Helicopter lessons ?

[B16JUS]

has anyone done this or is a instructor ?

i fancy a tester lesson but dont want one of them 2 seater ones is there anywhere in essex that used nice big helicopters maby a bell etc ? if so can you have your partner come up with you and sit in the back ?

J

[dgb00]

Much more expensive, as 2 seaters are "cheap" piston helis usually. Bells are jet helis. Running costs are that much more. Anyone know how much?

[Oakey]

Doesn't it cost about £40k to get your helicopter license?

[nutcase]

I did a lesson in a 4-seater last year (i.e. a couple of mates in the back scared sh*tless), was fun and got to fly over my parents' house- but loads to think about, and with so much going on there wasn't any time to enjoy the view! Would probably do another one.

[TPAC]

I had two lessons. Knew I couldn't afford to continue, and only meant to have one go, for the experience. Had to have the second because I couldn't believe the difficulty level, and felt sure I'd do better the second time (I didn't).
Robinson two seater thing. Was told that the bigger ones are more stable and therefore, in a way, easier. But, clearly, you needed to be able to fly the little ones in the first place.Besides, they're actually fun. Our Force chopper seemed very insulated and safe in comparison, when I later had a flight in that.
I calculated it would be about £7000 to get somewhere near a licence, if you had the aptitude. Could have taken a great deal more.

I recommend the experience, though. It was another ambition ticked off the list.

[Taffer]

Had a bit of time at the controls of a Sea King, and a fair bit of fixed-wing experience, but was unfortunately chopped from training before starting rotary-wing training

You'll probably find a few schools that use Robinson R44s for training, which are still piston powered (oo-er!) but have a couple of seats in the back.

There's a massive price leap for turbine training, due to the added cost of maintaining and running a more complex chopper.

I'd suggest starting with a fixed-wing PPL as it's much cheaper, and if you want to transfer to a PPL(H) later, you'll already be at ease with Air Law, Nav, Comms, etc. so learning to actually fly the chopper will be a bit more enjoyable and stress-free.

Edited by Taffer on Thursday 28th August 17:17

[B16JUS]

Oakey said:

Doesn't it cost about £40k to get your helicopter license?

for a private licence ? ouch thats nearly half the cost of a nice chopper

j

[Sharief]

I think PHer "pikey" was learning to fly a chopper. May be worth dropping him an email.

[Zad]

Flying turbine (Jet Ranger, Squirrel etc) rather than hideous piston powered Robinson R-22s moves the price per hour from £150 to over £400. I think the way to do it is go fixed wing while you get your exams done (comms, navigation, meteorology etc) and then convert. Learning to fly a helicopter is pretty intense in comparison to fixed wing, and not having to worry about radio procedure or whatever will take away some of the stress.

[TPAC]

You also get bags of homework. Physics stuff. That would have been a difficulty for me.

[monthefish]

Don't laugh, but I found playing GTA on the PS helped (slightly) when I had my first helicopter lesson.

Presumably something to do with the co-ordination/interaction between the three major contols...

[TPAC]

monthefish said:

Don't laugh, but I found playing GTA on the PS helped (slightly) when I had my first helicopter lesson.

Presumably something to do with the co-ordination/interaction between the three major contols...

Maybe I should have done that. Couldn't manage even one of the controls.

[LeeME3]

Zad said:

Flying turbine (Jet Ranger, Squirrel etc) rather than hideous piston powered Robinson R-22s moves the price per hour from £150 to over £400. I think the way to do it is go fixed wing while you get your exams done (comms, navigation, meteorology etc) and then convert. Learning to fly a helicopter is pretty intense in comparison to fixed wing, and not having to worry about radio procedure or whatever will take away some of the stress.

Most schools with R22s are nearer £250 an hour now for instruction and the turbines are £500 or so. The average to get a PPL(H) is 65 hours instruction so you're looking at anything upwards of £16000 for the licence.

[Zad]

Ouch, things have definitely got more expensive since I flew. Then again it was kinda "mates rates" with a test pilot (which itself was 'interesting').

[mr_fibuli]

I was told about £1000 per hour to hire an Agusta and pilot, that was about 7 years ago though. You could take the whole family along though.

[Zad]

If that is an A-109, that is a pretty big twin engine machine, which cost quite a lot more to run than singles.

[monthefish]

TPAC said:

monthefish said:

Don't laugh, but I found playing GTA on the PS helped (slightly) when I had my first helicopter lesson.

Presumably something to do with the co-ordination/interaction between the three major contols...

Maybe I should have done that. Couldn't manage even one of the controls.

It's surprisingly tricky!!

You have to be able to do all three major controls at once, but each control has an effect on the other two, so it's a balancing act between the three. I managed to keep it steady (and in position) for about 15 seconds, but when it started to go, there was no way I was going to get it back myself....

[TPAC]

monthefish said:

TPAC said:

monthefish said:

Don't laugh, but I found playing GTA on the PS helped (slightly) when I had my first helicopter lesson.

Presumably something to do with the co-ordination/interaction between the three major contols...

Maybe I should have done that. Couldn't manage even one of the controls.

It's surprisingly tricky!!

You have to be able to do all three major controls at once, but each control has an effect on the other two, so it's a balancing act between the three. I managed to keep it steady (and in position) for about 15 seconds, but when it started to go, there was no way I was going to get it back myself....

Yes. Its er...interesting, when it starts to go, isn't it? And you're nosediving earthwards until your trusty instructor picks it back up again, unable to disguise his scorn.

[monthefish]

TPAC said:

monthefish said:

TPAC said:

monthefish said:

Don't laugh, but I found playing GTA on the PS helped (slightly) when I had my first helicopter lesson.

Presumably something to do with the co-ordination/interaction between the three major contols...

Maybe I should have done that. Couldn't manage even one of the controls.

It's surprisingly tricky!!

You have to be able to do all three major controls at once, but each control has an effect on the other two, so it's a balancing act between the three. I managed to keep it steady (and in position) for about 15 seconds, but when it started to go, there was no way I was going to get it back myself....

Yes. Its er...interesting, when it starts to go, isn't it? And you're nosediving earthwards until your trusty instructor picks it back up again, unable to disguise his scorn.

Spot on!!

[jammy_basturd]

Is there much work for helicopter pilots?

Say I was willing to get a loan to do my licence, with the long term view that I could pay it off by finding work immediately after gaining my licence...?