition to many other tasks. It’s a wonder that pilots are able to keep their aircraft aloft while paying attention to so many things.

Upper Limit Aviation has perfected the training methods that provide the most impact in terms of getting airplane pilots ready to fly professionally. We believe that the best pilots are also the safest pilots. Caution is a virtue when planning and while in flight. Total awareness of your surroundings is absolutely vital. Our training will teach you to manage your attention successfully and prepare you for success in whatever industry you choose to seek a career in. To find out more about how Upper Limit Aviation has managed to earn a 100% employment rate for our graduates, call 1-855-HELIEDU.

Professional Fixed-Wing Pilots Must Always Keep Learning

Professional Fixed-Wing Pilots Must Always Keep Learning

Professional fixed-wing pilots must allow themselves to be receptive to learning experiences every single time they lift the wheels off the ground. Each flight should be regarded as an opportunity to become a better pilot. When it comes to being a professional fixed-wing pilot, there is no surer guarantee of mediocrity than when a pilot slides into complacency. And just ask your passengers whether they’re alright with flying in a plane piloted by a pilot whose skills are mediocre. Staying engaged is the key to keeping your edge. The best pilots are the pilots who recognized that safety and knowledge go hand in hand. Upper Limit Aviation (1-855-HELIEDU) believes that we offer just the right combination of training essentials to form students into the best pilots that they can be.

How Professional Fixed-Wing Pilots Can Turn Every Flight Into An Opportunity to Learn

There are many elements that go into flying other than just taking off, steering and landing. It looks and feels seamless to your passengers or to observers on the ground, but from the preflight checklist to the checks you need to perform during taxi, pre-takeoff and takeoff itself, you know that flying is a set of small tasks that add up to a greater whole. In fact, using a checklist is exactly what can make you the best pilot you can be. Obviously there are checklists that all pilots go through, but make your own personal checklist, and incorporate all of your own personal rituals, checks and routines, all of the particular traits that make you as a pilot unique. Then examine your performance against that checklist every time, and each time you perform a new task or realize that you’ve left something off, add it to the list and make sure you do it the next time. Before too long, you’ll see your skills as a professional fixed-wing pilot improving.

Upper Limit Aviation is a firm believer that our pilot graduates will be doing themselves the best favor they can by trying to keep learning at the front of their mind every single time they set out to fly. The training you receive at Upper Limit Aviation will prepare you for success in your chosen professional fixed-wing pilot career. Whether you decide to obtain a CFI certification or further, you will have access to all the training opportunities you could at ask for at Upper Limit Aviation’s campuses. To learn how Upper Limit Aviation can assist you in becoming the best pilot you can be, and then help you develop a lifelong thirst for improvement, call 1-855-HELIEDU today.

Fixed-Wing Pilot Careers: Business Jet Pilots

Fixed-Wing Pilot Careers: Business Jet Pilots

Professional fixed-wing pilots have a seemingly limitless number of career options available to them. While commercial airlines may prove enticing for many pilots, not everyone wants to work for such a big company or fly the same route over and over again. There are a number of fixed-wing pilot career options that can satisfy the preferences of an array of pilots. Executive travel options such as business jets need highly skilled pilots. Flying a business jet is a great career choice for a fixed-wing pilot who wishes to work varied routes, and have a more varied schedule. Upper Limit Aviation (1-855-HELIEDU) can help pilots train to become business jet pilots.

Business Jet Pilot Careers are an Excellent Choice for Many Fixed-Wing Pilots

There are many additional perks available to fixed-wing pilots who choose piloting a business jet as their career. The opportunity to work with a smaller team is something that many pilots in this industry value. Aviation is a job that involves a lot of trust and, hopefully, mutual respect, and the opportunity to get to know the people you work with, including getting to know your boss well, is an invaluable opportunity for many pilots. Working with a smaller crew and transporting fewer passengers make this professional fixed-wing pilot career a no brainer for a certain kind of pilot. While it is true that this career is more susceptible to the whims of the economy, the recent economic downturn actually highlighted just how robust this industry is. Private jet timeshares and fractional jet ownership programs are on the rise.

Upper Limit Aviation’s training seeks to empower our students with the skills necessary to perform with excellence in the professional fixed-wing pilot career of their choice. Whether you wish to work for a commercial airline or work for a chartered-type employer, you’ll be well prepared for success when you complete your fixed-wing flight training at Upper Limit Aviation. Many of our students arrive to us soon after completing their military service. Those pilots will most likely be eligible to use their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to receive a free or deeply discounted education. An aviation career is a stable and rewarding choice with forecasts for a bright future. Call 1-855-HELIEDU to help Upper Limit Aviation help you realize your potential.

The AStar Brings The Future to Upper Limit Aviation’s Helicopter Training Program

Upper Limit Aviation's Future Using the AStar Helicopter 

The helicopter industry doesn't move in tectonic shifts. Industry-wide change can seem to move at a glacial pace, and yet, failing to keep up with the times can mark you as a dinosaur in our highly competitive industry. Lately, we have observed the emergence of a change that seems to be gradually sweeping across the helicopter industry. That shift finds many companies switching over from some of the stalwart standby helicopters of eras gone by and moving on to embrace the Eurocopter AStar. The AStar is a very agile helicopter which is now in use by many governments worldwide (including Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, France, Iceland, Jordan, Paraguay, the UK and more) as well as private companies and by amateur pilots. Upper Limit Aviation has responded to this shift by acquiring an AStar of our own.

The Benefit of Using an Astar in Helicopter Training at Upper Limit Aviation

Upper Limit Aviation has a reputation for producing excellent professional pilots who use their high quality helicopter flight training to go on to become highly skilled pilots with top companies in our industry. Part of our obligation to our students is to make sure that we are continuously engaged with the industry, responding to the changes, big and small, that will affect our students’ ability to access those top positions within the industry. Our consistently high standard of training must be matched by our ongoing effort to provide the tools that our professional pilot students need to be highly-qualified for any career when they leave our training program.

To learn more about how the Eurocopter AStar could benefit your future professional pilot training, call 1-855-HELIEDU.

Training Opportunities for International Students

International Student Flight Training Opportunities

Upper Limit Aviation is an American company, but we recognize that the aviation community is part of an international industry. As we, along with other sources, have observed, the aviation industry is at a critical mass of available jobs right now. The pilot shortage facing our industry is unprecedented. We must take all steps available in order to start filling some of these jobs. Our students are regularly recruited to fill some of the top positions in industry-leading companies. Recruiters from many companies will regularly call Upper Limit Aviation to ask about our recent graduates, and can we possibly send any of our best and brightest their way.

The opportunities that we’re discussing are not limited to one region, and they’re not even limited simply to the United States. There are jobs available all over the world, in both the fixed-wing and helicopter areas of the global aviation industry. Whether you want to work in the Gulf of Mexico or the Persian Gulf, on either side of the Atlantic or the Pacific, there is work available all over the world. Industry insiders are forecasting continued expansion for at least the next five years, which is why Upper Limit Aviation is going to be pursuing an initiative to attract students from all over the world to our three flight training campuses.

Opportunities for International Students to Pursue Flight Training

We believe that our flight training program is the best program that we could put together. We have a reputation for excellence within our industry. Upper Limit Aviation has continued to expand along with the rising demand for fixed-wing and helicopter pilots all over the world. Over the next few months and beyond, we are preparing to launch a program to enlist students from all over the globe to take part in our program. International students will come to one of our three campuses, in West Memphis, AR, Salt Lake City, UT or Cedar City, UT, and receive our high quality flight training.

To learn more about how international students can help us close the gap in the international pilot shortage, call 1-855-HELIEDU.

Deciding to Begin Flight Training

Flight Training: The Most Important Decision You’ll Ever Make

Every pilot has a day when he or she realizes that choosing to pursue flight training would go down as one of the pivotal decisions in his or her lifetime. Life demands that most of us must work for a living. If we are lucky, work will be the thing that we do second or third most, after spending time with our family and sleeping. Some of us may have one or a few jobs for a very long time, while others will have many jobs, bouncing around from place to place. A job is what we spend our days doing. A job is composed of tasks and duties that must be performed. A career, on the other hand, is our life’s work. It is what we spend years and decades doing. It is composed of memories and friendships and challenges and rewards and massive transformations, and it is how many of us define ourselves. Ask a pilot what he does. “I am a pilot,” he or she will reply. Flight training is what gave him or her an answer to that question.

Upper Limit Aviation is in the career business. We help pilots get their start doing what they will do for the rest of their lives. Many of our students feel as if they were born knowing that they were destined to one day fly a fixed-wing aircraft or a helicopter for a living. Others among our ranks were inspired by their own military service, or the example of a mentor or family friend. Whatever brings a student to our school, we make sure that he or she is a pilot, through and through, when he or she leaves flight training.

Upper Limit Aviation Helps Pilots Become Pilots Through Flight Training

There are many articles on this website that will tell you what a terrific time it is to become a pilot. Or how many different sorts of wonderful careers there are for professional pilots who complete flight training. Or explain how the Post 9/11 GI Bill works. All of those articles are full of true and enlightening information, and you should absolutely refer to them in order to learn more detailed information about the flight training program at Upper Limit Aviation.

This article is not full of facts or statistics or prognostications. This article is here to tell you that if you feel like we feel, that if you want to answer the question ‘What do you do?’ by saying, ‘I am a pilot,’ then come and join us. We understand you and can help you do what you love for a living for the rest of your life.

Call 1-855-HELIEDU to learn more.

The Value of Having a Degree for ULA Students

Bachelor’s Degrees Add Value for Upper Limit Aviation Professional Pilot Students

Upper Limit Aviation is motivated to create opportunities for students that will provide them with the most benefit. We believe that by partnering with the schools with whom we have formed an alliance, we are extending those opportunities and offering an enhanced experience that will help students attain achievement beyond what they would be able to accomplish with flight training alone. We have every confidence in the world that the training we provide is the best training that we could possibly offer our students, but we recognize that students need a competitive edge when it comes time to seek a career in the aviation industry. Upper Limit Aviation is proud to offer students the chance to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in addition to their flight training when they are concurrently enrolled at Southern Utah University in our Cedar City, UT program.

A Bachelor’s Degree is one of the main qualifications that many of today’s top employers look for when evaluating a candidate’s value against another applicant. Many pilots assume they are exempt from these sorts of evaluations due to the fact that they have their professional pilot credentials. But Upper Limit Aviation recognizes what employers are trying to determine when they are choosing between two candidates to fill a position.

How A Bachelor’s Degree Can Distinguish One Professional Pilot From Another

We believe that the best pilots are the product of the best education they can receive. While flight training is unquestionably the main component of what should qualify a pilot to perform his job, a solid educational foundation to support that training can go a long way toward helping a student prove his mettle. A bachelor’s degree is demonstrative of commitment and work ethic in addition to indicating a higher level of education.

Helping students attain success is the mission of Upper Limit Aviation. We feel that the best way we can do that is to offer students the richest educational experience we can secure for them. The training they will receive at ULA combined with the education they will receive at one of our partner schools will help them achieve lifelong success.

To find out more about professional pilot opportunities including how you can earn a bachelor’s degree and complete your flight training at the same time, call 1-855-HELIEDU.

Southern Utah University Becoming Partners with ULA

ULA Partnership With Southern Utah University (SUU)

We are very excited about our newly formed partnership with Southern Utah University. We have been working very hard to bring about this exciting new alliance. As our students know, and as any prospective students will be happy to learn, we do our absolute best to make sure that we can offer the best programs to our professional pilot students. The partnership that we have formed with SUU will allow us to transform many more student lives by helping them achieve success through lifelong careers in aviation.

Southern Utah University is located in Cedar City, UT. There are many reasons why this alliance will provide huge benefits to our students. SUU is an excellent school in terms of academics with a variety of programs that have helped shaped many student lives for the better. Upper Limit Aviation will be able to offer the opportunity for students to concurrently enroll in classes at SUU in order to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree while pursuing their flight training.

How the ULA and SUU Partnership Will Enhance Opportunities for Students

The aviation industry is currently enjoying an all-time high for job growth, but every advantage an applicant has when starting out can greatly enhance his or her prospects for success. Many pilots will leave their training program with a pilot’s license that will enable them to get a good job, but graduates of our aligned program will have a college degree that adds significant benefit to their prospects to achieve high-flying success right out of the gate.

Southern Utah University is working with Upper Limit Aviation to make admissions for veterans (using the benefits of the Post 9/11 GI Bill) and private citizens (utilizing a combination of public and private financing) work as smoothly as possible.

We truly believe that this union will allow us to offer a higher degree of training, and thereby strengthen our ability to offer the best chance of success for our students.

To learn more about the opportunities available to students of our SUU-partnered program, call Upper Limit Aviation today at 1-855-HELIEDU.

High Altitude Flight Training at ULA’s Southern Utah University

High Altitude Training Opportunities

Today’s aviation industry is highly competitive. We believe that if a pilot is going to stand out from his peers as the ideal candidate to fill a position, it’s going to be the pilot with superior training. We have based our whole program on training pilots to the level of mastery in all of the basic areas of flight. But we have also gone much further than that in conceiving of how we can offer the best possible flight training experience to our students.

SUU Offers an Advantage to those Seeking High Altitude Flight Training

We have designed our programs to have built-in benefits that may not be found at many other schools. In addition to being an excellent institution of higher learning, Southern Utah University (SUU) is situated, in beautiful Cedar City, UT, at an elevation of 5,622 feet. What that means is that when our students take off, they reach a higher altitude very quickly, and are able to perform training routines that may not be performed as readily at some other schools.

Our partnership with SUU has been in the works for a long time. The elevation, the reputation, and many other factors have combined to create a perfect storm of opportunity for our students. We put a lot of work into making sure that each of our programs offers a consistent educational experience, but have sought out locations and partnerships that may offer particular advantages to student pilots seeking particular experience to benefit their skill set if they have a particular area of interest. High altitude flight training is a tremendous benefit to students seeking a competitive advantage.

Our campus in Salt Lake City, UT (SLCC) offers the best of both worlds for students interested in both mountain flying and urban settings. Similarly, our campus in West Memphis, AR (MSCC) is located near to the Gulf, which is home to a rising number of opportunities for pilots seeking work in the offshore oil industry.

The bottom line is that high altitude flight training at SUU is just another one of the many advantages that students at Upper Limit Aviation can expect when they sign up to earn their professional pilot’s license with us. Call 1-855-HELIEDU to learn more about high altitude training opportunities.