LJS1993 Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Hello gentlemen!! I'm new to this forum and though not a pilot I have an intense interest in helicopters. With that said I have a question I just cannot find an answer for doing your usual google search. Could a currently active military helicopter pilot go to an airport and rent a helicopter for a few hours/day/ etc...? Would all the certifications translate over to the civilian world? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Hunt Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Short answer, .......no. To fly a civil-registered aircraft you need a civil qualification. The quals are easy enough to pick up by applying for them, passing a few exams, and probably sitting a short flight test. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedude Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 You used to be able to take the military equivalency written test, provide your flight records and fill out some paperwork and get a FAA commercial rotorcraft instrument rating. I’m not sure if that’s still an option. Every civilian flight school/rental place I’ve talked to has wanted at least ten hours with their instructors to get checked out and familiarized with the aircraft, normally a R22. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJS1993 Posted March 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 You used to be able to take the military equivalency written test, provide your flight records and fill out some paperwork and get a FAA commercial rotorcraft instrument rating. I’m not sure if that’s still an option. Every civilian flight school/rental place I’ve talked to has wanted at least ten hours with their instructors to get checked out and familiarized with the aircraft, normally a R22. So basically you could be a guy who has flown all kinds of multi million dollar aircraft, seen combat, and accrued thousands of hours and still have to get checked out in what some people think is a cheap R22? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedude Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 So basically you could be a guy who has flown all kinds of multi million dollar aircraft, seen combat, and accrued thousands of hours and still have to get checked out in what some people think is a cheap R22? Yes, perfectly reasonable. A $35 million, dual engine high performance helicopter is a big difference from a R22. Everyday common things in my aircraft will kill you in a R22 if you tried it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r22butters Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 So basically you could be a guy who has flown all kinds of multi million dollar aircraft, seen combat, and accrued thousands of hours and still have to get checked out in what some people think is a cheap R22? That's not nearly as idiodic as a guy who is current in the R22, has over 100 hours in the R44, but can no longer fly the R44 because my last BFR was in the R22! I could jump right into a 206 (of which I have 9 hours) fire it up and take a few friends up for a ride, but I cannot touch an R44 until I do another BFR specifically in it! At least in your case SFAR 73 is trying to prevent an accident, in mine its just needlessly emptying my wallet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RisePilot Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 That's odd. In the US, no one in the last 12 years has ever even asked what helicopter I did my last FAA BFR in when I rented a R44 (SFH). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r22butters Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 That's odd. In the US, no one in the last 12 years has ever even asked what helicopter I did my last FAA BFR in when I rented a R44 (SFH).Well I suppose its like driving without insurance, as long as you never have an accident, no one will ever know? ,...so, in what helicopter did you do your last BFR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJS1993 Posted March 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 That's not nearly as idiodic as a guy who is current in the R22, has over 100 hours in the R44, but can no longer fly the R44 because my last BFR was in the R22! I could jump right into a 206 (of which I have 9 hours) fire it up and take a few friends up for a ride, but I cannot touch an R44 until I do another BFR specifically in it! At least in your case SFAR 73 is trying to prevent an accident, in mine its just needlessly emptying my wallet! Do you agree with the protocol that military pilots have to prove themselves capable in an R22? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r22butters Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 Do you agree with the protocol that military pilots have to prove themselves capable in an R22?Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Hunt Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 Do you agree with the protocol that military pilots have to prove themselves capable in an R22?It is up to the owner and insurer of the aircraft - I wouldn't let mine out to somebody who had never flown an R22. I had over 7000 hrs turbine time, Hueys, B206, BK117 etc before I stepped , sorry, crawled, into an R22, and it was a helluva shock to see how twitchy and responsive it was. After about 3 hrs I was comfortable with the way it did autos and tail fails and was happy to go fly it. And after 1400 hrs on them, I was happy to finally crawl out of it and never have to look back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBuzzkill Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 (edited) Hello gentlemen!! I'm new to this forum and though not a pilot I have an intense interest in helicopters. With that said I have a question I just cannot find an answer for doing your usual google search. Could a currently active military helicopter pilot go to an airport and rent a helicopter for a few hours/day/ etc...? Would all the certifications translate over to the civilian world? On the Army side of things flight school qualifies you for a commercial helicopter license and instrument rating. In order to receive that from the FAA an Army pilot has to take and pass a 50 question military competency test, and then turn in to the FSDO those results as well as the documentation proving you are a military aviator. Once all that is done you are issued your FAA certificates. If you can find someone who can rent you a helicopter that is not a Robinson, I suppose you could go get checked out in the aircraft and be allowed to rent it. But good luck with that. Good luck finding anyone who will rent you a Robinson for anything other than training. Additionally, Robinsons have their own set of rules which requires further training and time before you can take one out if you could find a company that would let you. As for the stick skills of military pilots, a lot of the aircraft we fly have huge amounts of power and automation. Flying an OH-58 with former Apache and Blackhawk pilots it's striking how much their basic skills deteriorate after flying a career in much more powerful/complex aircraft. A few flights of shaking off the rust and re-learning true power management and they are usually fine (safe) though. Even then, it takes a while before they are able to get the most out of the aircraft. Edited March 8, 2018 by SBuzzkill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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