Helicopters are great.. I am not a pilot but worked with them for many years.. my brother-in-law owns a crop spraying/fertilizer spreading heli operation in england/ welsh borders and I did a lot of ground work with them.. but best of all were several seasons I did running joy rides with a helicopters at shows and resorts.. wonderful work.. nothing like a helicopter arriving to bring people running to watch.. and pay too.. we used to give them three and a half minute rides and they loved it! Great way to meet people and never a problem finding somewhere to keep it overnight anywhere.. most of the pilots I worked with were brit ex military and they sure know how to fly.. worked with the old bell 47 (mash) and later the hughes 500.. a nice swift machine.. beautiful.. nothing like flying at 10ft above the sea at 180 miles an hour.. and in the welsh mountains skimming over cliffs and diving into precipitous valleys.. bracken spraying in wales is just about the most testing civilian flying imaginable I think.. if you can afford it I doubt you would ever regret learning to fly one.. go for it! Neil
I was "C" Troop 1st of the 9th Cavalry in "85" and "86", then we where redesignated to "C" Troop 1st of the 7th Cavalry (Gary Owen) in "87". I loved every minute of my duty in the Army (14 years active, guard, and reserve). BTW, a little movie trivia..... What Cavalry unit did Robert Duval command in "Apocalypse Now"? "C" Troop 1st of the 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. "If I say it's safe to surf this beach, then it's safe to surf this beach!"
I've been a flight instructor for 24 years, and I absolutely believe in the value of simulator training, even with non-visual simulators. I would encourage you to get some stick time in a glider or airplane first, because it's much cheaper. Maybe, say 5 or 10 hours. Take your written exams before you start flying. Helicopter training is very costly, and helicopters are inherently more dangerous than airplanes. Look at the accident stats. If you still want to learn, GO FOR IT. Flying is an absolute blast.
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad "Inspired" is a very generous way to put it. BTW - Got to fly (no prior exp. in helos) a Russian Mi-2 a few years ago outside of Moscow. Amazing - and terrifying at the same time. The Russian pilot gave me the controls for about 20 mins (off and on ) after a 5 min "crash course" (heh) - awesome. We landed on a frozen river dotted with ice-fishermen - buzzed across a snow coverd landscape at 20ft. - and the amazing thing was it cost a whopping $60 for a full hour of joyriding.
All I have to say is if you have the skill and saavy to commute by chopper ... and have it pay for itself ... you are the f#*king man. Like the jetsons. I'll be so thrilled when I can get my wimpy electric balsa rc in the air. I've crashed four so far, lol.
Hello acrary, I don't have one of these but I hear that they can great fun. Although not the real thing by any means, I would imagine that you would enjoy it as a deadzone pastime . http://www.realflight.com/