Based centrally at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, Hummingbird will give you first class, customer focused, bespoke helicopter pilot training and exhilarating flight experiences. Through training at an international airport, you will be exposed to the world of commercial aviation, which will give you the skill and confidence to fly at any airport worldwide. We do not charge our customers landing fees, membership fees or any other hidden fees! There is no small print at Hummingbird.
Flying a helicopter is quite simply the most exhilarating and rewarding experience you could ever wish to accomplish in your lifetime. The challenge of mastering the most versatile utility vehicle ever designed is one to be truly proud of. Some of the benefits of helicopter pilot training with Hummingbird include:
- Experienced Instructors
- International Airport
- No landing fees
- No membership fees
- No small print
- We are CAA Accredited
- Fully Insured
- Free Parking
- 100% pass rate
- Free tea, coffee & biscuits!
Mark Holderness was our first student to pass his Skills Test. Since achieving his PPL (H) Mark has gained his R44 type rating and now has his sights set on becoming a commercial helicopter pilot. Hear why Mark chose to fly with us.
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My son bought me a trial lesson with Matt t Hummingbird and it was exhilarating. Matt was very informative and helpful and welcoming. The whole experience was great and you... read more 
Langar_11
November 7, 2017Linda1281938013 Booked a 30 min flight in the two seater helicopter for my Mum . It was an early 90th birthday gift which we knew she would enjoy . My... read more
September 1, 2020 - Jjbbyy As a family we all paid for our Mum/Grandma/Great-Grandma to come for a 30min experience as a early present for her upcoming 90th birthday. Unfortunately due to the new Government... read more
September 1, 2020mh0lderness I have been learning to fly with Hummingbird for over two years now, and now have achieved my Private Pilot License, Matt and the team have been there throughout the... read more
September 1, 2018 - Linda1281938013 Booked a 30 min flight in the two seater helicopter for my Mum .
It was an early 90th birthday gift which we knew she would enjoy .
My... read more
September 21, 2020Joyandmick P I was given a gift of a 15 minute flight experience - and what a fabulous gift it was. Only a short flight, but then it was just for... read more
August 1, 2019 - Some very good Friends bought me a Helicopter fight for my 50th Birthday, I went on the 8 of July 2017. Matt the pilot was very welcoming, he gave me... read more
Phil--Fowler
July 9, 2017Joyandmick P I was given a gift of a 15 minute flight experience - and what a fabulous gift it was. Only a short flight, but then it was just for... read more
August 21, 2019 - Jjbbyy As a family we all paid for our Mum/Grandma/Great-Grandma to come for a 30min experience as a early present for her upcoming 90th birthday. Unfortunately due to the new Government... read more
September 22, 2020Barbara S Want a great experience with knowledgeable, friendly pilot? Then book up for your experience. We booked a lesson for our son and even when the flight was cancelled due to... read more
February 1, 2017 - Ross W My wife got be a 30 min trial flying lesson from here for my 50th (as it was on my bucket list). It was amazing. My instructor was Andy, a... read more
July 1, 2018Leanne B Absolutely loved it! All the staff were friendly and very welcoming Not only did I learn the physics of how a helicopter flys, I was able to... read more
August 11, 2021
“Our instructors are highly experienced Commercial Helicopter Pilots with a combined total of 6000 flying hours. We provide all your training needs in-house so there’s no need to worry about anything. We look forward to passing on everything we know to you, in an informal but safety driven atmosphere.”
Michael has always known at some point he’d become a pilot. After gaining his Bachelors & Masters degrees, he became acutely aware that the desk life was not for him. Finally, he made the career change back in late 2017, enrolling as a PPL (H) student here at Hummingbird Helicopters.
Michael then joined the team initially as our Operations Manager in 2019 and shortly after, gained his PPL (H) on the R22. He then went onto get his R44 Type Rating and pass both his CPL (H) and FI (H) here at Hummingbird. Now as a qualified Flight Instructor, Michael enjoys putting all his experience and everything he’s learnt along the way into the next generation of pilots coming through.
UK CAA CPL(H), FI(H), FIC(H), FE(H)
FAA CPL(H) CFII
R22, R44, H269, Cabri G2, B206, AS355, EC145.
Capt. Simon Wiles is an experienced pilot with over 4000 flying hours.
With extensive experience within the training sector as a flight instructor and an examiner for the CAA being able to examine for the PPL(H), type ratings and for the CPL(H) Skill Tests.
Simon’s flying experience also involves pleasure flying, charter and significant utility flying for such customers as National Grid, TOTAL and CLH on aerial pipeline inspection.
As an experienced instructor and one of the few helicopter pilot’s in the UK qualified to deliver the Flight Instructor’s Course Simon believes that students should fully understand what to expect in a flight lesson. What they should be able to achieve by the end of the exercise, how it links to what they have completed previously and how it will help them with future exercises. By taking this approach students have a better understanding of what they are doing and why. Simon and Hummingbird’s approach is to deliver a high standard of instruction and to mould students into safe, confident and capable pilots.
CPL(H), FI(H), IR(H)
R22, R44, HU269, BELL206, BELL206L, AW109, EC155
Iain is one of our freelance flight instructors who has been teaching since 2015. He got the bug whilst at university and now travels all over the country to fly. He has over 1,000 hours of flying experience spread across flight instruction and corporate VIP operations on multi-engine helicopters. As well as flight instruction he has an instrument rating.
Despite spending most of his time on larger aircraft his passion is teaching. He enjoys the challenge of passing on knowledge about the most difficult skill to learn in aviation, flying helicopters. He looks to base his lessons around the wider context of what the student will end up doing with their license, whether that be as a private pilot flying friends and family or as a commercial pilot looking to move onto bigger and more complex helicopters.
Iain believes that what you learn first is what you remember and so focuses on learning it right first time. His exposure to the commercial end of helicopter operations has shown him that revisiting the basics of flying is always a good exercise, even for the most experienced of pilots. For him, safe operations originate from safe pilots because they’ve been taught well in the first place.
Rob has known from a very young age that he wanted to be a helicopter pilot, he did his first trial lesson at the age of 16. After some thought he then started his PPL (H) on the Guimbal Cabri G2 while studying for his A-Levels and gained his Licences at 18 years old.
Rob then went on to do his Robinson R22 Type rating at hummingbird so he could gain more experience on a different aircraft.
At present Rob works part time as an Operations Assistant while studying for his ATPL (H) Exams to help him reach the end goal of becoming a Commercial Pilot in the not so distant future.