PIC time for a Helicopter Commercial Addon

Fly_Unity

Well-Known Member
I got 1200 hours fixed wing time, looking at a commercial Heli addon, Im reading I need 50 hours, and 35 hours need to be PIC, So I would need to solo after 15 hours of dual received, then solo for 35 hours? Is that the only way to get done in the 50 hour Minimum? will schools let you solo with only 15 hours?

Thanks
 
It depends on the school. In theory, you are correct. I believe it's easier for a pilot to do a RW to FW conversion. There are some FW habits that you have to break. You might need more than 15 hrs dual to get to the solo and to the commercial standard.

Enjoy! It's a blast!
 
I agree w/Deadstick you should probably expect more than 50. Robinson has some other issues. It might help to find a school with a 300.
 
Alright, What books do you recremend for me to start reading? Any online websites that I can study the basic systems or aerodynamics? Anyone happen to know of a website with a PTS I can download? Im starting from ground Zero, with no heli knowlege.

Oh btw, the commercial addon wont include an instrument rating, right? how many hours does that roughly take to get that addon? I am a CFII for fixed wing
 
Here are some other books.

http://www.aerotraining.com/html_gif/3234.htm

http://www.fataltraps.com/

As far a Robbie v. Schweizer, there are probably 15:1 jobs for Robbie CFIs v. Schw. You have to have 50 hrs in a Robbie to teach. Personally, I love the 269/300. It's a tank. The Robbie (to me) feels like a homebuilt when I sit in it. Then there is the whole low-interial rotor/fall-like-a-brick problem with the R22. The ONE thing I do like about the Robbie is the governor. It's really nice, but not enough of a reason for me to get in one.
 
Alright, What books do you recremend for me to start reading? Any online websites that I can study the basic systems or aerodynamics? Anyone happen to know of a website with a PTS I can download? Im starting from ground Zero, with no heli knowlege.

Oh btw, the commercial addon wont include an instrument rating, right? how many hours does that roughly take to get that addon? I am a CFII for fixed wing
if you are a CFII i should make you look it up............... 15 hours is all you need. I helped a guy go RW to FW and it is the same the other way.
 
if you are a CFII i should make you look it up............... 15 hours is all you need. I helped a guy go RW to FW and it is the same the other way.
Nope. It isn't safe to spread such false and unsafe information.

What are you thinking!?...no way can a person instruct helicoptors with only 15 hrs PIC...
 
Oh btw, the commercial addon wont include an instrument rating, right? how many hours does that roughly take to get that addon? I am a CFII for fixed wing

if you are a CFII i should make you look it up............... 15 hours is all you need. I helped a guy go RW to FW and it is the same the other way.

Nope. It isn't safe to spread such false and unsafe information.

What are you thinking!?...no way can a person instruct helicoptors with only 15 hrs PIC...

Fly_Unity was asking about an instrument add-on to a helicopter commercial certificate, not an instructor certificate.

So yes, by the FAR he would only need 15 hours to add on an instrument rating.
 
Nope. It isn't safe to spread such false and unsafe information.

What are you thinking!?...no way can a person instruct helicoptors with only 15 hrs PIC...
wow, old post, but i was commenting on the time required for an instrument rating in the a helo, i have no idea what it would take for II, but i would assume, not much more. like Ian said, could be done, but not recommended
 
i was commenting on the time required for an instrument rating in the a helo,
The OP is looking for how much PIC time to add commercial helo to commercial FW. I thought you were telling him he could skip the 50 hr PIC requirement for that and go straight to the 15 hr pic in category requirement for instructors.
 
The OP is looking for how much PIC time to add commercial helo to commercial FW. I thought you were telling him he could skip the 50 hr PIC requirement for that and go straight to the 15 hr pic in category requirement for instructors.
the post i was responding to was about adding a FH Instrument rating onto a commercial RH. which would take 15 hours of training AFAIK
 
So if the intention to get the add-on is to use the commercial then the thinking shuld be about getting a job. ALL helicopter companies (R22/ 300) I have talked to require 200 hrs pilot in command helo to teach. That includes whatever it takes to get there. I know of guys (I am one) who finished with less than 200 hrs PIC. unable to teach until I had 200 PIC. I had to ferry aircraft and do maitenance flights until I got another 45 hrs; talk about suck. Flights of .25, .5, .15 are the only thing I have in my logbook for quite awhile.
On another note a lot of companies have upped the requirements to 500 due to the flood of CFII's on the market and the emergence of all R 44 schools.
Hope this helps
Shane
 
So, if someone did a FW to RW commercial add-on, none of that commercial add-on RW time (except solo) would count as PIC, right? So, someone would have a wet Heli Com. certificate that's useless unless you had your own uninsured ship.
So, I guess my question is, when a flight school (and insurance co.) is looking to hire a CFI, are they looking for 200 PIC heli, or 200TT heli?
I'm trying to noodle though how the best way to work my GI Bill to eventually be employable, if I should do a Private RW add-on (not GI Bill funded), then a regular RW Commercial program to build PIC hours (GI Bill funded), RW Instrument (GI funded), and CFI, CFI-I programs (GI Bill).

Hopefully by the end of all that, I'd be hopefully somewhat CFI employable in heli's.

-or if I should just do the RW add-on commercial, but be short of the *magic* 200 heli hours to be able to get hired anywhere.
 
So, if someone did a FW to RW commercial add-on, none of that commercial add-on RW time (except solo) would count as PIC, right? So, someone would have a wet Heli Com. certificate that's useless unless you had your own uninsured ship.
So, I guess my question is, when a flight school (and insurance co.) is looking to hire a CFI, are they looking for 200 PIC heli, or 200TT heli?
I'm trying to noodle though how the best way to work my GI Bill to eventually be employable, if I should do a Private RW add-on (not GI Bill funded), then a regular RW Commercial program to build PIC hours (GI Bill funded), RW Instrument (GI funded), and CFI, CFI-I programs (GI Bill).

Hopefully by the end of all that, I'd be hopefully somewhat CFI employable in heli's.

-or if I should just do the RW add-on commercial, but be short of the *magic* 200 heli hours to be able to get hired anywhere.

Hopefully by the end of all that, I'd be hopefully somewhat CFI employable in heli's.
well if you did Private first, all instrument training and comm training could be PIC
 
I understand that, I guess I'm asking if companies look at PIC time or TT Heli time to reach the 200hr mark to be insurable. So, if I did a comm. add-on, I would only have the very few solo hours as PIC for the comm. add-on, leaving me to make up the difference (200hrs minus very few solo hours = lots of time left to build).... or would it be smarter to do a regular Heli Comm. after a Heli Private just to build the hrs since 60% of the comm would be paid for.
 
I understand that, I guess I'm asking if companies look at PIC time or TT Heli time to reach the 200hr mark to be insurable. So, if I did a comm. add-on, I would only have the very few solo hours as PIC for the comm. add-on, leaving me to make up the difference (200hrs minus very few solo hours = lots of time left to build).... or would it be smarter to do a regular Heli Comm. after a Heli Private just to build the hrs since 60% of the comm would be paid for.
the private and the comm are both add ons. if you did the private first at least all the later time could be PIC, which would only help the PIC time
 
It is PIC rotorcraft they look at. Most insurance companies require the 200 PIC Rotor. The GOM companies have actually raised their mins to 1200 PIC helo. Just the way the market is these days. But with the economy the way it is it should bottom out next year. We are still riding out the Silver State fiasco. Any PIC you can get is good. PIC night is the BOMB.
Shane
 
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