If RW training was the same price as FW would you...

have been a helicopter pilot instead?

Absolutely.

And in hindsight, that would have been a terrible move. The reason I say that is because once I decided to become a professional pilot, I realized that there is a lot more money, opportunity, and a bit more safety involved in fixed wing flying.

I would still love to get my RW license someday. I'd have to be in a very comfortable position in the fixed wing world with a chance to instruct in helis before I started to learn flying helicopters.

When the time comes, I'll give it a try. But I'll always be a fixed wing pilot first.
 
Absolutely.

And in hindsight, that would have been a terrible move. The reason I say that is because once I decided to become a professional pilot, I realized that there is a lot more money, opportunity, and a bit more safety involved in fixed wing flying.

I would still love to get my RW license someday. I'd have to be in a very comfortable position in the fixed wing world with a chance to instruct in helis before I started to learn flying helicopters.

When the time comes, I'll give it a try. But I'll always be a fixed wing pilot first.

I tend to disagree with that. I've known quite a few helo guys with better schedules and more lucrative contracts than regional flying for ten years.
 
If it was the same price, everyone would do it - and you'd end up having to have 10k hours turbine, and three tours in 'Nam to carry oil riggers at $8 an hour.
 
The starting pay off shore in the GOM for a person with 1000TT is almost $50k. 7 on 7 off. When you are on duty, you work. When you are off, you are off. If you are single pilot, it's VFR only. The only thing is that the top-end is not close to the legacy CA. No "400 ft. AP on" either :bandit:

Although, I have a buddy who almost had a mid-air with a supertanker -- you don't see that in an RJ.
 
not sounding safe to me.

<--- Note the screen name.

I would have rather been in a helicopter. A 2000 lb plane has a lot of energy to dissipate even at 60 kts and that translates into a lot of real estate for the roll out. A helicopter can use as little as 0-50 ft.

These guys walked away. How many cars would a 172 have hit?

[yt]<object width="425" height="344">


<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JuURNWQYfFk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>[/yt]

ED: Does anybody else see duplicate videos?
 
<--- Note the screen name.

I would have rather been in a helicopter. A 2000 lb plane has a lot of energy to dissipate even at 60 kts and that translates into a lot of real estate for the roll out. A helicopter can use as little as 0-50 ft.

These guys walked away. How many cars would a 172 have hit?

[yt]<object width="425" height="344">


<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JuURNWQYfFk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>[/yt]

ED: Does anybody else see duplicate videos?

No thanks - I'll take the roll out.

(that looked like a crazy hard landing)
 
"if the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it must be a helicopter, and therefore, unsafe"

"helicopter (n): a rotating mass of metal fatigue with an oil leak at the center"

I have to say though, I would have done it in a heartbeat.
 
It's a hard market to break into, if only because it's

A) REALLY expensive to get into out of your own pocket..
and
B) You're competing with guys with a few thousand hours from the video below. (In RW stuff, 4000 or 5000 hours is considered "old hand")

<object width="425" height="344">


<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mYMiEU0vKIM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>


I admit I don't miss the deployments.. but this stuff was cool. :)
 
If it was the same price, I would have saved some cash and done it as an add-on.

You never know...
 
<--- Note the screen name.

I would have rather been in a helicopter. A 2000 lb plane has a lot of energy to dissipate even at 60 kts and that translates into a lot of real estate for the roll out. A helicopter can use as little as 0-50 ft.

These guys walked away. How many cars would a 172 have hit?

But, a C172 wouldn't have been 200 feet over a grocery store at night. :D
 
It's a hard market to break into, if only because it's

A) REALLY expensive to get into out of your own pocket..
and
B) You're competing with guys with a few thousand hours from the video below. (In RW stuff, 4000 or 5000 hours is considered "old hand")

<OBJECT height=344 width=425>
&nbsp
&nbsp
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mYMiEU0vKIM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></OBJECT>


I admit I don't miss the deployments.. but this stuff was cool. :)

Firebird what did you fly out there? I crewed on a 60.
 
Honestly, no. I've never really had an interest in learning to fly a helicopter. It does look like fun, but it looks like other than an hour of buzzing landscape here and there, it would start to feel like I didn't get my money's worth as I would quickly run out of things to do.
 
Honestly, no. I've never really had an interest in learning to fly a helicopter. It does look like fun, but it looks like other than an hour of buzzing landscape here and there, it would start to feel like I didn't get my money's worth as I would quickly run out of things to do.


Funny, that's what I thought about planes when I was learning to fly them! T/O, Cruise, and Landing.... Boring!

Then I learned to fly planes and my perspective changed.

While I do enjoy planes, if the powers that be were handing out lifetime jobs and said "Mr. Ian, we'll pay $200,000 to fly for the rest of your life, but you have to pick airplanes or helicopters."

I'd pick helicopters.
 
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