Learning to be a helicoper pilot

"Beav" wrote in message
...

"I"? I thought this was for your friend? :-)) Anyway, the simple answer is
"Lots". Over here in the UK, we'd expect to pay around 15,000 GBP (around
30
grand US) just for starters.

£15k will get you the PPL easily, but bear in mind he's asking about how
much it would cost before he could start earning from it.

Considering the two popular routes available, instructing or straight to
charter, the costs would be more like:

£13,000 PPL
£27,500 to build up to 155 hours
£9,000 to complete CPL
£20,000 to build up to 250 hours (which I think is the new legal min for
instructing)
£9,000 to do instructor course.

So, that's £80k just to earn about £25k a year, if you're lucky as an
instructor.

Or,

£45,000 to do full-time study and training up to CPL.
£30,000 to do IFR on a twin-turbine.

Of course with this option you still wont find work unless the North Sea
operators get desperate and hire you as a co-pilot, though at 53 that's
very, very unliekly I'm afraid. (£35k starting salary seems to be in the
ball-park these days.) No one else is going to hire you to fly their
turbine helis with so little hours as a single-pilot captain, unless you're
*extremely* lucky or well connected.

Put bluntly, it's a joke. It'll take the length of a full career just to
make your money back, not forgetting you'll likely need to spend a good deal
more on type conversions just to make yourse'f more marketable. I can think
of no other career that costs so much to do and returns so little. If you
look towards doing training in the US or South Africa you can pretty much
half all those costs.

Si

"Simon Robbins" wrote in message
...
"Beav" wrote in message
...

"I"? I thought this was for your friend? :-)) Anyway, the simple answer
is
"Lots". Over here in the UK, we'd expect to pay around 15,000 GBP (around
30
grand US) just for starters.

£15k will get you the PPL easily, but bear in mind he's asking about how
much it would cost before he could start earning from it.

Too right Si, which is why I added the "for starters" bit. At 53, it's not a
"career path" I'd be lusting after anyway.

Snip informative rest


--
Beav

Reply to "beavis dot original at ntlworld dot com" (with the obvious
changes)

"Beav" wrote in message
...

"Simon Robbins" wrote in message
...
"Beav" wrote in message
...

"I"? I thought this was for your friend? :-)) Anyway, the simple answer
is
"Lots". Over here in the UK, we'd expect to pay around 15,000 GBP
(around
30
grand US) just for starters.

£15k will get you the PPL easily, but bear in mind he's asking about how
much it would cost before he could start earning from it.

Too right Si, which is why I added the "for starters" bit. At 53, it's not
a
"career path" I'd be lusting after anyway.

It's hard to get hire into ANY new career at 53, much less one that would
take a few years to build up enough experience to compete with people 20
years your junior.

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...
It's hard to get hire into ANY new career at 53, much less one that would
take a few years to build up enough experience to compete with people 20
years your junior.

Having said that, I do know of one woman well into her fifties who is now
recently qualified and earning as a part-time helicopter instructor, but
it's not her primary source of income.

Si

"Simon Robbins" wrote in message
...
"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...
It's hard to get hire into ANY new career at 53, much less one that
would
take a few years to build up enough experience to compete with people 20
years your junior.

Having said that, I do know of one woman well into her fifties who is now
recently qualified and earning as a part-time helicopter instructor, but
it's not her primary source of income.

Odd that someone NEWLY QUALIFIED would manage to be an instructor.

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

"Simon Robbins" wrote in message
...
"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...
It's hard to get hire into ANY new career at 53, much less one that
would
take a few years to build up enough experience to compete with people
20
years your junior.

Having said that, I do know of one woman well into her fifties who is now
recently qualified and earning as a part-time helicopter instructor, but
it's not her primary source of income.

Odd that someone NEWLY QUALIFIED would manage to be an instructor.

Maybe that's "Newly qualified as a CFI"?

A friend of mine had never set foot in anything "aerial" before his 40th,
but he learned to fly heli's after I'd taught him to fly RC heli's. He then
bought his own machine (R-22) and pretty soon after was instructing in the
south of England. Now he's got his own operation in Wales teaching heli
flying. I would estimate it took him less than 3 years before he opened up
his own "shop".

Mind you...... he wasn't exactly strapped for cash when he started and
earning a living wasn't high on his "must do today" list, which I'm sure
makes a BIG difference. It was still a great accomplishment though and he's
still a top bloke.

Beav

"Beav" wrote in message
...

Mind you...... he wasn't exactly strapped for cash when he started and
earning a living wasn't high on his "must do today" list, which I'm sure
makes a BIG difference. It was still a great accomplishment though and
he's still a top bloke.

Beav

Wow! If only all of us could be in "that" position! The "not exactly
strapped for cash" and "earning a living wasn't high on his 'must do today'
list" parts, that is!

I'm green! ;-)

Fly Safe,
Steve R.

"Beav" wrote in message
...
Odd that someone NEWLY QUALIFIED would manage to be an instructor.

Maybe that's "Newly qualified as a CFI"?

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. I thought it went without saying.
Afterall

Si

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

"Beav" wrote in message
...

"Simon Robbins" wrote in message
...
"Beav" wrote in message
...

"I"? I thought this was for your friend? :-)) Anyway, the simple
answer
is
"Lots". Over here in the UK, we'd expect to pay around 15,000 GBP
(around
30
grand US) just for starters.

£15k will get you the PPL easily, but bear in mind he's asking about
how
much it would cost before he could start earning from it.

Too right Si, which is why I added the "for starters" bit. At 53, it's
not
a
"career path" I'd be lusting after anyway.

It's hard to get hire into ANY new career at 53, much less one that would
take a few years to build up enough experience to compete with people 20
years your junior.

Agreed, but anyone who's not dipped his feet into aviation could be forgiven
for thinking that it's not a lot different for any other career. They soon
discover the costs are more than the likely rewards and that time really IS
an issue, so age is a barrier.

Those questions do make for a discussion though, and seeing as RAH has been
a bit "light on the skids" of late, that's a good thing

Beav