Sirius Flying LLC

I have just completed my commercial helicopter rating and want to express my thanks to John Pyle and his instructor Dan Tzur for having been there to help me get it done. Both of them did everything they could to work with me and my difficult schedule so that I could get this rating accomplished. The helicopters were always available and well maintained. We never had equipment problems that put off flight time. The instruction was individually tailored by Dan and monitored by John. At every step I believed we were making positive progress toward my exam date and test. In the end this was exactly what happened. John runs a totally professional school and he and his instructors were always considerate of my time and expense. I believe it makes a difference that Sirius is John’s proprietorship as he personally assures the quality of the operation. Flying helicopters takes a real group effort by everyone, student, instructors, and school, and my hat is off to how well John and his team do their part. Training is my way of mitigating my risk and knowing I got good training and a thorough exam is my way of knowing I have accomplished that goal. If you want to really learn to fly, go with a first class operation, like this.

I booked a discovery flight and waited a month an a half to schedule it on a Saturday as it’s a one person company. A day before the flight I called the pilot to assure we’re all set, and asked if the entire experience is more than the 45 min flight and 15 min safety training printed on their brochure and web site from which I booked it.
The pilot said its 2 hours and not less, so since I had another firm engagement scheduled I asked him if we could start earlier. He bluntly refused and warned me that if I cancel I will «never be able to reschedule and will never fly helicopters»
Beyond being rude and unprofessional, he had difficulties hearing and understanding me as I needed to repeat myself several times during the conversation.
Despite the fact I anticipated it for a long time and it was a birthday present, I’m happy I didn’t do it there.
You know, it’s flying and all…

While doing some flight training with Sirius I got to fly with both John Pyle and Aallan Griffin and they are both great pilots with tons of experience. I was able to fly over to Hayward, Livermore, and Reid-​Hillview seeing lots of interesting things from the sky while getting lots of radio experience and landing in different locations.
The flight training is really hands on and not overly heavy classroom oriented. Given John and Aallan’s flight hours you can feel comfortable jumping in the cockpit and trying stuff you might be scared to do otherwise.

I had a phenomenal time flying with pilot John Pyle. He has a tremendous amount of experience and his instruction was calm, collected, and (rightly so) confident, which inspired confidence in me as I took (limited) control of the helicopter at times during our flight. The flight was on an R44 Raven I which was less than a year old.
I have been interested in helicopters for some time, and my wife got me a «Discovery Flight» for Christmas. I would highly, highly recommend this experience for anyone who has ever thought about flying a helicopter or who has dabbled in RC (radio controlled) copters.
As we flew from the airfield across the Bay towards Mission Peak, I got to take cyclic control (forward/​backward, rolling right and left) for a substantial amount of time, and when we returned to the airport I got to try my hand at the other controls while we were in a hover. John allowed me to make mistakes but was quick to easily pull us back to a hover when I was not able to correct. I felt completely safe while doing this, which is not something I would have ever expected was possible before trying it alongside an experienced pilot. It’s clear that John is a top-​notch pilot and instructor who is able to work with people of many skill levels and give them an incredible experience with helicopters. I hope to return and work towards my pilot’s license, and I can’t speak highly enough of my experience with Sirius Flying!

My husband has always been interested in learning to fly a helicopter. For our anniversary I planned to surprise him. I researched discovery flights from Palo Alto all the way to Lake Tahoe & Reno. I am SO GLAD I went with Sirius Flying. John Pyle is so awesome. First off, he was informative over the phone so I knew what to expect. My husband had a great time. He even let him take over the controls at several points. Additionally, when we got back to the airport John taught him how to hover which was my husband’s favorite part. I felt safe the entire time. The helicopter is beautiful and looks brand new. Other companies charged more for me to ride as a passenger and wouldn’t allow me to take my own photos. John encouraged me to come along & bring my DSLR camera and I’m glad I did. From beginning to end, John took care of us. My husband and I highly recommend!

I work part time at the airport, and cannot get out of my mind what one women said about John Pyle. She said” I am a single parent, and did my research on who would be the best person I would trust my life with” She chose John Pyle. People come from all over the world to train with him, but this statement hit home for me. She drove almost 2 hours in traffic to train with him. Getting to know him as a person I have a huge amount of respect for him, but her statement says it all. I would trust this man with my life and in a way you kind of are. You cannot go wrong with Sirius Flying.

I’m currently taking helicopter flight lessons from John Pyle and have just started to do some of the solo training. In my opinion, John is exactly what you want in a flight instructor:
1. He’s an extremely conscientious and skilled pilot. It’s sometimes hard to tell where the helicopter ends and John begins.
2. He digs deep to find out *why* you make errors so that corrections can be made at the source of the misunderstanding, instead of simply micromanaging the symptoms throughout the flight. This is great because it teaches you to think critically about improvement on your own.
3. Even with his 17,000 hours of experience, he still actively critiques and improves his own technique — he’s not someone who rests on his laurels.
4. Due to his high level of experience, you have more freedom to make and learn from mistakes. He’s not going to let you do anything dangerous, but he will let you mess up as much as is safely possible — contrast this to some low-​time CFIs who «white knuckle» the controls so much that you never learn the limits of the machine.
5. He’s extremely available and answers (or finds answers to) as many questions as you want to ask, in person or over email.
6. The helicopters are well-​maintained, even when it means losing revenue for an important repair.
All told, I think John and Sirius provide great instruction for discerning students. If you take the training seriously, you’ll learn a lot and have a great time.

Had my first experience flying a helicopter today. John at Sirius Flying made a dream come true. Extremely professional, helpful, patient, knowleageable, everything you’d want in someone who holds your life in their hands!