A few questions for pilots please (I need a little aviation help)?

Question

Hello all! I am a 16 year old, and I am really interested in flying, but I had a few questions, and I would really appreciate your answers, thank you! :)

1: What are the legalities of owning a helicopter/airplane (2-4 seater)

2: What are the legalities of owning a kit-build plane or helicopter? (Such as Van or Rotorway) Like, can you fly them anywhere, anytime? Or do you have to get permission from the ground-tower? For a helicopter, can you park it anywhere, (backyard, or a flat roof) or do you have to park it at the heliport?

3: What would be the cost for a decent helicopter/airplane? (Preferably not over $80,000.)

4: How long would it take to become a pilot? (To fly on your own, without supervision.) How much would it cost per flight, and how many hours are needed to get a license? (How much would the licence cost?)

5: In your opinion, which would be better to learn to fly, a helicopter or an airplane? What are a few advantages of whichever you think is better?

Thank you SO much for all your answers! Any websites would also be appreciated! Thank you all! :)

Answer 1

How about flying a powered hang glider or powered paraglider. Yes it is much slower, but it is cheaper and fewer legals/headaches.

Answer 2

1. perfectly legal

2. perfectly legal, provided you don't use them to make money (they'd be in the "experimental" category, and making money would be illegal, even if it's just one flight). beyond that, same rules as any production aircraft. and as for landing location, there are some non-airport areas you can land (i keep my piper cub at home, but i have 40 acres and a long flat dirt road)

3. depends on whether you buy new or used, but outside of small (2-seat) kitplanes, you can expect to pay $100,000 or more for a decent, airworthy (physically and legally) plane. buying and restoring a broken down one will save money up front, but will take time, effort, and some money to fix up. restoring or building a kit plane also takes a number of skills, ranging from woodworking and fabric work to welding and riveting to composite work, depending on the plane, which could take lots of time and/or money to learn (an A+P school will help a lot, but it's also pricey and takes roughly 2 years of full time school)

4. a lot of this depends on the school, how quickly you learn, and how much money you have. it can get pricey at some places, and it can cause you to sit around making extra money for a few weeks (or months)

5. plane first, as helicopter training schools are less abundant and can be more expensive. planes are also more readily available than copters, and are quite a bit faster. of course, they need a lot more room to take-off and land than a copter

note: i hesitate to give hard numbers for most of this due to the number of factors that go into it. some research about planes and flight schools in your area would be a good idea

Answer 3

Go to a flying school, as it is in thier interest to answer all of your questions as they will be looking for your custom.

Answer 4

Airplanes or Helicopters

Any answer you get on here will be biased, and you will probably get a lot of answers from people who have only flown one and know nothing about the other. For example, I have only flown helicopters so I naturally I am biased in their favor. Therefore, you must try both for yourself and decide which one is best for you. You can schedule an introductory lesson in each one so that you can make an informed decision. The instructors you fly with will also be valuable sources of information to help your decision. Finally, you can even plan to train in both if you choose to.

Training Requirements

For a private pilot certificate, you must complete 40 hours of flight training, including 10 hours of solo flight. Most people go beyond the minimum in either type of aircraft. For helicopters, I would say the average is between 60-80 hours depending on the consistency and frequency of the training.

Duration of Training

How long it will take depends on how frequently you fly. You might finish in 6-8 weeks or less if you fly every day, or you may take a year or more if you fly only once a week or less.

How often you fly will depend on three things: your schedule, the flight school's schedule, and the availability of funds. Any one of those may cause you to get stuck, and to take longer. Do some research, and plan ahead carefully to minimize delays created by any of these.

Cost - Helicopters

Flight time is the bulk of the expense. The average price in my area is currently about $275/hr. If that is your rate, then 60 hours will cost $16,500. Your ground lessons, medical exam, books, supplies, written tests, examiner fee, etc. will be in addition to that. You might spend another $1000 or so on these. It is expensive but it is totally doable with some planning/saving in advance.

The hourly rate for instruction in airplanes would usually be about half. Check the actual prices in your area to compute an estimate.

NB: These rates include aircraft rental, rather than the cost of your own aircraft.

Decent Helicopters

It will be difficult to find a decent helicopter for less than $80,000. You seem to already know about the Rotorways.

http://www.rotorway.com/index.php

I personally don't care to fly anything less than a Schweizer, but a decent and well-maintained used one will be $100,000 or more. Do your homework before buying any aircraft.

Where can I land?

Airspace rules have more details than you need here, but you can basically fly wherever you would need to with a certified aircraft and pilot. The "experimental" aircraft, like most kits, must avoid heavily populated areas.

Where you can land depends on a number of factors. You must comply with local regulations, you must be able to approach and depart without creating an undue hazard, and you must have the permission of the owner to land. You may also have limitations from your insurance company.

More Information - Helicopters

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

http://www.verticalreference.com/

http://www.justhelicopters.com/

http://www.helicopterflight.net/

Flight School Listings - Helicopters

http://www.sacusa.com/1directory/states....

http://www.verticalreference.com/MoreStu...

More Information - Airplanes

http://flighttraining.aopa.org/learntofl...

http://www.faa.gov/pilots/become/

http://www.beapilot.com/

http://www.eaa.org/

Flight School Listings - Airplanes

http://www.flightschoollist.com/flightsc...

http://flighttraining.aopa.org/learntofl...

http://www.bestaviation.net/flight_schoo...

http://www.aviationschoolsonline.com/sch...

Good luck!

Answer 5

3.) depends on what you mean by decent, piper and Cessna are relatively cheap, the piper tomahawk is about 20k, older archers can be found for 50k, Cessna 152 can be found for 20-30k, but look at aso.com to see some prices

4.) it can be done in 6 weeks, or to a year or longer if your unlucky, depends on your pace. i got mine in a year, but if some complications didn't come up, i would've had it in 6 weeks

5.) cost per flight and cost for training very on the type of plane, i trained in a piper tomahawk and it cost $90 solo for 1 hour; i logged about 53 hours and it cost for me about 7-8k. the minimum number of hours need is 35; but don't expect to finish by then unless your a genius

6.) Airplanes are the best! did you know the reason helicopters fly is because their so ugly the earth repels them? that's my personal bias though

Answer 6

1, no legalities, but to fly it you will need a license and so will the aircraft.

2,Same as 1, you can fly it when you like locally as long as the airspace is not restricted,other flights will require you to file a flight plan. You would need planning permission to park a helicopter anywhere but an airfield, broadly speaking.

3,Probably not a helicopter for that money, but certainly a decent light plane.

4,Course is about 45 hrs and around $8-10K.

5.Fly a plane,major plus is that they glide easily, helicopters can autorotate but its a skill that often fails in the heat of the moment. plus air hours are cheaper.