Recreational Pilot. Helicopter or Plane?

Question

Is it easier to learn one over the other? Is one cheaper to learn and cheaper to engage in as a hobby?

Answer 1

get the recreational pilot.  if you like it, then you move onto private/plane.  the recreation/sport certificates let you decide if you like it enough to persue.  some of the sport planes are faster than the regular trainers.

helicopter is about 4x more expensive - takes longer to learn, and costs more per hour.  but of course it is much cooler!  they don't cooperate as much if the engine quits either.

Answer 2

A fixed wing aircraft is much less expensive to operate than a helicopter, so getting your private pilot's license would be much cheaper in a fixed wing aircraft.  It's still going to cost you about $100 per flight hour to rent a basic trainer like Cessna 172, and you need a minimum of 40 flight hours to earn your license. For most people, it's more like 55-60 hours.

Answer 3

Where I am you have to do both, First get a private pilot license in fixed wing then move onto rotary wing

Fixed wing is probably cheaper as helicopters are very expensive to operate

Recently there was a big fire in the high country and one of the helicopters used was a heavy lift Irriquois, its charge out rate was $4000 per hour