"rotorcfiwannabe" wrote in message
et...


5) Any guesses as to costs ? $$$ ?


I have a pretty good guess as I just did exactly this last winter and I kept
very accurate records of my cost.

I was a fixed wing CFI and obtained my private, commercial, instrument and
CFI helicopter-add on ratings.

I got my private on Feb 24, 03
Instrument on Mar 13, 03
Commercial on April 10, 03
and CFI on April 11, 03.

At a whopping total of $14042.40
Plus 4 checkrides a $300.00 each for another $1200.00
Grand total of $15242.40


If you are not going to do the Instrument, then you could subtract $4199.50
from the above. (The price I paid for 15 hours of instrument training plus
ground school.

It all could have been done a even faster and cheaper but I had problems
thru the private level with;
# 1 instructors not being up to par.. (ie. low time, inexperienced)
#2 Helicopter not being ready to fly when I would arrive due to various
problems. (i.e. Maintenance, scheduling conflicts, etc...)
#3 One instructor whom IMHO was charging me inappropriately. Unfortunately,
this is the one instructor that I enjoyed the most and felt I learned the
fastest from.
#4 Changing to the R-22 which required me to have more time prior to solo.
(I don't regret this, just ended up costing a little more in the long run.)

All my training was in Southern California. I drove everyday, sometimes 2
hours (one way) to get to the school, just so I could fly helicopters.

The first school I went to was the cheapest I'd found anywhere. There were
numerous times that I would arrive and the helicopter was not ready or
available for whatever reason. I felt they were not as serious about my
flying as I was and finally gave up and moved on to another school.

The next school was more expensive but started off good, but it soon became
apparent to me that the instructor was inexperienced and I was feeling like
I could do so much more if I had someone else, someone with more real life
helicopter experience. The final straw for me was a drizzly day I was
turning the corner a block away from the school, when my cell phone rang and
it was the instructor telling me we couldn't fly because it was raining. I
thought he was joking and asked him what he was talking about. (This was the
kind of rain that if you drive your windshield gets wet, but when you stop
and get out of the car, you don't feel a thing) Anyway, when I questioned
him as to 'why we couldn't fly?' his response was, "Because the helicopter
doesn't have windshield wipers". I knew that day it was time to move on to
another school.

I turned around and drove straight to another school where I had talked to
the instructor just a few days earlier. By the time I reached this place,
another hour and a half from where I just left, the rain was poring and the
winds were 12 gusting to 19. The instant I walked in the door the instructor
saw me and said, 'Ready to go fly'. I said "That's what I'm here for", and
he handed me the book and keys and off I went in the wind and rain to
preflight. I loved flying with this guy, he was awesome. Had over 5000 hours
or real world heli time and instructed because he loved it. This was the
kind of instructor I needed and I appreciated flying with someone who #1
wasn't worried about flying because of some rain or wind, and #2 saw in me
that I had the determination, desire and ability to excel beyond just a
simple, fair weather pilot and not only was capable of flying in adverse
conditions, but actually kind of enjoyed it.

I learned more from this guy on our first flight than with anyone before or
since. He had me doing commercial maneuvers and mountain flying thru the
remainder of my Private pilot because he saw that I was ready for it. This
guy could immediately see where your problems where and tell you exactly
what you needed to help you correct them in the shortest time possible. If
I'd gone with this guy from the very beginning, I think it would have been
cheaper in the long run than even the cheapest schools, because he 'gets it
across to you in less time, and he makes you one hell of a helicopter pilot
to boot.

My problem with him came from what I felt was in appropriate billing... he
did some things that I (as a flight instructor) would never do to my
students and we were unable to come to an agreement on the issues so I moved
on. It was a matter of principle to me. Unfortunately, I believe these
issues would probably have never come up if I had done all my training with
him from the beginning. I still like the guy and think he's one hell of a
pilot/instructor and would recommend him in a second to anyone looking to
fly in the So Cal area. (Plus, the guy doesn't do instrument ratings so I
had to move on anyway to do that portion.)

Next I ended up in Long Beach where I met one of the nicest guys I've met in
the helicopter business, who genuinely wants you to succeed as quickly and
cheaply as possible. He was willing to work with me financially when I
thought I might not have the funds to finish, which ended up not happening,
but he was willing. He offered me an open invitation to a job working for
him, which I quite possibly will take him up on this coming winter after my
job winds down in Alaska.

Anyway, thru him, I completed my instrument, commercial and CFI in minimal
time. But, I have to step back to my instructor just prior, who enabled and
demanded that I fly to a level that even allowed me to accomplish these
things.

That probably more information than you were hoping for. If you're
considering training in So Cal let me know and I'll be happy to point you to
these guys, and away from the others.