Helicopter school expanding

Florida Today
08/09/05

Inside the Helicopter Adventures flight school, young men in green jumpsuits gathered around the office, speaking in foreign languages.

Some eventually will return to their native countries, including Colombia and Peru, to fly helicopters in the war on drugs. Others, including Americans and Europeans, will go to work for United States and allied forces overseas, oil companies, police and rescue agencies, television stations, sightseeing companies -- and about anyone else willing to pay them to fly helicopters.

This is Patrick Corr's business. Corr, the company's owner and president, said his foreign students are screened by the Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency created in the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. He said he could not discuss many details about the overseas students at the request of the State Department.

Helicopter Adventures is a State Department subcontractor, providing flight training for military personnel, a service that previously was handled at the Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala.