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Ok...so to make a long story short...i dont have the luxury of having parents with thick wallets...as a matter of fact i dont have the luxury of having 'parents' at all...all i have is a sincere drive and permanent passion to fly. But having the drive and ambition to do it isnt enough...ive looked at loans...and i dont know how realistic it is to be able to afford them...im just wondering if someone with some experience can guide me on the smartest way to a heli career....i could afford getting a fixed wing license...but i dont know if that would help towards my helicopter career in the future....and i wont settle for fixed wing..bc honestly...how fast can a plane fly backwards?:P....

 

help if you can ....PLEASE...ive got no one else but this forum for advice.

 

thanks

 

josh royse

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I know where you are coming from. I moved to Utah for training but my parents have been dragging their feet for over a year concering the co-signing route. I just decided to move anyway. I've got one or two options left but at least I've very happy with the area. The upside is that If it were easy to do, the industry would be saturated with pilots. If there is ever a day that there is some free or no-risk way to become employable as a helicopter pilot, that will be the day I start looking into other career options.

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Guest rookie101
Ok...so to make a long story short...i dont have the luxury of having parents with thick wallets...as a matter of fact i dont have the luxury of having 'parents' at all...all i have is a sincere drive and permanent passion to fly. But having the drive and ambition to do it isnt enough...ive looked at loans...and i dont know how realistic it is to be able to afford them...im just wondering if someone with some experience can guide me on the smartest way to a heli career....i could afford getting a fixed wing license...but i dont know if that would help towards my helicopter career in the future....and i wont settle for fixed wing..bc honestly...how fast can a plane fly backwards?:P....

 

help if you can ....PLEASE...ive got no one else but this forum for advice.

 

thanks

 

josh royse

 

Uncle Sam can always help you out.

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Ok...so to make a long story short...i dont have the luxury of having parents with thick wallets...as a matter of fact i dont have the luxury of having 'parents' at all...all i have is a sincere drive and permanent passion to fly. But having the drive and ambition to do it isnt enough...ive looked at loans...and i dont know how realistic it is to be able to afford them...im just wondering if someone with some experience can guide me on the smartest way to a heli career....i could afford getting a fixed wing license...but i dont know if that would help towards my helicopter career in the future....and i wont settle for fixed wing..bc honestly...how fast can a plane fly backwards?:P....

 

help if you can ....PLEASE...ive got no one else but this forum for advice.

 

thanks

 

josh royse

 

"Beauty school dropout...you've got dream but not the drive" (Frankie Avalon, Grease)

 

You don't really mean "the smartest way to a heli career", you mean the easiest, cheapest and low risk (for you) way. If you really had "a sincere drive and permanent passion" you can work and save, take flight lessons when you can, find a low cost ground school and in time you would get there. Or you could enroll in a college program and use student loans and other financial aid.

 

But those paths take too long, right? You want to be a "professional pilot" tomorrow (and a fireman or cowboy the day after). Try Silver State...you're their target market.

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"Beauty school dropout...you've got dream but not the drive" (Frankie Avalon, Grease)

 

You don't really mean "the smartest way to a heli career", you mean the easiest, cheapest and low risk (for you) way. If you really had "a sincere drive and permanent passion" you can work and save, take flight lessons when you can, find a low cost ground school and in time you would get there. Or you could enroll in a college program and use student loans and other financial aid.

 

But those paths take too long, right? You want to be a "professional pilot" tomorrow (and a fireman or cowboy the day after). Try Silver State...you're their target market.

 

 

actually fry...i dont want the 'fastest' way to become a pilot....i want the 'RIGHT' way to become a pilot...thus my inquiry to 'experienced' pilots that would 'help'. as far as cheapest? why the hell not? when i asked the smartest...i mean exactly what i ask...what..is..the smartest way to become a helicopter pilot. i have seen and heard devestating stories about huge mistakes that some people have made on their way..and i would like to avoid them. im going to become a heli pilot regardless of how hard or expensive it is...at the same time i dont want to be the person that you just described as wanting to be a professional pilot tomorrow and a fireman or cowboy the day after...yes i am a dreamer...but i work just as hard as i dream...i want to set the proper goals and initiatives, strategically enter the helicopter business and become a pilot with the least amount of mistakes possible bc A) im 18 years old and i live on my own B ) i have no parents as i was taken from them by the CPS when i was 14(thus nothing to fall back onto) C) i have three jobs to save up the money to become a pilot but obviously i will lose one or two of them when i enroll in flight school so money will be a huge issue obviously. So hey...when your dad kicks your brothers face in and throws ur face through a glass case....when the CPS takes you from your home and throws your six brothers and yourself in foster homes, when you have three jobs to take care of yourself and your brothers while trying to realize a dream of flying, THEN you can be an a**hole. untill then how about you try and HELP when people ask for it...not all of us have the luxury of mommy and daddy helping us with everthing.

 

I know where you are coming from. I moved to Utah for training but my parents have been dragging their feet for over a year concering the co-signing route. I just decided to move anyway. I've got one or two options left but at least I've very happy with the area. The upside is that If it were easy to do, the industry would be saturated with pilots. If there is ever a day that there is some free or no-risk way to become employable as a helicopter pilot, that will be the day I start looking into other career options.

 

hey thanks man...what do you think about getting my fixed wing? i enrolled myself into OSU to take their summer fixed wing courses...i figured maybe the fixed wing experience could help with my heli license...do you know if any of the fixed wing hours can be transferred or used towards a private heli license?

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I know where you are coming from. I moved to Utah for training but my parents have been dragging their feet for over a year concering the co-signing route. I just decided to move anyway. I've got one or two options left but at least I've very happy with the area. The upside is that If it were easy to do, the industry would be saturated with pilots. If there is ever a day that there is some free or no-risk way to become employable as a helicopter pilot, that will be the day I start looking into other career options.

 

 

What school are you training at in Utah?

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Guest rookie101
i figured maybe the fixed wing experience could help with my heli license...do you know if any of the fixed wing hours can be transferred or used towards a private heli license?

 

True, fixed wing PPL will help you in training for a helicopter PPL like the basics of radio communtication, operating an aircraft in an airport etc., but the hours in the fixed-wing will not count towards any of your rotary time.

 

A money saver, if you want to and if you go with the fixed-wing PPL first, is to get your instrument training in the fixed wing rather than in the helo. The downside to that however is you won't have the hours in a helicopter that you could get if you got the Instrument cert. in a helo. and as a low timer hours are gold. There are of course more financing questions concerning loans in (where else) the FAQ.

 

Discussion on saving money through fixed-wing time.

http://helicopterforum.verticalreference.com/helicopterfor...?showtopic=4848

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josh,

 

hey man, the only way I see for you to become a heli pilot is just the way I have to do it. get a loan, if you really want to live your dream, you need to get a loan through sallie mae or some other loan company. you have to have decent credit or will need a co signer. if you just try to work your ass off and pay your way through, you will not finish. just my opinion, most young people do not make 50,000 a year, and if they do, cannot afford to pay the fifty thousand it is going to cost to get trained. training should only take you 1 year if you are serious about it. if you drag it out, you loose skill and it ends up costing you more time and money.

 

so find a way to get a loan, get the full amount and find a school, bigger schools vs smaller schools, it doesn't really mattter, it is what you like and the most important thing is you get along with you instructor. so get a loan, look at a few schools and then start. anyone can do it, the money is the hardest thing to get and put up with, once you get the money , you can really start training fast.

 

use the search feature to find loans, questions, all issues, use the flight review tool to find different schools available in your area, and set your mind to it and you can do it.

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Fixed wing-

 

 

In my experience getting your fixed wing rating first will not help you on your private helicopter rating, in fact it will cost you more to get both those than only your private helicopter! Yes, you can use some of the fixed wing hours towards your helicopter rating, but to get your private helicopter rating it's all about learning to fly the helicopter and for that, the fixed wing hours will do you almost no good!!

 

I have had students with thousands of fixed wing hours, and students with no previous experience and there has not been enough difference in their flying to make up for the cost of the fixed wing license. Infact sometimes the experienced guys have habits from airplanes that need to be "unlearned".

 

On your commercial helicopter it might save you some money however, because now you can build time in airplanes, which are cheaper then helicopter hours.

The only thing you have to think about is what you really want to do. If you wanna fly helicopters for a living, eat that extra cost and do it all in a helicopter!!!!

Most operators will look at your helicopter time only when they hire you for a commercial helicopter job....

 

If you are only 18, then work for a few years. Try to set aside some money and then go for it! Or go find some way to get a loan. If there's a will there's a way!!

 

Good luck.

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Josh- I don't know if this helps at all but I am in your same shoes ($$$). I have been trying to get into a flight training school that I have vistited several times. I have applied at UVSC, Sallie Mae, even gone to a bank to get the loan. I have not recieved any money and my parents cannot co-sign for a loan. It is the hardest thing to wait for something that you love and have a passion for. So for 2 and a half years I have been saving my OWN money. Working several jobs and long hours (last week was 85hrs). This is not the easiest thing to do but this is all that is left to do. Every day I dream of oneday flying. I am about 8 months off from my goal. So far I have saved $28,000. I have sold evrything to raise money. In my free time I would go around the neighborhood with a chainsaw and ask if people need me to remove a limb. I eat raman noodles and don't waist my money on anything else because I have a goal. Goals are dreams with dead-lines. My young friend, I am also young (23), if you want it don't let ANYTHING stop you. I am not there yet but I can taste it. Its on my lips. Dont ever quit.

Josh :)

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Josh- I don't know if this helps at all but I am in your same shoes ($$$). I have been trying to get into a flight training school that I have vistited several times. I have applied at UVSC, Sallie Mae, even gone to a bank to get the loan. I have not recieved any money and my parents cannot co-sign for a loan. It is the hardest thing to wait for something that you love and have a passion for. So for 2 and a half years I have been saving my OWN money. Working several jobs and long hours (last week was 85hrs). This is not the easiest thing to do but this is all that is left to do. Every day I dream of oneday flying. I am about 8 months off from my goal. So far I have saved $28,000. I have sold evrything to raise money. In my free time I would go around the neighborhood with a chainsaw and ask if people need me to remove a limb. I eat raman noodles and don't waist my money on anything else because I have a goal. Goals are dreams with dead-lines. My young friend, I am also young (23), if you want it don't let ANYTHING stop you. I am not there yet but I can taste it. Its on my lips. Dont ever quit.

Josh :)

 

That is GREAT that you saved up that much. However, I would not tell anyone how much you have even if you trust them. Many schools would love to hear how much you have. The money that you worked so hard for can be gone so fast you don't even know it. The school that I trained at had complete control of my loan money, They spent all $100,000 in seven months, and I only had upto my ins. and no more money to finish my dream of flying. There were many hidden charges from the loan fees, interest, uvsc, and flight and ground times from instructors.

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"Beauty school dropout...you've got dream but not the drive" (Frankie Avalon, Grease)

 

You don't really mean "the smartest way to a heli career", you mean the easiest, cheapest and low risk (for you) way. If you really had "a sincere drive and permanent passion" you can work and save, take flight lessons when you can, find a low cost ground school and in time you would get there. Or you could enroll in a college program and use student loans and other financial aid.

 

But those paths take too long, right? You want to be a "professional pilot" tomorrow (and a fireman or cowboy the day after). Try Silver State...you're their target market.

 

 

Wow fry you are a real piece of work. Its people like YOU that RUIN a forum like this.

 

Oh and good job quoting "Grease", when are you going to grow up man?

 

-Seth

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