You Can Train In Different Areas Of Helicopter Flight School

What types of helicopter courses can you take? While there are an abundant number of helicopter training courses that you could take to specialize in a particular kind of helicopter flying, there are three courses that you'll be primarily interested in. The very first is the "Private Pilot's License." Without taking and passing this course you won't be capable of getting your license or be able to take any other type of program.

The 2nd course you will want to complete is the "Helicopter Flight Instructors Course." The reason that you need to complete the flight instructor’s course is simply because to get any job as a helicopter pilot you will need between 500 and 1,000 PIC (pilot in command) flight hours of experience and many will be closer to the 1,000 hours. By qualifying to be a flight instructor for helicopters you may take a job as an instructor and log the hours you will need to qualify for other sorts of piloting jobs. Without going this route, it could take you many years and a great deal of money to log that many hours. The 3rd course is to get your "Commercial Rotorcraft License." This license will take no less than 150 total hours, and 100 PIC (Pilot in Command) time.

Just how long do helicopter courses last before you qualify as a pilot? In order to get your private pilot's license the FAA requires that you have at least 40 hours of flight time. Thirty of those hours must be with dual instruction by a qualified Flight Instructor. The additional ten hours are going to be of solo flight time. Most students will need a lot of the dual instruction flight time before they feel confident enough to even start their solo time. You will have had to complete the basic school training and passed the mandatory test before you can even begin the flight instruction time.

To obtain your commercial pilot's license, FAA requires a minumum of one hundred fifty hours of flight time with a minimum of 100 hours of this time being the Pilot in Command (PIC). There are also four written knowledge tests to pass which the FAA requires before you take each one of the required Practical Flight Tests, also required by the FAA. To become a Certified Flight Instructor you'll need a minimum of 200 hours of flight time. Time spent flying to obtain your private and commercial pilot's license counts toward the hours you need to become an instructor.

Exactly why is taking helicopter courses in Oregon a good idea? The primary reason that many helicopter students choose to go to school in Oregon is because of the terrain and climate conditions that the area has. You will fly in mountainous terrain as well as flat land and coastal terrain, not to mention being able to have some flight time out over the ocean.

There's not many locations that will likely have this combination of terrain to fly in while in training. You also will experience a number of climate conditions to fly in Oregon. You will fly in fair weather as well as in rainy and incredibly windy conditions. It also isn't uncommon to be in a position to fly in mild snowy conditions. This is also why the pilots who have trained in this region become known as some of the best trained helicopter pilots.

How expensive are helicopter courses? This particular question isn't that easy to answer. There's a minimum amount of time you will spend in ground school, but many students not used to flying will need more time. Ground school is billed at between $30 and $40 an hour as is additional private tutorial time when needed. Towards the total price of ground school you add flight time which is billed at $200 per hour when flying along with an instructor and between $150 and $175 per hour for your solo flight time. When everything is added up you will find that for your private pilot's license you might be talking between $10,000 and $15,000 with another $18,000 to $20,000 to go on your commercial pilot's license. To this you will need to add living expenses for the time you are in training, particularly if you are coming in from away from the area to acquire your training.

Altogether it's estimated that it will cost you between $40,000 and $50,000 to finish your training. Once completed you can begin working as an instructor so that you can make a living while you increase the needed flight experience hours in order to operate in other areas of helicopter piloting.

There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a helicopter flight school. Whether you are wanting to earn your private pilot’s license or are looking to fly commercially, Hillsboro Aviation Helicopter Training has the specialized helicopter courses you need to accomplish your goals so you can start flying as soon as possible. Visit http://www.hillsboroaviation.com for more information.