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Which pilot license to get: chopper or small plane?

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JMorton6

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Long story short: never flown before and want to start. I'd like to get a license so that I can rent out an aircraft from time to time and fly to places. Which is right for me: a chopper or a small plane? Aside from the way they look and the obvious fact that choppers can land in more places than planes, I know nothing about the differences between the two. Can someone sum it up for me? I'm (going to live) in SoCal.
 
I'd say it depends on how much your willing to pay. renting a chopper will probably cost more than renting a light plane. I think the license for the chopper is more expensive as well.
 
I think the fact that you can choose how fast you go in a chopper is really cool - i.e. you can just hover in the air and take in the scenery if you wish.

Can someone knowledgeable please compare "reasonably" (not dirt cheap but not crazy expensive) priced planes (to rent) to "reasonably" priced choppers? How fast do they go? How far can you go? How much are the rentals, fuel, etc? What are the pros and cons of each?
 
JMorton6 said:
I think the fact that you can choose how fast you go in a chopper is really cool - i.e. you can just hover in the air and take in the scenery if you wish.

Can someone knowledgeable please compare "reasonably" (not dirt cheap but not crazy expensive) priced planes (to rent) to "reasonably" priced choppers? How fast do they go? How far can you go? How much are the rentals, fuel, etc? What are the pros and cons of each?
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you ask way too many questions....do your own damn homework...start with google search...
 
helicopters scare the shit out of me. at least a plane with no motor can glide.

I would think that chopper would be substantially more expensive, both rental/purchase, and training, just due to being far less popular.
 
Colt45 said:
helicopters scare the shit out of me. at least a plane with no motor can glide.

I would think that chopper would be substantially more expensive, both rental/purchase, and training, just due to being far less popular.
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i would expect it to take a while longer to learn as well, as opposed to flying a small plane
 
The more questions you ask... the more you're going to have. (Ex: Say you decide on plane - which license? Sport? Private? Higher?)

I'd say step 1, which is what I'm planning to do, is go take an introductory flight in both. Then decide which YOU like better. Finding local training facilities (and reviews from past students) should be easy with the help of Google.
 
Colt45 said:
helicopters scare the shit out of me. at least a plane with no motor can glide.
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A helicopter without an engine out may not be able to glide, but it can autorotate and possibly land safely. And the best part is that ALL helicopters are able to do this. Unfortunately, there are also a lot more moving parts that can break on a heli.

As far as the OP's original post goes, unless you have a lot of money to get your license and a lot of money to continue flying, fixed wing is probably better. Heli's burn a lot more fuel than fixed wings do, so its not just rental costs that will be higher. Your workload can also be much higher in a heli because you have a lot more things to keep track of.
 
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The cost to fly a helicopter is significantly more expensive. You don't see many people that own and fly their own helicopters as a hobby because of the prohibitive expense whereas there are tons of people that can afford to own a small plane. Most people that get helicopter licenses do it as a career. From what I understand most of the private helicopter pilots are former military.
 
Negatives to going the chopper route

1) More expensive than a plane to buy
2) More expensive than a plane to maintain
3) More expensive than a plane to fly (fuel)
4) Not practical for cross country flights or vacations.
5) Much less time to enjoy being in the air as you are always trying to keep the chopper from crashing. Most planes, when given some throttle, want to be in the air.
 
Its going to be significantly more expensive to train in a chopper, as well as more difficult.

Most people i know started in Airplanes, then later moved to helicopters if they felt like they still wanted to
 
JMorton6 said:
I think the fact that you can choose how fast you go in a chopper is really cool - i.e. you can just hover in the air and take in the scenery if you wish.

Can someone knowledgeable please compare "reasonably" (not dirt cheap but not crazy expensive) priced planes (to rent) to "reasonably" priced choppers? How fast do they go? How far can you go? How much are the rentals, fuel, etc? What are the pros and cons of each?
Click to expand...

As for planes.. Your most likely are
Cessna (150, 152, 172)
Piper (Cant think of the models)
Possibly Diamond (DA20 DA40)


More info on where exactly you are and we can find some good flight schools with prices for you if you dont want to google it
 
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