The Best Way to Become a Helicopter Pilot
Flying is exciting ... plain and simple. Flying helicopters is even more fun. You can take off from anywhere, land anywhere and slow to a crawl while still maintaining control if you need to settle into a small space. You don't need a runway. Runways are for fashion models.
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Where To Start
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Learning to fly a helicopter can be expensive, especially when compared with flying fixed-wing aircraft. If you've never flown at the controls of an aircraft before, it is easier to learn the basics in a fixed-wing trainer. Fixed-wing aircraft runs $80-$120 per hour hour plus the cost of having a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) take you up, which is $20-$30 per hour. An entry-level helicopter will run $250 per hour or more, plus the CFI. This may not be the ideal start, but it's better to make sure you like flying to begin with before you throw lots of money at it. You can also ask for an "introductory flight", which lasts about a half hour and can run from as little as $100.
If you try flying and love it, consider how far you want to go. If you just want to fly yourself and a few friends, you need a private pilot's license. If you want to haul cargo, you'll need a commercial license. To teach others to fly, you need a CFI license. Each of these options requires a different license and different levels of experience. However, to get you started we'll look at private helicopter pilot's license.
The License
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If you're going straight for your license, you're going to need to shop around. The average cost to go from zero hours to the 40-hour minimum required for a private license will run$10,000 to $12,000. Don't let that number scare you away, though. You don't have to come up with all of it at once. You can take the course in stages and pay for the hours you use as you use them. This program is good for people who can only afford to do a few hours each month. The downside to this is that you lose the benefit of being immersed in the training. Aviation knowledge is referred to as the leaky bucket -- you need to keep studying and reinforcing what you learned so you don't forget important information.
Everyone is required to go through ground school, which covers how aircraft fly and how the airspace you fly in operates. This can usually be done over a few weekends, or during a full week. After that. it's time to fly. Average time to your first solo will be 15-20 hours. After you solo, you need to continue to build your hours, and your confidence. If you hit 40 hours of time and you don't feel ready to take your flight evaluation, don't worry... the national average is about 60 hours before people get their license, and you have as much time as you feel you need.
Another option that requires some serious commitment is to have the military teach you to fly. If you have a college degree, the Navy will teach you to fly fixed-wing aircraft and pay you while teaching you. You'll get approximately 125 hours in fixed-wing aircraft, and then another 100 hours in a helicopter, and then you'll be given wings of gold, and granted the privilege of being called a naval aviator. From there, you will have a steady job that pays you to fly helicopters.
Conclusion
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Learning to fly is a challenging and rewarding experience, and learning to fly helicopters is even moreso. It can be expensive, but over time you can learn how to do it and have a life skill that can take you anywhere in the world. And remember -- runways are for fashion models.
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