helonorth

Try Sheppard Air. What most people I know have been using. https://www.sheppardair.com/atp.htm

Go through the PTS with your instructor to identify any weak spots. Good luck!

Hmmmmmm.... I don't doubt that at least the last part of that story is, unfortunately, probably true.

No, this did not happen either.

Although maintenance is a problem in helicopter aviation, I haven't found it the dystopian hellscape described. Most of the larger part 135 operators are generally pretty decent but part 91 operators are often really bad, especially the smaller ones. Most of them are small. Your boss is probably the owner in a small company and helicopter parts are insanely expensive not too the mention there's the lost revenue while you wait for your $10,000 (or easily more) part(s). You will be expected to fly unairworthy aircraft at some companies. Training will also be an after thought at most of these places. It's always a package deal. Just one more reason to forget helicopters and head for 121 airlplane flying. I work for one of the better EMS operators. We have very good training, aircraft and maintenance. Never ever a hint of pressure to fly and a flight can be turned down by anybody for any reason. You will never be questioned. You're the PIC, end of story. I really have not ever experienced pressure to fly anywhere I've worked, though. I can't complain about my situation but even the best helicopter job cannot compete with flying for a major airline, UPS Fedex, etc.. That's the reality.

You also do not and have not ever done this for a living, so there's that.

If you make it as far as the regionals and quit to drive a UPS truck because of pay and schedule, it had nothing to do pay and schedule.

I wouldn't consider learning to fly as wasting money. If you think learning to fly for fun is flushing money down the toilet, I wonder how much this has to do with an actual interest in aviation. Thousands of people get a private rating for fun. You can get a airplane rating for less than ten grand. Now if you were 20 and single, I would probably tell you to go for it. Since you are not, if you must do this, I will again tell you to go the airplane route as a career. It's a no brainer. It will be a much better return on your investment in many more ways than money. Having a family and selling your house to become a helicopter pilot is not just a bad idea: it's terrible idea. It's selfish and irresponsible, really. Don't think flying helicopters is going to be a job you are going to love and find fulfilling and rewarding. For 99% of the helicopter pilots I know, it's not. It turns into a job pretty fast. Don't get me wrong, I like it well enough but I was single and training was pretty cheap at the time. I have been involved in ag, utility, offshore, a little ENG and EMS. None pay well but ag (there are plenty of reasons for this), they all get monotonous and most involve lots of travel. If you want to make decent money in this business, pack your bags and expect to be on the road A LOT. Much more than an airline pilot and for a lot less money. You will change your tune about the money thing at some point. That day will come precisely at the moment helicopter flying becomes a J-O-B. You don't understand that a career in helicopters will most likely NOT be worth it. If you must, my advice will be to take some helicopter and airplane flying lessons and reevaluate. And get a first class medical before you spend a dime on anything.

Just remember: this WILL turn into a job at some point. I am a SPIFR EMS pilot working for a pretty good company. I make pretty decent money and have an okay schedule. I was the same age as you when I started flying. I can't complain BUT...my base pay is considerably less than a brand new legacy airline first officer. At some point, the airline business will get back to normal. The pay difference over a life time versus the two careers is huge. Go the airline route and play with helicopters in your spare time. I would not even consider helicopters right now if I wanted a career in aviation. The pay, schedule, safety, retirement and quality of life issues favor airplanes by a huge margin. The reason I mention safety is because this sh*t IS dangerous. I lost two friends in an accident before I even had my commercial. There have been quite a few more since then. You will regret going the helicopter route over airplanes at some point. I can almost guarantee it.

Better repost here before things get ugly. https://helicopterforum.verticalreference.com/forum/32-general-military-helicopter-discussions/

There were a few different techniques they played with in the days of the bigger, two bladed Bells. One was to use a broom to keep them drooping too much. I also heard of leaving the rotor brake on until the N1 got up a ways.

That pretty much sums it up. In the GOM, the starter was located on the cyclic in the 206's so you could "fly" the blades on start up. Had a very anxious moment in a 407 one time. The blades looked like they dropped several feet over the nose. I never heard of a Bell striking the tail but I do remember it happening to an Astar.

The FLI appears to show the collective position was never really changed. It had to be indicating torque. You could probably survive an auto with no flair or cushion but not letting the RPM get that low, depending on altitude. They also got into low G during the descent. Maybe once the RPM got too low, the bottom really fell out. At some point, no amount of throttle or collective is going to get the RPM back. Edit: Now that I think about it, does torque change with collective inputs during an auto? I don't think so but the report says the pilots made almost no movements to the collective.

Strangest accident ever. Why did the safety pilot sit there for 18 seconds while the RPM decayed and do nothing? The FLI was at 1.25 to 2, right up to impact. Nobody ever attempted to try to fix the low RPM with the throttle or lower the collective. You have two jobs during an auto: make your spot and RPM. The spot is optional. We all know RPM is not. Boggles the mind. The one guy had over 15,000 hours.