motoozzie

I know there is a varied group of people here on s2ki.com so I figured I'd check here to see if anyone has their rotary wing private ticket (or above). Over the past several years I've taken a couple "discovery flights" in fixed wing aircraft (maybe 5 hours or so of stick time). Today though, I took my first rotary wing flight lesson and all I have to say is I've figured out what I want to do when I "grow up". Because of the cost I'm thinking that maybe I should go with getting my fixed wing first then move on.....anyone have any advice?

Sogno

Hi there, this is Sogno's son. I'm a fixed wing pilot, and I've been flying for 6 years. As for getting your fixed wing license first, I would not advise that. If your end goal is becoming a rotary wing pilot, I would advise you to obtain your rotary wing license only. There are a number of reasons for this. You mentioned cost. The cost of getting your fixed wing license only would be a lot less than getting both fixed and rotary licenses.
Another more critical aspect of obtaining both licenses is that of learning both how fixed wing airplanes fly, and how helicopters fly. It is very difficult for someone who started flying in fixed wings to then learn rotary wing aircraft. Airplanes and helicopters are so different, that for a fixed-wing pilot to learn helicopters, he would have to "un-learn" many of the things needed to fly fixed wings, because they just don't apply in a helicopter. I can see where you're coming from, though with your idea of first getting your fixed wing, then getting your rotary wing license. It seems logical that with the experience you gained from flying airplanes, that this experience would "carry over" when you begin flying helicopters. I once talked with a helicopter pilot about this exact scenario. He told me what I typed above; if your final goal is to become a heli pilot, just get your rotary wing license. Learning on fixed wings and then transferring over to helis can actually work against you.


Good Luck! Hope this helps!

jackalope

I'll agree with Sogno's son. I've taken quite a few rotary discovery flights myself, and talked to the instructors.

Some of the ones I asked went so far as to say they wouldn't even teach a fixed wing pilot. Their main concern is the instincts you learn to use in an emergency situation. Alot of things you would do in a fixed wing emergency will kill you in a rotatory wing.

Pretty much the only thing you can do is save :\ Or a sallie mae career loan (hard to get for the 60K + for flight training) Or you could sign up for Utah Valley State College http://www.uvu.edu/. They have an online pilots program where you get rotary lessons out of state, and take classes online. Since they are a state college, you can get government loans to finance it.

BlackisFastest

This is why we have check lists. I could same the same thing about jumping back and forth between single recip engine and multi turbine aircraft.

I would learn fixed wing first if I were you all the to my commercial license then start rotor craft lessons. There is more to flying then just getting in and going.

And spend the money and get your self a good ANR headset.

leftfootbraking

I got my PPL H last year and a certain amount of fixed wing stuff like air law nav etc will be universal to flight in any aircraft. But I also know that it takes a lot of work to learn to fly either. I've never even tried to fly a fixed wing but I know Heli's do not give you a second to relax without them trying to bite you in the ass.

I'd honestly recommend that you choose a type, save like hell till you can take very regular lessons (Do an hour in a heli, leave it 3 weeks and do another hour and you'll find that at least 20 minutes will be spent re-learning the flight control sensation) and I wish you the best of luck and fly safe

Sogno

[QUOTE=BlackisFastest,Nov 2 2008, 01:04 AM] This is why we have check lists.

motoozzie

Thanks for the inputs guys, I appreciate it.

I'm going to talk to a couple of the instructors tomorrow and see what they say....just figured I'd check here first to see if anyone on the boards had been in the same (or a similar) situation.

Thanks again!

BlackisFastest

Are you serious?

Sogno

Absolutely serious. No offense here at all, but what part of this do you disagree with or understand?

Station

CFI Helicopter here.

The short answer is that if you're trying to save money, don't do both. You would end up spending a lot more by obtaining both ratings. The only way I know of to save money is to have the military pay you to learn to fly. If I could do it over again, that's the route I'd go.

Here are two sites that help you. Tons of good info can be found here:

http://www.verticalreference.com

http://www.justhelicopters.com

Just stay away from the "original" forum at JH, you'll see a bunch of very bitter pilots there!

If you have any specific questions about flight training or about flying as a career, I'd be glad to answer them. For now I'll just say if you want to make lots of money, you'll never be happy flying helicopters. Fly because you love to fly, not because you love money. If you understand that, you'll have a very satisfying, rewarding career.