helo

[JJheli]

The truth of the matter is that the civilian road to flying helicopters is prohibitively expensive and you won't be very employable after receiving all your ratings because you'll have such low total time no employer will touch you because of insurance requirements.

 

How true is this statement? any advise can help

 

Thank you

[Gomer Pylot]

That pretty much sums it up, AFAIK.

[delorean]

Somewhat true, but the person that wrote that really doesn't know what they're talking about....unless they only want to talk you out of flying helicopters. Quote from a fixed wing school or an army recruiter?

 

Take out the word "prohibitively".

Replace "you won't be very employable," with "you will have limited employment opportunities"

Replace "you'll have such low total time no employer," with "your low time will only allow you to instruct at some school until you build more time."

 

NEW:

 

The truth of the matter is that the civilian road to flying helicopters is expensive and you will have limited employment opportunities after receiving all your ratings because your low time will only allow you to instruct at some school until you build more time because of insurance requirements.

 

To go one step further......take out the word HELICOPTER. Same story for airplanes.

[JJheli]

Thank you Delorean and Gomer Pylot for the reply. This person makes it seem like there is no life for a helo pilot after school. I want to believe he is wrong!!

 

Delorean do you also believe that fix wing pilots go through the same thing?

[delorean]

I think so, just not the same process exactly.

 

Fixed wing training costs less to begin with, but it isn't necessarily cheaper in the long run. In a fixed wing you'll get your private, instrument, then commercial (which requires complex a/c, more $$$), then get your CFI & CFII. At some point you'll need to get a multi-engine commercial, instrument, and MEI, & MEII (that is also twice the cost). Commercial in a helicopter is 150 hrs, it's 250 in an airplane. ATP requires more hrs in an airplane than a helicopter too.

 

For some weird reason, fixed wing CFIs tend to make more money per hr than a helicopter CFI. Either way, you'll need to log up more time to get those advanced ratings.

 

Next, if you do get a non-CFI job an airplane, it's going to be for a small 135 or second officer on a commuter. Under $30,000 a year probably. But as soon as you hit 1000 hrs in a helicopter, it's $50,000+ and week on / week off schedule in the GOM.

 

Layoffs happen left and right in the airline industry, so if you do manage to keep a job and rack up some senoirity, it's good money--$100K+, but all you do is sit behind the stick and let the computer fly.

 

No chance of layoffs in the GOM or EMS helicopter world. Figure about $60K for 182 days a yr.

 

It would take hours to do all the math, expecially calculating the extra benefit of being able to pay off the loans earlier with a heli job. From your first flight until the time your making $50K+ will happen a lot faster in a helicopter than in an airplane. You don't see as many guys making $100K+ in helicopter jobs though (just takes some extra OT though).

 

It all probably boils down to the same in the end.....HOWEVER, the big question is,

 

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO FLY? Airplane or Helicopter?