Brazos Helicopter Combo Training?

[jdrescue]

I saw that Brazos Helicopters in Eddy, Tx is offers combo training in both fixed wing and rotor wing.

 

I saw it here: http://www.hothelicopters.com/combination.htm

 

The price seems goood. Would this be a good way to go about getting more hours and a lower cost?

[ADRidge]

Just bear in mind that many employers really don't care if you have fixed-wing time. If their insurance carrier mandates 1000 hours Helicopter, you'll need 1000 helicopter.

[afrothunder]

BUT ALSO bear in mind that if you already have fixed wing hours it's cheaper to get your fixed wing private and then a heli add-on AND you can build a significant number of hours PIC cheaper in the fixed wing that will count towards your heli commercial. cessna 150 = 100/hr helicopter = 300+/hr

 

point being: who cares if you have to build time in the fixed wing, if it gets you to your first cfi job CHEAPER, that's the name of the game. DUH. in the FAR commercial it says you have to have 100 hours in powered aircraft and only 50 has to be in a helicopter. and hey, the added bonus of being able to fly your family around in a plane to go places is also worth it.

 

AND you'll be DUAL RATED on your resume and that DOES look good to employers.

[bossman]

Dual rating is always good. Just like a A/P that can also fly. Adding helicopter to fixed wing cuts the cost way down. I think it is a good way to go.

[mechanic]

jdrescue,

 

It depends on what you want to do mostly and second what heli you want to fly. I have read these boards for years and years. This topic comes up a lot. You can search variations of fixed wing add on etc.. with the search feature and get more on this topic.

 

Now, if you think your gonna fly Robbies you will need 200 hrs TT heli to meet SFAR 73 requirements and prob 250, 300, or maybe 500 hrs TT heli to meet insurance requirements of the particular school you may be trying to work for, if they use the Pathfinder insurance programs.

 

The schw only schools have lower TT heli requirements most of the time. There is currently a Schw school listed under the jobs section of this site, in the Dallas area, that require 500 TT heli and is a Schw only school. So each school is different.

 

Cheaper is realative, all depends on where you want to go and fly and what you fly. Invest in hours that will get you to your goal quickest. To be a dual rated CFII will cost you more than being a heli only CFII. There are more Fixed ratings to get than heli ratings. Fixed you have Single- PPL, IFR, high perf, complex, COM, CFI, CFII, multi-COM, multi CFI at the most, you can do less but will depend on what the school requires you wanna work for.

 

Lastly, hopefully Mr or Mrs Birdwell didn't put you up to posting this to help drum up biz with their new programs... Since this topic is one of those beat a dead horse deals.

[makpalmer]

Brazos is a fantastic family run business. They fly Hughes 269A and Bell 47 helicopters as well as doing commercial work in Allouettes (Is that spelt correctly??). I had a very bad experience with Van Nevel Helicopters who basically refused to refund a considerable amount of money. Finished my PPL at Brazos and had a great time. They operate out of Bruceville, Texas and Killeen Skylark Field. I don't know if the fixed wing side was fully up and running when I did my PPL but I am sure it is a great program. Give Nancy a call in the office, believe me Brazos is a very good company and are more than willing to help you out and explain our options to you. Hope this helps,

 

Chris

[AngelFire_91]

Cheaper is realative, all depends on where you want to go and fly and what you fly. Invest in hours that will get you to your goal quickest. To be a dual rated CFII will cost you more than being a heli only CFII. There are more Fixed ratings to get than heli ratings. Fixed you have Single- PPL, IFR, high perf, complex, COM, CFI, CFII, multi-COM, multi CFI at the most, you can do less but will depend on what the school requires you wanna work for.

 

Not to be too picky, High Perf and Complex are not ratings, they are endorsments, so in reality all you would need is one flight in a High perf/Complex aircraft and a sign-off from an instructor. The Commercial Checkride has to be completed in a Complex aircraft so therefore you should get complex sign-off when doing the commercial. If your COM in a single and get a multi-engine added on, then you automatically are COM single and multi.

 

As far as doing the FW stuff and adding on the RW, if RW is what you want to end up doing in the end, then I would suggest doing the Fixed wing Private, the Adding on the RW private, then continue on from there under RW, so that way you can build up RW PIC. I had all the FW ratings and added on the RW, and now I'm running into problems with my time in Helicopter to get a job. I have way over Total time, but it's RW time that matters to most.