Helicopters.

So, when I graduate High School, (May 28th), I am not very confident I will be going to college. I just don't think I have had the grades, or the money. But for a very long time Iv'e always thought about being a helicopter pilot. I know Helicopter Piloting school, and achieving an FAA license is also very expensive, but why not spend all my money on something like that instead of ANOTHER few years of school? First, I also have learned quite a bit about piloting a Helicopter.. I know half of you will just think that I have an RC helicopter and think I can be a pilot now, but thats not #ing right anyway. I have studied allot about it, including the Rotocraft handbook. I understand the basics of maneuvering, The Cyclic, the Collective and throttle, and Anti-torque pedals, but I don't know how to start one, or anything. I just think it would be great if there might be a pilot, or someone that attended a piloting school on ATS who can help me out? Ive got loads of questions and all Im here to do is listen

So, do we have any Helicopter Pilots on ATS?

PS if you don't have any experience in flight, but you know anything that can help I'll gladly take the info.

Great career move! Beat the crowd. If you ever want an exciting job, come to Australia and fly mustering! No pesky rules! No Air Traffic Controllers. If you want to try flying upside down, go for it.

We lose a few every year but they have a great deal of fun dying!

I new a great lad, still alive. Went from a PS clerical job to helo pilot and has a ball!

Pay attention when they theach you how to check your airframe!

If you want free lessons, and pay while you learn, try the military!

Great job prospects when (if) you get back into civy land!

P

Originally posted by pheonix358
Great career move! Beat the crowd. If you ever want an exciting job, come to Australia and fly mustering! No pesky rules! No Air Traffic Controllers. If you want to try flying upside down, go for it.

We lose a few every year but they have a great deal of fun dying!

I new a great lad, still alive. Went from a PS clerical job to helo pilot and has a ball!

Pay attention when they theach you how to check your airframe!

If you want free lessons, and pay while you learn, try the military!

Great job prospects when (if) you get back into civy land!

P

Thank you so much! I didn't even think about the Military. And they really don't have air traffic or flight rules in Australia? Thats really interesting because Ive always been interested in living there.

You're looking at about 80k for commercial helicopter pilot training, 20k for civilian craft.

I too wanted to be a helicopter pilot but my grants and scholarships wouldn't cover it. They weren't even able to be applied toward commercial heli pilot school so I could cover the rest on my own. 80k is a little bit out of my league right now. =(

Best of luck to you, it seems like one of the top 10 jobs in the world, imo. Go for it. =]

Howdy!

I was an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot in the Army for 5 years. I will tell you that most licensed pilots working the country today came out of the military (that, of course, is not absolute, but a great majority). The main reason being the costs associated with flight training. If you're interested in going the military route, what you need to do is look into getting a warrant officer slot, and that would simply involve going to a recruiter.

Now, quick warning here. Half of all the cadences I sang while in the Army dealt with being lied to by a recruiter. They are snake oil salesmen, so you need to take a parent or highly responsible adult with you, a lawyer would be best. You need things in writing! Even then, if you were able to get a WO slot, that doesn't guarantee you a flight slot. You might end up a motor officer, you just don't know. However, most WO that graduated from WOC school get put right into a flight billet (WOC is at Ft. Rucker, AL which is also the home of Army Aviation and the associated flight school).

Of course, there are many civilian options, they're everywhere. The University of North Dakota has the largest collegiate helicopter training program in the nation. You can get a degree in helicopter flight. If you go the civilian route, firstly, it's gonna cost a ton! Be prepared, and don't get yourself bogged down with $100K in debt, because you're not going to be making that much upon graduation. Also, I would definitely choose a school that has job placement guarantees as part of their marketing strategy. The thing about the helicopter world is that it's all about your hours. If you're a low hour guy, especially right out of flight school, you're hosed. It's a catch 22, because you have to have the hours to get the jobs, but you need the job to get the hours. That's why it's so hard to compete with the military guys, they're coming out with alot of hours. I came out with something around 650 hours, and I was considered a very low hour guy. I would have probably had to go fly oil rig duty in the gulf for a few years (the dregs of the industry) while I built my hours for better work.

Anyway, that's about it for now. If you have additional questions, you're more than welcome to U2U me and I'll try to be of service. Best of luck and peace....

Quick edit: Go here and have a look at what the jobs are seeking out there. You can get a feel for the hours required, etc. This isn't to intimidate or turn you away, but it's best to go into something like this with your eyes wide open and with a realistic outlook.

www.justhelicopters.com...

hello i'm the new guy

Originally posted by TheKestrel04
hello i'm the new guy

Haha hello new guy.

and thank you Bbob, I think i might go Military, after all, I don't think I am gonna totally fo great on my ACT's

you want details of operation, too.....huh!
there's large but do-able bunch of weather, flight rules safety and "nuts and bolts" to this it is fun to learn it so you know what a pilot knows
each aircraft has its own operating procedures, litle details to know to be "checked out" in a model of aircraft
get a ground school manual and "ifr" manual, you'll be 90% there......heli.....1200 moving parts where a fixed wing has only one......

Originally posted by GBP/JPY
you want details of operation, too.....huh!
there's large but do-able bunch of weather, flight rules safety and "nuts and bolts" to this it is fun to learn it so you know what a pilot knows
each aircraft has its own operating procedures, litle details to know to be "checked out" in a model of aircraft
get a ground school manual and "ifr" manual, you'll be 90% there......heli.....1200 moving parts where a fixed wing has only one......

edit on 2-5-2012 by GBP/JPY because: Yahushua is our new King !!

Thank you