I asked the question about the time to fly a helicopter 230 miles. i live in lafayette louisiana and houston..

Question

is that far away. i was talking about a typical private helicopter a civilian may own. could this distance be done without refueling? if one wanted to while flying the helicopter, could they follow the interstate in order to know if he is going the right direction? im fascinated with choppers but dont know anything about them! lol, i was in a helo carrier when i was in the Marines

Answer 1

Thats strange. No civilians own helicopters ?

Answer 2

I also answered that you didn't specify what is a typical helicopter so the question is difficult to answer.  Just about the cheapest helicopter is this ($185K).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_R2...

So a civilian would probably would NOT own a helicopter.

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The range is listed as 240 miles.  But nobody would fly any aircraft that close to the max range.

As for following the interstate - yes as long as the interstate does NOT cross under restricted air space (near airports, air base, white house, etc.)

Good Luck...

Answer 3

Helper has no fuc&ing clue.  The Robinson R-44 and R-22 helicopters are the worlds top selling CIVILIAN owned and operated helicopters.  I fly one on the weekends when I can.  As for the question...there are MANY helicopters that can go that distance without refueling.  The R-44's range is over 300 miles.  Of course you could go up to a turbine helicopter and spend much more money.  Go for the R-44...you won't be disapointed!

Answer 4

Hey helper, why would a civilian NOT own a helicopter, especially a Robinson. Are not d**n near all of them civilian?

Quesioner, figure  two and a half hours to make the trip with a likely fuel stop.

Answer 5

When I was in the Marines we used to fly the UH-1N longer distances that that without refueling. We did have aux fuel bags. The Huey usually has a cruise speed of somewhere between 90-115 Knts.  I dont see why you couldnt follow the Highway if you wanted to.  IFR (I Follow Roads)  

We fly our Huey now in the civilian world mostly using GPS Nav. Its the easiest way to go I think.

BTW what Gator Freighter were you on??