Need some perspective here

[Natenite]

Hi all, I am looking into becoming a pilot but am kinda stuck and would love to know what others have done in a similar situation. I live in the god forsaken town of springfiel mo.. Nothing going on here. I have looked into schools and found one about 30 min away. The problem is they only have r44s and it's 600 per lesson which is 1 flight hour plus about an hour on ground. This will total possibly up to 120000 bucks to go all the way through. They are one of the chopper charter companies and seem really good but.. Sheesh.. Is there any advantage to spending all that extra money in the long run? My other option was a boatpix but the local trainer didn't seem too interested in training me. Had spoken to the owner and he was interested based on my job situation but the guy near didnt seem interested. I also spoke to a person who hires pilots and they said they wont look at any application with boatpix on it... Yikes... Is that industry norm or are they a good school. From what I read it seems like a fair compromise in the system they built. so i guess I am wondering would you settle for the local option thats crazy pricey or would you move. My other option is just over 3 hours away that I have found. Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Trans Lift]

Before you dive head first into this industry, I would go for a demo flight and do a flight medical to make sure that you can do it and actually like it. Assuming that you will like it, I wouldn't pay that cost for training. $600 for a 44 for training is very pricey. If you can afford it, then move to somewhere that has a good school and suits you. It depends on a lot of factors, money being a huge one and how quickly or intensely you plan to do your training.

I have heard that response to the Boatpix thing a lot of times and I would look elsewhere. If they are not interested in your business then do not give them your money, no matter how many times they will tell you that they guarantee your first job.

I went to Bristow in Florida. Good school, cheap to live. There are numerous good schools in Colorado. Have a good look around and visit one or two schools if you can. There are plenty out there that are much more affordable than the prices you quoted. You should be able to complete your training for under $70K.

 

If you have any other questions, you can PM me if you want.

[Natenite]

Do you think driving 3 hours one way maybe one or two days a week for lessons is a bit excessive?? I am wondering if there is any way to keep my current job and my wifes while working through this debt free orclose to debt free.

[Inferno]

You're going to find it difficult to make any progress with your training going only once a week. Add onto that the fatigue of driving 3 hours one way for a lesson and I just don't see it being practical....

[Trans Lift]

Same here. I think that is impractical. It is quite mentally exhausting when initially learning. I did drive for almost that when doing my private in Ireland though, so it can be done. I did it over a year though, so if you want to get it done quickly, I wouldn't advise it.

Going debt free is a good route. Maybe you should try to save enough to put towards your private cert and go away for a month and do it in one go. You could go on your own that way and your wife could stay working. Go back to work, stay current and build time towards your commercial. There are lots of ways to go about it.

[crashed_05]

If your really want it (after doing your demo flight and ascertaining medical standards), do some research on flight schools, bombard their instructors with questions, talk to their students, and narrow down your posibilities. Its definitely worth moving across the country for a great flight school vs staying local and getting sub par training.

Mountain Ridge Helicopters has a bunch of questions on their website that can get you started with questioning any flight school. http://www.mountainridgeheli.com/questionandanswer.html

This is what I did prior to starting training and it worked out great for me.

 

PS...training in only a 44 will leave you with even more limited options for instruction when you graduate.

[apiaguy]

I hear your issues.... don't spend the $600, that is a rip-off for flight instruction.

I'm a toss up on the boatpix thing... I think it works for many even if you don't like the premis.

 

If you can keep your current job and your wife's and you don't want to do boatpix... you absolutely CAN do this on 2 days per week... If you can dedicate 1 and hopefully 2 days per week part time I would recommend that. If you fly 2-3 hours each day that will be fine...that only means it will take you approx 1 year to finish your commercial.

 

The BIG problem is if you travel 3 hours and train with some other outfit... how are you going to get a job at the end of your training that pays without screwing your wife and family in the name of the helicopter game? For this reason I would suggest biting the bullet and going with Boatpix... I don't care what others think of them on this site...I've heard it all, but they DO have a way to help you get further in this game than most anyone else and for you to stay where you are.... it is what you need.

[r22butters]

Take a month or two off, and go somewhere to train in an R22 or S300, then buy a Helicycle, I believe a Mosquito goes for around 40K, and fly for fun.

 

Don't bother going past the Private, this industry is full!

[Lindsey]

Don't bother going past the Private, this industry is full!

 

Wow.

[Inferno]

I just started ignoring the pessimism. Lol....

Wow.

[Natenite]

I may have to ignore it as well.. i have noticed a lot of it on this forum. I know there is some of that by nature in people that make good and safe helicopter pilots but sheesh... this site is rough.

 

nate

[arotrhd]

I may have to ignore it as well.. i have noticed a lot of it on this forum. I know there is some of that by nature in people that make good and safe helicopter pilots but sheesh... this site is rough.nate

sheesh... this site is rough

 

VR is not rough at all...if you really want to tango and see what rough topped with BS is, stop by justhelicopt... uh, sorry, I don't even want to touch the letters that finish that pile. First, find out if this is something you'll enjoy; most of us here were cursed with this passion (affliction) really early on, so we really didn't have a choice. Pursue your interests (if this is where they are) and reach the goals that you set. Some advice here may be realistic while others might be FOS. Yer gonna need to filter out the biases and figure things out. Yep, the economy sucks and the industry is shaking some things out. But, if you truly want something, things have a way of working out in time.

 

-WATCH FOR THE PATTERNS, WATCH FOR THE WIRES-

[Boatpix]

I may have to ignore it as well.. i have noticed a lot of it on this forum. I know there is some of that by nature in people that make good and safe helicopter pilots but sheesh... this site is rough.

 

nate

 

 

I'm the boatpix owner guy. We can keep you in your bed and in your job as we can put a helicopter at the closest airport to your house and have a LONG history of doing this. You won't have to commute more than 15 minutes. I'm curious as to who I refered you to that didn't seem too interested in training you as that guy needs to be fired, huh? But, I know they all want to come to Florida where I have free housing for students and instructors and we'll be flying boats Friday, Saturday and Sunday 'cause the forecast is for the temps to touch 80 degrees. We've placed every student we've ever trained that made it all the way to instructor into a job. We've place our instructors into jobs in every sector. I had lunch yesterday on my boat here in Ft Lauderdale with the owner of a huge turbine operation that we've placed pilot into. It is rare that we have a graduate that is flying turbines to enter this forum as this isn't the forum for the seasoned guys with jobs as this is the newbie forum. And the newbie forum is tainted by folks that are angry and want to vent. I love them too, but if they chose the wrong school and that school couldn't give them a job there isn't much I can do. So, they say negative things. Our pilots are in demand as they have real offshore experience as we spend more time over water than over land. We have a sophisticated computer program that can document every hour ever flown in our helicopters and employers like this as it thwarts folks from lying about the time they have. We're alwyas buying more helicopters and expanding because we have a business model that works. The flight training pyramid has never worked and those people that go to those schools trash talk as they didn't see it ahead of time.

 

We'll bring a helicopter to you and the rate is $250/hour. When you hit 100 hours total time it drops to $200/hour. Check the website and you'll find it's unbeatable and you have that first job guarantee, too. We've flown for years in the "Lake of the Ozarks" and you'll love the boat flying as it's "real world" when other schools talk about "real world" it's simply talk. Tom 561-346-2816

[Boatpix]

Hi all, I am looking into becoming a pilot but am kinda stuck and would love to know what others have done in a similar situation. I live in the god forsaken town of springfiel mo.. Nothing going on here. I have looked into schools and found one about 30 min away. The problem is they only have r44s and it's 600 per lesson which is 1 flight hour plus about an hour on ground. This will total possibly up to 120000 bucks to go all the way through. They are one of the chopper charter companies and seem really good but.. Sheesh.. Is there any advantage to spending all that extra money in the long run? My other option was a boatpix but the local trainer didn't seem too interested in training me. Had spoken to the owner and he was interested based on my job situation but the guy near didnt seem interested. I also spoke to a person who hires pilots and they said they wont look at any application with boatpix on it... Yikes... Is that industry norm or are they a good school. From what I read it seems like a fair compromise in the system they built. so i guess I am wondering would you settle for the local option thats crazy pricey or would you move. My other option is just over 3 hours away that I have found. Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

 

In a PM with this poster he mentioned that the boatpix guy that wasn't interested in him flew a S300 at $300/hour. As I own boatpix and we don't have S300's but rather 30 R22's at $250/hour he must have gotten confused. We'll get him on the right track and the right price and the right job, guaranteed. We'll even put a helicopter in Springfield, MO for him as we've bought four this year and can move them to far away places to train folks to PPL and then we'll send em to the local lake for the CPL>

[Natenite]

Ok.. This just got weird.... I never said anything about a s300... Whatever that is ... My pm was actually thanking him for the earlier reply and that I am interested in learning more and explaining more about what I meant when I said they local guy did not seem interested... Never anything about a s300. ... Did I miss something?

[r22butters]

I may have to ignore it as well.. i have noticed a lot of it on this forum. I know there is some of that by nature in people that make good and safe helicopter pilots but sheesh... this site is rough.

 

nate

 

The degree of pessimism depends on how long you've been looking for that first job.

 

I realize I'm the major downer hear, but I'm just trying to warn newbies of the harsh realities of finding work in an overcrowded industry!

 

If I had done my own research in the beginning, I never would have considered this as a career possibility!

 

So to all the newbies out there, ignore the pessimism, and the optimism, and go search out the truth for yourselves. Look at the job ads, talk with recent grads, and call operators to find out what qualifications they want. These forums are just hear/say.

 

And don't trust anyone who mentions a "mass old guy retirement", or "pilot shortage"!

[Inferno]

I'm surprised it took you this long to pop in here Tom

[Trans Lift]

Hey Butters,

 

Why not go to Boatpix? With all the offshore experience you will get there, you will land that first turbine job in no time at all......

[Tenacious T]

I may have to ignore it as well.. i have noticed a lot of it on this forum. I know there is some of that by nature in people that make good and safe helicopter pilots but sheesh... this site is rough.

 

nate

 

Don't ignore it necessarily but don't let it discourage you either. A little pessimism will prepare you for the reality of a long hard road filled with sacrifice to become a working helicopter pilot. It can be done though.

[rick1128]

There is another possible option. Take a few lessons to decide how much you like it. Then if you decide to go all out, buy a helicopter. It doesn't need to be new or have much time left on it. Just enough to get you past your ratings. It is done all the time in the airplane world. Currently with the slow market, there are some deals out there. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The advantages are:

 

1. it is your machine do you feel less restricted on flying and things tend to go faster.

2. the machine will not depreciate that much with the addition of 2 to 300 hours.

3. the machine may actually gain value over time.

4. when you finish your ratings, you still have the helicopter.

 

Disadvantages:

 

1. stiff insurance costs

2. school may charge more for instructing in your aircraft.

3. you will be responsible for upkeep of helicopter

[r22butters]

Hey Butters,

 

Why not go to Boatpix? With all the offshore experience you will get there, you will land that first turbine job in no time at all......

 

I have flown with them, but I could only afford about 20hrs. Also, I had to do all the flying(taking pictures made me want to blow chunks like you wouldn't believe), and I doubt they'd hire someone to just fly, it wouldn't be fair to the other time-builder?

 

Cool movie by the way.

[clay]

boatpix is the best....

 

 

 

 

 

 

See.... this forum is full of bull $hit

[Trans Lift]

Ok now that made me laugh!

[HELICOLT]

I don't want to sound like a downer either, but you need to listen to butters. I know people get on here and read the forums and think, well that won't be me or i'll get a job. The reality of it is that there is no jobs right now. Maybe a couple years down the road there will be. Get into flying for fun, DON'T take out a loan that will ruin your life, and don't put a good family life on the back burner...

 

Good luck!!!

[Inferno]

While I agree that its tough, saying something like "there are no jobs" isn't quite true, is it? A bunch of the posters here have jobs, be it entry level, or in the turbine level...

 

The naysayers who don't have jobs just seem to make more noise....

 

But ya, avoid debt at all costs. Instructing pays too little as it is without having to worry about making loan payments to boot....

I don't want to sound like a downer either, but you need to listen to butters. I know people get on here and read the forums and think, well that won't be me or i'll get a job. The reality of it is that there is no jobs right now. Maybe a couple years down the road there will be. Get into flying for fun, DON'T take out a loan that will ruin your life, and don't put a good family life on the back burner...

 

Good luck!!!