If I want to someday become a commercial helicopter pilot, what should I major in while in college?

Question

I do not plan to join the military but rather work for a air ambulance company.

Answer 1

awful answers so far.

Get a degree, it will always pay off in the end.

Do not get an aviation degree, remember what they say about putting all your eggs in one basket? Get some sort of a science degree, something you can fall back on if flying doesn't work out for you.  All you have to do is develop a condition that disqualifies you from a medical and your aviation career is over, you don't want to have to fall back on an aviation degree, do you?  If you have a degree in... lets say engineering. Any aviation company that may hire you as a pilot will look at that and thing you must be fairly smart, thats a tough degree to get. Now if you have an aviation degree, they won't hold it against you, but it won't put you a notch above your competition. A degree is a degree  for the most part.

In fact, some places do not accept aviation degrees for pilots positions. One that I can think of off the top of my head is nasa. They want their pilots to have a bachelors (at the very least) in a science field, I think aeronautical engineering as the only aviation related degree they will accept.

The cost of helicopter training is very high. You won't be able to get a license for $3,000, not even if you know someone that own a helicopter. Expect to pay around $10,000. and another 10,000 for an instrument rating.   The best way is to start in a glider for about 5 hours, learn the basics and then get a fixed wing license. Then you can get a rotorcraft add on for the same you would pay for your rotorcraft license, plus you would have a fixed wing license which always looks good.  

Lastly, and this is down the road for you. Think long and hard before you get into the air ambulance business. Talk to people that do it and see what they have to say.  

Answer 2

College Degree

I strongly recommend getting a four year degree. It does not matter at all what your major is. Philosophy or history is just as good as science or engineering. Pick something you could use to build a career if you should ever need or choose to work outside of aviation, and pick something you genuinely enjoy. I would stay away from aviation degrees as they are overpriced and there is absolutely no advantage to having one over any other degree. Also, there is no such thing as "helicoptics", and pretty much all of the aviation universities are for fixed-wing only.

Airplanes

Flying airplanes will only add to your cost and take extra time. There is nothing wrong with flying airplanes, but if you really want to fly helicopters, then fly helicopters. That is, do not use airplanes solely as a stepping stone.

Cost

You cannot get a private pilot certificate for $3,000 and even $10,000 is optimistic for helicopters. In order to finish your private, instrument, commercial, and instructor ratings you will spend at least $60,000-$70,000 for civilian training.

Minimum Hours

You will not get an air ambulance job with 500 hours. You will need to work as a flight instructor first to build experience, and even with 1000 hours you will be limited to flying offshore in the Gulf of Mexico or doing tours in Alaska or the Grand Canyon. You should expect to need at least 2000-3000 hours before being employable as an EMS pilot, and they will take several years beyond your initial training to obtain.

I suggest you spend some time on the websites below. They are specifically dedicated to helicopters, and their discussion forums will be a better source of information than Yahoo Answers.

http://www.verticalreference.com/

http://www.justhelicopters.com/

Do your homework before deciding how to proceed. Every pilot has a different perspective, and there are many myths and misconceptions out there, so get multiple sources of information and prove to yourself which path is best before starting.

Good luck!

Answer 3

you don't need any college.  you can go down to a local airport and find a company that teaches helicopter flying.  many local community colleges will have those lessons too.

then, once you have spent 3K to get your basic, 3K for your instrument rating and 3-6K for a commercial rating you can spend the money to buy enough fuel and rent a helicopter for 500 hours to get the minimum hours necessary to be hired by most companies.

or you could take a year of college, go see your local army recruiter and sign up as a warrant officer for flight school candidate.  you'll do basic training then be promoted to sgt and shipped to ft rutgers in alabama for flight training.  the army will then pay for all the previously mentioned training and the hours you'll need.  plus the training you'll get will be far beyond what any insurance company will insure you for at any civilian flight school and you'll get to fly the coolest fastest most advanced helicopters in the world.  and they'll pay you 2500 a month plus room and board to do it.

of course the downside is that air ambulance will seem boring after this.

Answer 4

     First you probably should major in helicoptics.  This is basic.  Then, if you decide to stay away from airplanes you won't learn to much about them even though most helicoptor pilots fly both fixed wing and rotocraft.  Even if you don't fly airplanes and you study hard you will become a hellofacoptor pilot.