JC, you must be mucking with the board...
In answer to the question re AES - yes it is a great course. I took it a few years ago in Victoria and it was very informative. I understand that he now goes on the road with his program and if you are located in the East, may be able to hook up with something out this way.
One thing I discovered from taking the course is that it leads to a desire for more information. There is a bigger outfit on the East coast which uses a large helicopter fuselage for training and it is way more in depth. I can't remember the company's name off hand, but after you take Brian's course you should ask him about it (if he doesn't bring it up at the presentation) as I have heard it also is a good program. The other company does a lot of military/off-shore helicopter company training and the rates are about 3 x as high as Brian's course.
Any egress training you can add to your experience will stand you in good stead and looks good on a resume.
My recommendation would be to do Brian's course first, and if you can swing it, do the other one at some point in the futrue.
Cheers,
Snoopy

I dont now what happened to my original post .

I was asking if anyone had taken the Egress training from EAS in BC, and was it worthwhile.

(Maybe the problem is from our side, a few minutes ago all of the computers on this floor crashed for awhile.)

I did the egress training in the heli-fuselage, on the east coast. It was in Eastern Passage just outside of Halifax. I will check my certificate, and post the info here in the next few days for anyone interested.
In my opinion the course was great I love to swim, and enjoy being in the water for long periods of time. I ended up helping my classmates, and doing a good dozen dunks for different parts of the A/C.They have scuba divers in the tank with you at all times, but sometimes it does get a little disorienting, and a little scary. It doesen't simulate hitting the water at 60Kts, but it prepares you a little so hopefully you don't panic.
Again great course. I would recomend it to any float driver out there, and even wheel drivers in the event that u have to ditch on water.
Best of luck, and I will post eh info in a few days.
Cheers Wave

Wouldn't waste my money...but that's just me. Spent enough time mucking about underwater on wrecks...at night...to know that bubbles rise. Seems everybody's got a gimmick these days. Now, for a scant thousand bucks, let me strap you into a rig and try and drown you? No thank-you.

HSRS Aviation Training Halifax and across Canada. Been through their course 3 times. Well worth it.
My buddy cracked up in 2 otter on floats. He makes no bones about it, the escape training he got from them saved his life.

I went to the one just out side of Halifax the place was called System safety they had the Heli-fuselage. Was well worth the money. Even though I did not have to foot the bill. Would do it again anyday.

Survival Systems Traning Limited
40 Mount Hope Ave.
Woodside Ocean Industries Park
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Canada
B2Y 4K9

Hope this can help someone on this site.
Cheers to all, and Happy ThanksGiving!

Yes, Survival system in Halifax.

Nice set up, nice course, nice team.
Don't know the price (I didn't pay for it)
It's basicaly an heli moke up but the cockpit can be set up as a fixed wings (twotter) or, half a half with right seat heli, left seat fixed wings.
They also have an all range of exit doors to put on it.

You can practice all sort of egress, the hardest one is from the front to a rear exit...

Would worth an airline ticket to get there and doing it with them.

Just completed the water ditching course at Survival Systems in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It was part of the soon to be defunct NSCC aviation program. The course was only a half day training for us, and cost about $500. However, the regular course is three days, and the bill is just over $6000.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone interesting in flying over or on water. Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult to figure out which way was up. The most important part of the training was to keep your seatbelt on until you have the door opened and hand on the fuselage. Then, and ONLY then can you let the belt go. You will float, and if you don't know where that door handle is, good luck trying to find it amongst all that crap floating around inside the cockpit with almost zero visibility while you're in an awkward, nearly inverted position against the roof.

Definitely well worth the money however, and I'd recommend it to everyone! Before the training, I'm fairly sure I would have drowned. Now, I think I have a chance.

bb lint.. Like Snoopy, I took the course in Victoria a few years ago. Brian is a great instructor. I found it to be fairly indepth and well presented.
Scared the crap outta me hitting the water and going upside down. As he said.. these are controlled circumstances with frogmen waiting to rescue you.. Its much diffrent hitting the ocean at 65 mph and water thats 44 degrees. It was part of the training at Harbour Air and i`d recommend it to anyone flying floats this season.
If you have an opportunity to take this course, you should.
Hope this helps. Fly safe all Cheers

Doc wrote:Wouldn't waste my money...but that's just me. Spent enough time mucking about underwater on wrecks...at night...to know that bubbles rise. Seems everybody's got a gimmick these days. Now, for a scant thousand bucks, let me strap you into a rig and try and drown you? No thank-you.

Bubbles rising is usually what disorients people in an inverted submerged aircraft. Most people know how to get out when the ceiling is above them and their feet are on the floor. However, if you chase the bubbles up, you're going to end up upside down inside the aircraft, right becomes left and vice versa. I highly doubt that most people would be able to understand their orientation considering they've just crashed and are now inside an aircraft, upside down and under water.

The worst thing you can do is try to upright yourself inside the aircraft (ie standing on the ceiling of the inverted aircraft). Staying strapped into your seat until the violent motion stops and going out the window beside you is easy, what if you've got to egress via another exit? You maintain your references, your feet on the floor of the aircraft and you make your way to the exit.

I did the 2 day course with a total of 14 dunks. We exited out our own windows, cross cockpit, and cabin exits as well as off levels (not a full 180 degrees inverted). We did them with and without EBS (emergency breathing systems, a small air bottle that's in our slimline backpack with a second one on our life vest).

In the Maritime Helicopter community, we do the dunker course every 5 years and they allow us to go back for a few dunks whenever we want since they're just down the road.

Overall, it's by far one of the best courses I've ever taken and it will save your life, period.