Mike Becker is one of Australia's most experiencedhelicopter instructors, with over 16,000 hours of rotarywingflight experience. His career has taken him fromthe mountains in New Zealand to the outback ofAustralia to the jungles of Papua New Guinea. He hasalso worked in the United States, Italy and Borneo.He has flown a range of helicopter types - theRobinson R22, Robinson R44, Bell 47, Hughes 269, Hughes 500, Bell 206, Bell 427, Bell 212, EC120, Dragon Fly, Brantley B2B, Enstrom EF28, SikorskyS62A, HillerH12ET, Aerospatial AS350, Agusta 109E Power, Agusta 109S Grand, and the Agusta 119 Koala.He is experienced in a comprehensive range ofhelicopter operations, including high altitude, remotearea operations, mustering, firefighting, tourism, slingload operations, specialised long-line operations, search and rescue, and Night Vision Goggles operations.Mike is a Grade One Flight Instructor and Flight Examiner who holds an Australian Air Transport PilotsLicence (Helicopter) and an Australian Commercial Pilots Licence (Fixed Wing).Mike is the Chief Pilot and Head of Training for his own business Becker Helicopters, in Australia. He, andhis wife Jan, established Becker Helicopters in 1997 with one Bell 47 and have grown the company througha love of helicopters, hard work, and determination.Mike is the recipient of many awards, including the "Captain John Ashton Award for Flight Standards andAviation Safety" by the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators of London, which was awarded in recognition ofover 18,000 accident-free flight training hours at Becker Helicopters. Mike has also authored "Mike Becker'sHelicopter Handbook", first published in 1986, and a range of theory books and instructional videos.
