I met Claudio about a year before I began training with Helitahoe. In the first 5 minutes of meeting this one of a kind man, I knew that Helitahoe was the school I was going to end up at. Having begun my private license in southern california, I waited to finish up my private checkride, then decided to make the move to south lake tahoe. In that year I spent in southern california, Claudio made a conscious effort to keep in touch with me and remain updated on where I was in my training. He made sure I asked the school all the right questions, was getting the proper training, and most importantly getting my moneys worth.

When I began training with Helitahoe, I was quick to realize how structured, focused, educating, and fun this new school was going to be. I was immediately impressed with Claudio's knowledge, ground lessons, simple tips while flying that made a world of a difference, divine attention to the student, and most importantly; his sense of humor.

The instructors, and the students have such an awesome relationship. This is an extremely competitive business us as students, are entering. Helitahoe's "family" of instructors and students have a way of making all this hard work, really fun hard work. Everybody's positive attitude, encouragement, and mentioned before - sense of humor, takes away any pressure or feelings of doubt. Being one of the only females at this school, even I feel welcome and so happy in this enviornment.

I love all of these guys to death, this crew will keep you on your toes, keep you laughing, and make you more educated then you probably thought possible. My confidence as a pilot is constantly growing as I surround myself with extremely knowledgable and talented pilots. I never thought I would make it as far as I have, thank you to Claudio for believing in me. Not to mention, flying over Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. That is when you know you have the most amazing "office" in the world. – Jessie

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Over the course of several years, I have been lucky to meet Claudio and work with him in this industry. He is a great pilot and instructor, but the thing that sets him apart to me, is his passion and skill for training others -- "I can hear it in his voice". I actually use this to help train my instructors to be the best CFI's they can be. Most flight schools spend a lot of time worrying about this or that and not taking the time to teach instructors how to actually "teach" in the cockpit and on the ground. It is a special skill and one that Claudio has mastered. Take the time to see for yourself what it is to be good as an instructor and visit Claudio and his operation. We feel so good about him that we actually send our students to learn Mountain flying from him when we are only 1.5 hours away. – Chris

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Several students and I are just finishing our private training with Claudio at HeliTahoe. I can't praise him enough for the excellent job he does. Training first-rate and safe pilots is Claudio's first love and highest priority, even though he has thousands of hours and could choose other commercial pursuits. Claudio sets very high ethical standards -- he is almost obsessive about using time efficiently (he is very proud that his students pass check rides with lower hours than the national averages), and has shunned any business model that depends on large up-front commitments that trap students. Claudio is demanding but patient, and very safety oriented (he is also the FAA safety representative for KTVL where he operates). The South Lake Tahoe R44-based training location provides mountain flying awareness and experience (every hour is considered mountain flying time.) – Todd

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I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Claudio at HeliTahoe. I was able to observe, in depth, the way in which he teaches his students. Claudio is extremely dedicated to giving his students the absolute best training possible, without wasting the student’s time and money. Claudio’s motto is: "the cockpit is not a classroom" and thus he places extreme importance on ground instruction so that the student is very clear on the maneuver to be performed before they ever get in the air. The atmosphere at the school is very relaxed and every student helps each other, just like a family. Claudio has the highest training standards I’ve ever seen at a helicopter flight school and he tells it like he sees it but you never feel intimidated. If you are willing to work your tail off, and can handle complete honesty, Claudio is the instructor for you! Claudio trains all his students to nearly CFI level and all of his students pass their check rides well below the average hours in the industry. I had the pleasure of teaching ground school for a few hours with Claudio in the room and I must say, my knowledge was put to the test. Claudio is an incredible source of practical helicopter and airplane knowledge which he has gained through thousands of flight hours. But see for yourself. – Christian

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I knew that HeliTahoe was the place where I wanted to learn to fly half way through my first meeting with Claudio.  I am sure I made the right decision because I have had nothing but positive experiences here.  From that first meeting on, Claudio has been very generous with his time and resources, including letting me hang around the office two days a week for about three months while I got all of my finances together.  For not a lot of work, Claudio let me ride back-seat during a lot of training sessions and sit in on a good amount of ground instruction, which I believe gave me a huge head start on my training and really gave me a healthy respect, bordering on awe, of Claudio’s deep understanding and skill as a pilot and teacher.  Watching him at the white board or in the cockpit can be equally impressive. 
I have now begun my training at the Minden, NV branch in the Robinson R22 and it has so far been the most challenging and rewarding investment of my time and money that I have ever undertaken.  Christian, Claudio’s right hand man, has been all I could ask for in an instructor; he is highly experienced and skilled, and very methodical in the way he approaches teaching.  He is willing to match your effort step for step and his flexible work schedule has allowed me to fly three times a week while still working more than full time. 

I could probably go on for a long while but I will end with this: if you are serious about flying and want to go to a school where you will be embraced as a friend, student and, most importantly, pilot, you need to come to HeliTahoe and check out the best kept secret in the helicopter training industry – Harry King

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My sincere thanks to Claudio and Christian at HeliTahoe for helping me realize my dream of adding a rotorcraft rating to my private pilot’s license.  I started in ’07 down in Watsonville, but ran low on funds and ended up taking a year and a half off from flying.  Getting back in the air at the Minden, NV branch of HeliTahoe has been a great experience.  My training at Minden has provided invaluable high altitude experience which really makes you intimately aware of the helicopter’s capabilities and limitations.

Christian von der Heyde, the Minden branch instructor, is extremely professional and dedicated to his profession.  Watching him teach, one can see just how much he loves flying and passing on his expansive knowledge to his students.  He is very patient and he really tailors his teaching technique to each individual student.  December 24th, 2009 I passed my helicopter private pilot check ride with an FAA examiner.  The examiner also made a point of telling me I had a very good instructor and he seemed very impressed with the professionalism of the HeliTahoe school.

I can’t recommend HeliTahoe enough and I look forward to many more hours with them as I have just started my instrument training - Wendy

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I’ve done some flight hours with Claudio and Christian at Lake Tahoe and Minden. Both of them are very safety-conscious flight instructors. Together they are a good combination for me. I really liked that you get extremely time efficient and professional training. Claudio is a very experienced and safety oriented flight instructor. In addition he is demanding, but that’s exactly what you want to get from an instructor.
 
HeliTahoe is the best way to learn advanced helicopter skills. They place emphasis on personal one to one instruction; consequently you get the training adapted to your personal desires. With HeliTahoe you learn the important things to fly helicopters, not just the required standards. “Let’s do it like this, so you can save money and time” is one of Claudio’s favorite sayings – Matthias

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I absolutely love doing flight training in South Lake Tahoe, as the scenery, flying and weather are great. Here at HeliTahoe, this flight training is perfect for anything you want or need in order get your pilot’s license. We all get along like one big happy family at the school. We have some of the best flight instructors in the field. It is absolutely fun doing everything you learn. There is never a day you won’t enjoy if flying is your passion - Jamie