What are helicopter pilot qualifications?

Question

My dad has recently become very interested in flying helicopters... He has never flown an airplane or helicopter in his life and i was just wondering what are the base qualifications for him to get started... and if he need tests completed where can he take them? thank you...

Answer 1

There are no qualification to take your test ride.You need a 3rd class medical to be a student pilot.

Go to this following website and put down your zipcode to find a local school that does rotary(helicopter).When you see the answer look for ROT.Those are the schools that teach rotary wing.Choose one and just tell Dad to go for a test ride for about half an hour so to see how he likes it.

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

Answer 2

A check book and a log book. It would be nice if you can chew gum and walk at the same time too

Answer 3

The first thing you should do is take an introductory lesson from a flight school near you to make sure you like it, and to get familiar with the school and its instructors. Your first lesson will last about 30 minutes and you will actually get to be on the controls during that time. You can find flight schools near you on the following sites:

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

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

Prior to beginning your training in earnest, you should obtain at least a third class medical certificate. You can view the medical requirements here:

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/tex...

You can find an Aviation Medical Examiner here (or your school can usually recommend one):

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

For a private pilot certificate, you will need to have a minimum of 40 hours of flight time, including at least 10 hours solo. You will also take a written test, and a practical test (checkride). To prepare for these, you will also do ground school with your instructor in addition to the flight training.

Most people go beyond the minimum flight time requirement. An average student may expect to take from 60-80 hours depending on how frequently and consistently you train. Try to plan ahead so you can fly consistently, and minimize your costs.

Duration:

How long it will take depends on how frequently you fly. I've seen some people complete all of their ratings (private, instrument, commercial, CFI, CFII) in as little as 8 months. I have also seen others take several years just to get their private. 3-4 months would not be unreasonable for a private certificate if you train at a modest pace.

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.

Costs:

Flight time is the bulk of the expense. The average price in my area is currently about $285/hr. If that is your rate, then 60 hours will cost $17,100. 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.

Choosing a Flight School

There are many great schools out there, and there are a few poor ones. Find a school that has enough instructor and aircraft availability for you to train as often as you like. They should allow you to pay as you go. You should also find an instructor that you are comfortable with, and you should feel comfortable with the school and their safety practices. Finally, you may want to consider the type of aircraft they fly.

On Training Aircraft:

The two main civilian training aircraft are the Robinson 22 and the Schweizer 300. Investigate the differences between the two, as there are pros and cons to each. Some people prefer one or the other. I personally prefer the Schweizer.

Flying Airplanes:

Some people make the argument that you should fly airplanes first to save money. They assume this to be true rather than actually tallying the costs to see if it holds true. They are basing this on the assumption that you will finish your helicopter add-ons in the minimum time, and this is very difficult and rare. 60 hours in helicopters alone will be less that 40-60 hours in airplanes, and then another 40-60 in helicopters.

Spend some time on the following helicopter websites. They have a lot of information, as well as discussion forums and flight school listings:

http://www.verticalreference.com/

http://www.justhelicopters.com/

http://www.helicopterflight.net/

Please do your homework and plan for the time and expense of training so you can get the most out of it without delays. Also, do investigate the reputation of any flight school before starting.

Have fun!

Answer 4

Tell him to bring a lot of money, helicopter rental and lessons are commonly $250-300 per hour with an instructor.  It will take about $10-15K to get a basic helicopter rating.  The school he chooses will have everything he needs. And he will need to pass a medical certification by a flight surgeon to fly solo, and be able to get a license.  

Then, when you have a license you have the problem of needing a helicopter to fly. You can still rent in some areas, if no one else is using the aircraft, but this is getting more and more difficult to do. Because of the cost of insurance.

Buying is an option. But, on top of needing about $90k+ for a decent used one, you will pay about a grand a month for insurance and a hangar. Then, there's fuel @  $5+ a gallon, (about 10 gallons an hour for a Robinson R22), and maintenance, (about another $35/hour if you fly the average 40 hours a year), And the cost of lots of life limited components, things like rotor blades have to be replaced when they reach a certain number of hours, even though they are working just fine, and boy are they expensive.

So, if your dad has about an extra $2,500 a month, the whole thing is do able. If not, flying fixed wing airplanes are about 1/2 the cost.              If he can't do that either, he can still go to the local school, get a one time lesson, spend an hour flying either aircraft, and be able to say he got to do it.