Any helicopter pilots here?
 

This may sound random, but I was curious if anyone here is an amateur or professional helicopter pilot. I have always been fascinated by rotary aircraft far more than fixed wing, and I think I want to take a few lessons at a local training facility to see if it's as fun as I think it would be. Although I'm not seriously considering a career change at this point, it sounds like there are some pretty cool and in-demand positions for professional pilots like EMS, off shore oil trans, law enforcement, heli-ski operations (my favorite one! :D ), etc. So anyone here or do you know of anyone that is involved with the industry?

Vegas,

I believe in order to become a helicopter pilot you need to first get your traditional fixed wing pilots license.
- From there you learn a helicopter which is a speciality vehicle..

But again, I think to fly a helicopter you start with a regular pilots license.

don't quote me.

I actually thought that was the case as well - sorta like getting a driver's license then getting a motorcycle "endorsement" attached to the license. My dad who was a pilot and air traffic controller in the USAF told me though that you don't need a fixed wing license to fly helicopter - in fact, most places prefer you to NOT have FW experience if you're strictly a heli pilot due to the drastic difference in emergency manuevers and reactions you build by flying FW. Sure enough, I researched it and it's not an FAA requirement, and many places will let you "fly" after about 2 hours of instruction with an instructor. It seems like if nothing else, it would be a pretty fun novelty and maybe a cool hobby (albeit a pretty expensive one).

Here's a decent link:
http://www.helicopterschoolinfo.com/...pter_pilot.php

One of my best friends was a career Marine Aviator...he flew lead chopper
in the Iran Hostage rescue fiasco. Retired from Marines as a Col.
Still has license; hard to get well paying work, in his opin. He says he won't
fly in any chopper unless he knows who does/did the contiunual maintenance...

Another anecdote: another good friend has been taking lessons for a couple of
years, part-time...he says it is the hardest thing besides surfing and golf he has
ever undertaken. He is quite well off, but says the costs are considerably higher
than he was led to believe.

But, worth checking out if it is a dream. Tough row to hoe, imo.
GL,mD

I am learning to fly RC helicopters, does that count?