First name: Melvin
Age: 27 years old
City of origin: Ambert (Clermont-Ferrand), France
Education: A.E.C.
Helicopter: R22, R44, R66
Start of training: September 2022
Hello, my name is Melvin, and I’m 26 years old. I was born in Ambert, a small town near Clermont-Ferrand, France.
I began my studies in industrial maintenance and worked in that field for four years. After that, I was hired by Michelin, where I helped assemble car tires for the research and development of sports cars.
Like many others, becoming a helicopter pilot has always been a childhood dream of mine. Unfortunately, the cost of training in France—almost three times higher than in Canada—forced me to put that dream on hold.
Everything changed when I discovered Hélicraft thanks to Lucas, a former Hélicraft student who is now a bush pilot, who put me in touch with the school. After a long discussion with Benjamin, the sales director, I saw this as an opportunity and embarked on the adventure. And so, two years after that first contact, I enrolled in the school.
The training went really well. The atmosphere was immediately friendly and welcoming. It wasn’t always easy, I have to admit—I had to work hard!
I was lucky to have William as my flight instructor, and I can’t thank him enough for helping me make my dream come true and for his patience in putting up with me in the cockpit! Thanks, Willou!
Today, one year after completing my training at Hélicraft, I joined the Carrière+ program as a Young Pilot, and I was fortunate enough to be selected by the Chief Pilot to train on the Robinson 66.
During this season as a young pilot, I was able to carry out various aerial missions (even though most of the flights are sightseeing tours) that taught me a lot!
The best mission was flying across Canada! It was a three-day assignment involving 18 hours of flight time, during which a co-pilot and I flew an R66 helicopter from Alberta to Hélicraft.
We got to experience a wide variety of landscapes and step outside our comfort zone, particularly through English-language communications, new airports, and a more challenging operational environment.
One of my fondest memories is also the day we made several round trips to Quebec City with five helicopters to transport a group of 60 people. Coordinating the flight with all the helicopters and flying in formation with five of them was a truly rewarding experience. It was a big day of flying that I was able to accomplish early in my career with the company, and it will stay with me forever!
My goal now is to become a flight instructor at Hélicraft.
I want to continue growing in this field and make my mark at the company because I really enjoy working here!