Helicopter lessons?

dazed

Are they worth it ? The OH really wants to try it and was seeing if you had any experiences ?

TIA

JenIttels

Hey there.

Any reason why s/he really wants to try it? It's a very expensive hobby to take up (the last time i looked into it you could get a private pilot's licence for around £10k) in the long run!

I love helicopters personally and would've been thrilled to get a lesson for a pressie. However the trial lessons aren't cheap either and you spend a good amount of your 'lesson time' doing checks on the aircraft on the ground so you need to take that into account if you buy the lesson.

Also if your OH wants to just go for a bit of a jolly, eg fly over your house if it's not too far, then it would be worth just booking a sightseeing trip instead of a lesson as you don't go very far in the lesson (although you don't get to put your hands on the controls in the sightseeing trips generally).

Whatever you book, do it direct with a flying school and not with someone like red letter days. The only advantage in getting a red letter day type package is that it lets you book at a number of schools but you pay a large premium for doing so. Also if you talk to a flying school then you can ask them questions about the flight.

sorry if i've babbled. Get me to clarify something if i haven't made sense.

PS I used to work for a flying school in hampshire hence my interest in the subject!

dazed

JenIttels wrote:

Hey there.

Any reason why s/he really wants to try it? It's a very expensive hobby to take up (the last time i looked into it you could get a private pilot's licence for around £10k) in the long run!

I love helicopters personally and would've been thrilled to get a lesson for a pressie. However the trial lessons aren't cheap either and you spend a good amount of your 'lesson time' doing checks on the aircraft on the ground so you need to take that into account if you buy the lesson.

Also if your OH wants to just go for a bit of a jolly, eg fly over your house if it's not too far, then it would be worth just booking a sightseeing trip instead of a lesson as you don't go very far in the lesson (although you don't get to put your hands on the controls in the sightseeing trips generally).

Whatever you book, do it direct with a flying school and not with someone like red letter days. The only advantage in getting a red letter day type package is that it lets you book at a number of schools but you pay a large premium for doing so. Also if you talk to a flying school then you can ask them questions about the flight.

sorry if i've babbled. Get me to clarify something if i haven't made sense.

PS I used to work for a flying school in hampshire hence my interest in the subject!

Thanks for your help !

She is looking to get a licence if she likes it so I will talk to the local flying school and see what they say !

rchddap1

A flying school is definately the best way to go. Did this for my partner one year and he came back with a grin from ear to ear. Still talks about how it was one of the best things he's ever done.

I bought a 'trial voucher'. It allowed him to book his lesson on whatever day he chose and I think the time in the air would have counted towards the license if he'd hav continued. However they were aware that it was a present and treated him like a king.

Madam_Ra

My OH would love this!

Seems rather pricey... does anyone recommend any flying schools? and what kind of price is it for the initial lesson... are there any jobs they could get after they have learned (and spent a lot of money)?

TY

JenIttels

I seem to remember 30mins could be around £150 which is ouchy (but getting a chance to have a go at hovering may be worth it!).

You need a PPL plus a commerical licence, i believe, to become a flight instructor or fly charters etc. I can't remember how much a commercial licence is but it goes up expodentially from the PPL cost!

When I was working at the school (in an admin job) we did discuss getting a discount on lessons if I continued to work there. It was complicated but if I ever managed to get enough funds to embark on a licence I'd certainly be contacting schools and offering my services to them (even though i suspect i wouldn't be able to get the discount unless i'd been there a reasonable amount of time).

It's not an easy industry to get into and has a lot of start up costs. I'm still hoping to end up flying myself one day but there are too many demands on my money at the moment.

Fixed wing (aeroplanes) licences are cheaper to get if anyone fancies it!

PS there aren't that many women with helicopter licences so there may be some grants to help encourage the female population!

kegs_2

Dazed, noticed you are in Bebington so I would recommend trying Helicentre at Liverpool Airport (if they are still going) they use to offer a 30 minute or 1 hour trial lesson in a Robinsonn 22, not sure if it is still the same been a number of years since I've been in contact with them, definitely worth a try.

Bossyboots

JenIttels wrote:

you spend a good amount of your 'lesson time' doing checks on the aircraft on the ground so you need to take that into account if you buy the lesson.

My OH didn't. They had a run through of controls and then away they went. The pilot then let my OH start to take control and he actually ended up spending all but a few minutes of the time flying the helicopter himself.

One word of warning to anyone whose OH wants to try this - I spent the whole time on the airfield cacking myself in fear in case he crashed the wretched thing!

V_Chic_Chick

Just a thought but if OH just wants to fly - not necessarily in a helicopter, then you could try gliding. As an example, Nympsfield Airfield in Gloucestershire (my dad goes there) does trial lessons. Details are here and costs are here .

Probably a bit cheaper than helicopters

rkh001

I have, in the past bought a helicopter lesson and an airplane lesson for my OH. He loved both. He flies model helis and airplanes so was very thrilled to try out both.

As someone has already said, don't go for the Red Letter Day type ones but contact your local airfield - it could save you upto £50!!

cuddlymarm

I bought my OH a helicopter lesson for his 40th birthday pressie. We booked it with a local flying school.:j

He didn't know that he was getting it but he absolutely loves to go on planes and his best mate had already had a lesson in a small plane so I thought this would be an unusual present.:think:

I was right. He absolutely loved every minute of it.:dance:

It might be quite an expensive present but was worth every penny for the enjoyment he got from it.:j