Elstree Aerodrome, UK-based flight school ICE Helicopters has undergone a management buyout by head of training Capt Neil Day.

Established by Martin Varley in the autumn of 2019 with just a single R44, ICE Helicopters has become one of the fastest growing flight schools in Europe; an extraordinary achievement as a relative newcomer within the industry and with a global pandemic to navigate. It was one of the first flight schools to introduce a fixed price helicopter pilot licence, put together a five day intensive ground school and, now, a new CPL(H) course.

Varley, a serial entrepreneur and industry disrupter, had a clear vision of what he wanted his helicopter company to become and represent from the start. “ICE Helicopters was not only a passion and a dream but was also a profitable venture based on high-quality and customer focused training,” he says.

An important aspect in the ICE culture is taking pride and celebrating student accomplishments. It has had more than 15 skill test passes in the last 18 months alone, with many other celebrations of first solo circuit flights, first solo cross country navigation flights, theoretical exam passes and, of course, students achieving their full pilot licences.

Varley continues: “I always hoped that the team that built ICE Helicopters would one day own it, and handing the keys to Neil is a very special day for him and the team. As the lucky owner of a MD520 I will still be at Elstree most days and hope that I can help Neil deliver on all his plans in any way that I can.”

New owner Capt Neil Day has been flying since 2001 and has now amassed over 6,000 hours in 11 helicopter types, achieving the highly coveted examiner rating in 2016.

Day, who has been head of training at ICE since 2019, says: “It has always been an ambition to own a flight school and to provide budding pilots with a fun and relaxed, yet professional, learning environment.” He assures that ICE will continue to provide efficient and immersive training courses to current and prospectus pilots, while maintaining the welcoming community that Varley instilled within it.

The future of ICE Helicopters is an exciting one, and Day promises: “There are lots of new and exciting developments for the business that I am excited to introduce.” These include virtual reality (VR) training, a fleet expansion of additional modern helicopters and diversification of courses to include advanced flight training.