Good friends of ours. Have a condo here and a ranch in Oregon. He's 73 and is a helicopter pilot instructor. Bought the motorhome here, taking a leisurely trip across the country. In Washington right now. I'm jealous.
Good friends of ours. Have a condo here and a ranch in Oregon. He's 73 and is a helicopter pilot instructor. Bought the motorhome here, taking a leisurely trip across the country. In Washington right now. I'm jealous.
I wonder what model chopper that is? There's a kit that looks very much like that and can be built for fairly GRM-relevant prices.
In reply to GameboyRMH:
That is a Robinson R-22
http://www.robinsonheli.com/rhc_r22_beta_ii.html
SPECIFICATION R22 BETA II Engine Type Lycoming O-360 air-cooled, carburetor-equipped engine Cylinders 4 Gross Weight 1370 lb Empty Weight Equipped (including oil & std avionics) 855 lb Standard Fuel (19.2 gal) 115 lb Auxiliary Fuel (10.5 gal) 63 lb Passengers and Baggage with Std Fuel 400 lb Maximum Airspeed (Vne) 118 mph (102kts) Cruise Speed @ 70% of Power 110 mph (96kts) Maximum Range (no reserve) over 200 miles Maximum Range (w/auxiliary fuel) over 300 miles Hover Ceiling IGE @ 1370 lb 9400 ft Rate of Climb @ Sea Level over 1,000 fpm Rate of Climb @ 10,000 ft over 600 fpm Maximum Operating Altitude 14,000 ft 7-Hole Instrument Panel standard Electrical System 14V
It's a Robinson R22. Piston engine, inexpensive compared to a Bell, but still not cheap. He owns a company that does aerial photography. Interesting that he has a PHD in Geology/ Earth Sciences, was department head at University of Wisconsin, then gave all that up to fly. Qualified to fly about everything, including multiengine jets. Very interesting guy.
Coool! I bet 118mph in that little thing feels like mach 2.
I want to fly helicopters SOOOO bad! I'd love to ditch everything and become a professional rotary wing pilot, but schooling is insanely expensive ($60-65k)...
He teaches at a general aviation airport here. Students get to pay for part of the expenses by shooting pictures for them. Still not cheap, but they generally get good jobs afterwards.
Conquest351 wrote: I want to fly helicopters SOOOO bad! I'd love to ditch everything and become a professional rotary wing pilot, but schooling is insanely expensive ($60-65k)...
Are you too old to join the Army?
Woody wrote:Conquest351 wrote: I want to fly helicopters SOOOO bad! I'd love to ditch everything and become a professional rotary wing pilot, but schooling is insanely expensive ($60-65k)...Are you too old to join the Army?
I'm 33. Dunno if that's too old or not. Actually just had a local flight school instructor here and I was asking him about it, oddly enough. He said the best way to do it, is to get a fixed wing license and get a rotary add-on. Adds up to about 1/10th the cost. May investigate that further...
Conquest351 wrote:Woody wrote:I'm 33. Dunno if that's too old or not. Actually just had a local flight school instructor here and I was asking him about it, oddly enough. He said the best way to do it, is to get a fixed wing license and get a rotary add-on. Adds up to about 1/10th the cost. May investigate that further...Conquest351 wrote: I want to fly helicopters SOOOO bad! I'd love to ditch everything and become a professional rotary wing pilot, but schooling is insanely expensive ($60-65k)...Are you too old to join the Army?
Army cut off is 42. This was my plan till halfway into my senior year. Enlist, bust ass to get E-5, go WOC. But I came to the realization that I wasn't going to be able to drop the weight to enlist.
Conquest351 wrote:Woody wrote:I'm 33. Dunno if that's too old or not. Actually just had a local flight school instructor here and I was asking him about it, oddly enough. He said the best way to do it, is to get a fixed wing license and get a rotary add-on. Adds up to about 1/10th the cost. May investigate that further...Conquest351 wrote:
That is a good plan. Learn navigation, radio work etc. in the fixed wing.
neon4891 wrote:Conquest351 wrote:Army cut off is 42. This was my plan till halfway into my senior year. Enlist, bust ass to get E-5, go WOC. But I came to the realization that I wasn't going to be able to drop the weight to enlist.Woody wrote:I'm 33. Dunno if that's too old or not. Actually just had a local flight school instructor here and I was asking him about it, oddly enough. He said the best way to do it, is to get a fixed wing license and get a rotary add-on. Adds up to about 1/10th the cost. May investigate that further...Conquest351 wrote: I want to fly helicopters SOOOO bad! I'd love to ditch everything and become a professional rotary wing pilot, but schooling is insanely expensive ($60-65k)...Are you too old to join the Army?
I always wanted to be a jarhead,or maybe a ranger...medical issues leave me unable to serve. Its not like I didnt try. 3 times I tried, even had a recruiter "give me some advice" that was supposed to help "make it harder for the doctors to notice" the details in my chart that were the flag raisers...to no avail. Id give my left...errr...finger? to have military training in things like flight and mechanics.
My friend has mentioned that a lot of helicopter pilots that were 'Nam trained are retiring, creating opportunities for young pilots.
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