Flight School Questions

D

Davis McCall

New Member
Hello all! Some of you may recognize me from the military board. I was aiming for the Army's "High School to Flight School" program, and all was going well until my recruiter decided that I was too risky to process due to some youthful indiscretion a few years ago. I have now decided to go the civilian route. I am seriously considering doing my training at Tallahassee Helicopters in FL. I will also be aiming to complete a 4-year degree through Utah Valley in Aviation Management. I do have a few questions though. Tall. Helis assures me that their fleet of R44s are very easy to transfer to a turbine aircraft because controls are similar and do not require a lot of in-house training. Reason I ask is because there are some flight schools with R66's that I can get a turbine rating and not have to worry about it down the road. But these flight schools do not offer the same benefits as Tall. Helis. Do you think I can train in the R44 and get a job flying a Bell Jetranger or something? Any advice would be great!
 
Not a rotor guy myself but I know a ton. Most of them only have 22/44 time they instruct for a bit hit the magic number of 1200 and then they go fly turbine hilos. While turbine time might be better what is the cost difference? and either why your going to be instructing for a bit before you get to and thing larger then a r66.
 
R-44 to a Jetranger is an easy transition. But you will likely need a thousand or more hours to get a 206 job. As with fixed wing, Flight Instruction is a common entry level job.

I would advise saving money and training in an R-22 or Schweizer 300, complete training with a minimum of debt.

I would not fly in a R-66.
 
Yeah. Thats what I was thinking anyway. Why spend a ton more money on training I will probably receive anyway down the line in my career. Not to mention one of the great benefits that Tall. Helis offers is you can be an IP for them once you finish their program so its pretty much a guaranteed job right out of the gate.

The degree program is a 3-year deal online. I would receive all of my ground courses at the airport. All with a total cost (both flight training and tuition) of around $80,000 and a lot of that will be covered through Federal Aid and loans so not a bad deal. Most of the out of pocket spending will come from living in the Tallahassee area. So it sounds good to me.

I have heard the 66's are a waste of money, because not many have been sold since the 22's and 44's still dominate the training arenas.
 
Unlikely you will be able to service an $80,000 loan on a flight instructors income.

Tall helicopters lists their program at $85K for flight training alone. They offer financing at 9% which I hope you aren't considering under any circumstances.

The cheapest program I know of gets you the same ratings in a R-22 for under $40K.

The benefits of training in an R-44 aren't worth paying twice as much, or three times as much if you are borrowing money to finance it.
 
Do some research on schools. Try to get your training done in an R-22 or Schweizer 300. Hillsboro Aviation has a real reputable program that is also degree seeking, which seems to be the route you want to go. Are you in the military? If so....why don't you get your degree first...sit tight, then get your flight time. It will save you lots of $$$. Not sure if you have GI benifits, but if you do, feel free to PM me as I'm using the GI bill for my training. Lots of option there....

If you do pay cash though, go the cheapest route and DO YOUR RESEARCH!
 
NickH said:
R-44 to a Jetranger is an easy transition. But you will likely need a thousand or more hours to get a 206 job. As with fixed wing, Flight Instruction is a common entry level job.
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Not a ton of places flying 206s anymore though, with the exception of some tour operators. Elsewhere there's maybe some Ls, but likely 407s these days. Even so, many of these places have competitive mins and/or require some specialized training of sorts.

NickH said:
I would not fly in a R-66.
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Id avoid any Robinson if I had a choice, but why don't you like the 66?
 
Two fatal crashes out of the first fifty helicopters delivered due to in flight breakups. The usual Robinson caveat, of course, they can break up pretty easily if the pilot screws up.

With a hundred plus deliveries now, the statistics are catching up, but I'd still like to give it a couple more years to even out.
 
NickH said:
Two fatal crashes out of the first fifty helicopters delivered due to in flight breakups. The usual Robinson caveat, of course, they can break up pretty easily if the pilot screws up.

With a hundred plus deliveries now, the statistics are catching up, but I'd still like to give it a couple more years to even out.
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Hence SFAR 73. While Im not partial to Robinsons, poor pilot technique is a common problem leading to inflight breakups

Are you flying helicopters now?
 
I am...... speculating. I have ten hours in a -22, and am trying to justify the cost of an add-on. Probably in a couple of months.
 
NickH said:
I am...... speculating. I have ten hours in a -22, and am trying to justify the cost of an add-on. Probably in a couple of months.
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As a guy with alot of time in both semi-rigid as well as fully articulating rotor system helos, while Im not particularly fond of Robinson helos, they aren't necessarily unsafe. There's just certain flight regimes they have to be kept in, and can't be flown ham-fisted.
 
NickH said:
Unlikely you will be able to service an $80,000 loan on a flight instructors income.

Tall helicopters lists their program at $85K for flight training alone. They offer financing at 9% which I hope you aren't considering under any circumstances.

The cheapest program I know of gets you the same ratings in a R-22 for under $40K.

The benefits of training in an R-44 aren't worth paying twice as much, or three times as much if you are borrowing money to finance it.
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Its not going to be $85k in loans, like I said...because I am doing it through the university, I can use FAFSA and other free scholarships & grants to pay for my training and schooling. Also, my interest rate loan will only be about 1.5% or something unbelievably low according to their financial aid dept. Im still not sure how much I will qualify for but we will see soon. All I know is that both Tall Helis and the UVU guys said that there should be very little out-of-pocket cost. I still have until December to get everything put together so ill find out soon enough if thats true or not.
 
Check out Sevier County Choppers up in Gatlinburg,Tn. They have a really good program up there for zero thru CFII. Last I heard it was around 55k, but they will let you work there as a CFI and also do tours in the -44's. Once you have around 500hrs they have a really good relationship with one of the main tour otfits up there flying 206L's. I went through the program 2 years ago and have nothing but good things to say about Jim and Dwight. Hope this helps a little.
 
Did you wind up starting a program? I know this is a year old thread but if you haven't I might suggest you look into programs like Upper Limit Aviation, Hillsboro Aviation, and if you aren't deadlocked on the 4 year degree right out the gate any number of programs around the country has a college partnership and attach an Associates Degree to your training.
 
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