r/Helicopters

I have made many posts now as I am really close to starting to fly, but now I am at a fork in the road.

I have two methods I can choose from
A. Fly once a week and save the surplus to then use to fly more before I take my check ride.
B. Save for 6 ish months and fly 3 hours a week (weather permitting) and subsidize the cost with the money I’ve saved.

A and B both have their upsides. Option A gets me flying sooner and in perfect conditions I would be finished a month or so sooner. Option B would allow me to fly more often meaning learning time could be quicker and could make it a bit less stressful.

I am really having a tough time deciding on which method I should go and I may even end up using a different on for each of my ratings.

I am leaning to the A route as I believe I take to things pretty fast and wouldn’t have to worry too much about skill retention. I also have doubts about The B route and my work schedule as it may fluctuate and not leave me with many dedicated time slots.

Advice is greatly appreciated I’ll probably take a vote at the end of the week and see what I decide. If you have done either or both please share your input on skill retention lol.

Edit: Leaning more towards the B option based on input and because it seems less risky. I would much rather complete my training than not because I didn’t want to have a bit of patience.

NVG training is on the horizon for me, but as a 20 yr day VFR guy my current helmet is a single visor LH050 (and before that an LH250 with the outer visor removed).

Has anyone modified an LH050 to accept an NVG mount? I know Tiger Performance offers a mod, but they want you to send your helmet in which is gonna cost easily $300+ CDN each way, plus their cost, plus down time. And at that point I'm halfway to buying a new helmet.

Self-modding my current helmet would probably be the cheapest option but it sounds daunting and easily fuck upable.

Next option would be tracking down a used Canadian LH250 and dropping a couple grand on that...

Hi everyone,

I'm frustrated with my PPL(H) journey and need advice.

I started training at one school, completed 44 hours and all CAA theory. Due to lack of instructors I moved.

I explained I needed consistent instruction to prepare for the skill test.

Instead I flew ~25 more hours, about 13 with one instructor who was often late, complained, and there were uncomfortable drinking issues.

I also had short sessions with multiple instructors despite requesting consistency.

Now I have ~69 hours, theory, medical, radio licence, ICAO Level 5, but still not finished.

I paused training due to accommodation costs in Europe.

I'm looking for an honest European helicopter school to finish PPL(H).

I need clear upfront info:

hourly cost incl fuel

instructor cost

accommodation & transport costs

extra fees

realistic hours to skill test

ability to fly consistently with one instructor

I know hours can't be guaranteed; I just want transparency.

I don't want to restart plans after spending money.

If anyone trained at a good school in Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain or elsewhere, I'd appreciate recommendations.

Also instructors: with ~69 hours, theory, medical, radio, ICAO 5, what should a student be ready for before skill test?

Just trying to finish and find a trustworthy school.

Thanks.

I have my first flight instruction this week! Don’t want a commercial license; just want the fun of learning to fly one. It’ll be in an R-44.

Training a rescue dog can take between two and three years.