Just sayin hi

[Tarantula]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking on this site for a while (actually, a couple of years) and have always wanted to learn to fly helicopters. Took some discovery flights a couple years ago, but didn't really have any means to start lessons. I've been looking into the AIMS college deal with front range helicopters now, and need to talk with their financial aid dept more to see how they can help me. Finally getting serious about going back to school to get a career started instead of just jobs. I'm 23, quite a few of my friends went the degree route, and they seem to be making the same or less than I do, and with the school debt on top of it. The more I think about helicopters as a career, the more it makes sense to me, in that I know there will be jobs out there, and its definitely worth the investment to do something I will love doing for my career.

 

Anyhow, I just figured I'd get my name out here, let you guys know I'm around in the denver/boulder area, and I'll gladly take any advice you've got (not that I haven't read a ton of it lurking around for as long as I have). The colorado heliops is a new one since when I was last looking at schools, and I think I'll have to take a ride with them just to see what I might be missing out on with front range. (And yes, I'm definitely taking a ride with front range before locking myself into anything as well).

 

Any kind words, sage wisdom, or attempts to scare me off the path, I'll take it all, but I'm determined to make this happen for me, and I'll be working in the skies someplace in the not too distant future.

[klmmarine]

You really should take a look at Colorado HeliOps. They were featured in Veritcal Magazine (Dec/Jan 2010, p.32) and it sounds like they have a great program with experienced instructors. One of the owners is a frequent poster here and I'm sure he'll chime in.

 

Financing is the tough part these days, so if , you can get that worked out then you should be golden.

 

Good Luck, and let us know how it goes.

[Goldy]

Don't do it, run like hell!

 

That being said, I am a huge proponent of not borrowing for training. Go earn some money, save it up, and then go get your private. Dont even start flight school until you are done, or almost done with your ground school. Your brain can only handle so much input, so get to the point where you can pass the helo private FAA written and then go learn to fly.

 

I know kids want it, and want it now. Sorry, took me 4 years to go from first demo flight to first solo, just because I couldnt afford the training. You want it bad enough? Then go earn it, don't go borrow it. Thats the chicken s*** way out.

 

That being said, Dennis and Colo Heli Ops would definitely be on my short short list. We try not to turn posts into ads, so if you want more info, feel free to PM some of us...myself included.

 

Good luck on that training,

 

Goldy

 

Oh yeah, welcome to the board !

Edited May 19, 2010 by Goldy

[Tarantula]

Some questions for you Goldy, since you're such a big advocate of save up and then do it. Would you advise the same for someone looking to pursue any other 2-4 year college degree or their masters? I'm looking at doing aims community college's helicopter pilot associates degree. I'm definately going to check out colorado heliops but in the meantime, aims has a partnership with front range helicopters, and so I can use grant/scholarship/loan money for school to apply toward my flight time there. In your opinion (and I already have a guess as to what you'll answer) do you think the ability to use grants and scholarship money (with small loans if any) for the rest at front range would serve me better (while also getting an A.S. degree) than saving for a couple of years to go to colorado heli ops (earning only my certs)?

[Goldy]

Some questions for you Goldy, since you're such a big advocate of save up and then do it. Would you advise the same for someone looking to pursue any other 2-4 year college degree or their masters? I'm looking at doing aims community college's helicopter pilot associates degree. I'm definately going to check out colorado heliops but in the meantime, aims has a partnership with front range helicopters, and so I can use grant/scholarship/loan money for school to apply toward my flight time there. In your opinion (and I already have a guess as to what you'll answer) do you think the ability to use grants and scholarship money (with small loans if any) for the rest at front range would serve me better (while also getting an A.S. degree) than saving for a couple of years to go to colorado heli ops (earning only my certs)?

 

Wow, thats a tough one! Why don't you just ask if I can solve the budget crisis and then we can move from there!

 

Honestly, if you can gain grants or scholarship monies, then use them by all means. I don't think you will find it quite that easy to get free money, or a lot more students would be doing it.

 

 

However, I have learned to never doubt anyone with real passion in their lives. I hope things go well for you.

 

Goldy

[Carpenter]

Welcome aboard Tarantula!

It never ceases to amaze me that it seems like once a week someone new is asking for advice pertaining to their "DREAM" to become a professional helicopter pilot. Personally, I encourage everyone to chase their dreams in life; having said that, you will not now how difficult that dream will be to become reality until you are so far indebted that you can't stomach the idea of turning back. We are in a depression right now, in case you haven't noticed. Despite how excited you get after you take a demo flight, here is the best advice you can get- 1.) Always follow your dreams, 2.) Recognize that helo training will cost you at least 75K dollars before you are eligible for hire doing a job that pays basically minimum wage at first, 3.)Pay as you go, and please don't borrow the money and go into debt, 4.) Good luck if you decide to go for it!

My guess is that 90% of those in your shoes will not continue to complete their CFI/CFII, and of those 10% that do finish training, only 90% of those graduates get that first coveted teaching job. So essentially, there is a 99% chance that you may not reach your goals, and could possibly end up with a TON of debt if you borrowed the $$$$$.

Pay as you go, have fun, be safe, and monitor the economy, and the job market along the way should you choose to continue.

[useless]

I will tell you it took me until I was 35 to get my act together and learn to fly helicopters. I wished I had not waited so long but I am definitely a proponent of showing up to training cash in hand. When I did my fixed wing training I paid as I went. It took a while to get through all my ratings. I did borrow a little bit to get through a couple of ratings just so I could do the training rapidly and not drag it out. I did my Rotor Comm add-on training cash up front. I flew 2-3 times a day basically 6 days a week. I got it hammered out and the retention was much higher than taking a few days off between lessons. I understand with the job market like it is and salaries what they are it is not the easiest thing to do to cough up 15 or 20 large for a private let alone all the money needed for all the ratings on the road to professional pilot. Trust me, you don't want that kind of debt hanging over your head. I worked with some guys in that situation and it was definitely a burden on them. Try to save up at least the money to get through the private and then pay as you go for the rest.

 

Some tips: Ditch any girlfriends (unless they are flush with money), don't have any kids, don't buy a new car, keep rent cheap, eat cheap, and don't quit until you get your ratings knocked out.

 

I came from a family with few means and I'm glad I stuck it out. Flying has taken me to some interesting places and led to some interesting experiences.

[RkyMtnHI]

Hi everybody,

 

Tarantula, welcome! You have started off in the right place, this site is one of the best resources in the industry for information.. keep reading and pay attention, you can get some great info here if you take the time to weed thru all the posts.

 

I would recommend that you read the topic below, not just for the stuff i posted, but for all of the really good stuff that others with way more experience than i added:

 

http://helicopterforum.verticalreference.com/helicopterforum/index.php?/topic/10871-some-of-the-things-i-learned-my-first-year-as-a-student-pilot/

 

Also, no matter what you do, NEVER GIVE A FLIGHT SCHOOL A LOT OF MONEY UP FRONT!! i have so many people walk into my office and ask how to get their $$$$ back after giving it to a school and then not being able to fly due to maintenance issues or other financial related problems... If you don't give your money away it is still yours. Also, read the contract and look very closely BEFORE you give them any money at all. One school we know of charges a huge fee if you ask for your money back, and we have friends that have waited for OVER A YEAR AND STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN A REFUND!!!!!

 

AIMS has a good program, and Front Range Helicopters is really the only other school in this area that we recommend now.. but that is certainly not your only option for a degree or financing. Most of our students are working on a degree program thru on line schools or Metro in Denver, and so far we have a 100% success rate at getting $$ for our students. We have been very selective on who we recommend for that $$ and suggest that you think very hard about this option... I get your point about spending around the same $$ for a masters program, my wife is working on her third at this time, but this industry can be harder to get into than most so be very careful.. do your research and then do some more.

 

Lastly, thanks to everyone that said good things about us.. we really do care about making a difference in this industry and hope it shows in everything we do.. please stop in and talk with one of our team about your options.. whether you end up at Heli-Ops or another school we are happy to help you as much as we can.

 

aloha,

 

dp

[Eggbeater]

The more I think about helicopters as a career, the more it makes sense to me, in that I know there will be jobs out there...

 

This part is debatable. There are definitely helicopter jobs out there, it's just a matter of whether any of them are open when you finish your training.

[Tarantula]

dp,

 

Glad you saw my little thread and decided to stop by. You guys are definitely on my list to places to check out. I was actually quite thrilled to come back to the board, start reading about a great new school only to find it be right in my backyard. I appreciate the caution about flight schools, back when I was lurking around before, silver state was still around, and I never came close to considering them after what I'd read. Now seeing what happen, its good to know that the people here give quality advice.

 

Plan to be hearing from me sometime in the next week.

[r22butters]

Ahh, fresh meat!

 

Just take note, flying helicopters is awesome! That means a lot, and I mean, a lot of people want to do it for a living. So don't kid yourself, competition is both numerous and fierce!

 

I recomend you pick a school associated with a college, so you can get a degree that may help keep you alive while you wait to get in, because flight training is useless in the outside world.

 

Best advice is to just fly for fun, and do something else for a living. I know there are jobs out there too, you just need 3000hrs to get them!

[klmmarine]

No kidding, I talked to a CP at an operator in the gulf today. They want 2500hrs to start! The days of getting a job at 1000hrs are pretty much gone. Count on needing at least 1500hrs and try to fly as many different aircraft as you can.

[copterkeith06]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking on this site for a while (actually, a couple of years) and have always wanted to learn to fly helicopters. Took some discovery flights a couple years ago, but didn't really have any means to start lessons. I've been looking into the AIMS college deal with front range helicopters now, and need to talk with their financial aid dept more to see how they can help me. Finally getting serious about going back to school to get a career started instead of just jobs. I'm 23, quite a few of my friends went the degree route, and they seem to be making the same or less than I do, and with the school debt on top of it. The more I think about helicopters as a career, the more it makes sense to me, in that I know there will be jobs out there, and its definitely worth the investment to do something I will love doing for my career.

 

Anyhow, I just figured I'd get my name out here, let you guys know I'm around in the denver/boulder area, and I'll gladly take any advice you've got (not that I haven't read a ton of it lurking around for as long as I have). The colorado heliops is a new one since when I was last looking at schools, and I think I'll have to take a ride with them just to see what I might be missing out on with front range. (And yes, I'm definitely taking a ride with front range before locking myself into anything as well).

 

Any kind words, sage wisdom, or attempts to scare me off the path, I'll take it all, but I'm determined to make this happen for me, and I'll be working in the skies someplace in the not too distant future.

It's always the same question and answer...How do I become a pilot ? DON'T BORROW THE MONEY !!! The only thing that should be said for sure is...Do not pay up front !!! Would one of you guys or girls tell me, how do you save up and/or pay as you go for $100,000 in flight training ??? It can't be done. Unless you don't want to be a pilot till you are 100 years old.

Borrow the money, pay the payment. But, be aware that you will not get a helicopter flying job till you have 1500 PIC hours. AND, you better hope you can get a CFII job that does not pay squat, to get you to that 1500 hour mark. Good luck and plan on lots of hard work.But the most fun you'll ever have.

[helistar]

There is a huge amount of federal money available in grants and scholarships, so figure out what your top five college/university choices are, then complete the fasfa and start applying to those schools on your list, starting with in-state schools first. In-state schools tend to have lower fees and in many cases will have additional funding available for in-state students. You will be surprised at the amount of money you'll be offered prior to receiving any scholarships.