Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Cheapest route to a commercial helicopter add on rating

Asked by: 916 views , , ,
FAA Regulations, Helicopter, Private Pilot, Student Pilot

I want to obtain a PPL (fixed wing) and 100hrs   and from there obtain a commercial helicopter add on  to become a commercial helicopter pilot. This is so the requirements and cost come cheaper. Is this possible what does FAA regulation say about this. Is there a cheaper route i could go?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. LTCTerry on Aug 02, 2023

    I suspect you will have great difficulty in find a job after you finish, but…

    Why not do Private, Commercial, and maybe even CFI in a glider? That would give you initial Commercial, making RW an additional rating. Ditto for CFI. (Not that it changes a lot.)

    61.129 says you’ll need 150 hours total with 50 hours in helicopters, so I see where you are thinking 150-50 leaves “100” and that’s cheaper in an airplane.

    Well, it’s even cheaper in a glider. Glider Commercial also comes from 61.129…

    Go look at 61.129 and the “50 hours.” That’s not all you need. You need to have 35 hours of PIC time – which means solo or you’ve passed the Private Pilot checkride in a helicopter. I would not be surprised if “15” is nowhere near enough dual for you to solo and eventually be checkride ready. So, figure “15” + a lot more + 35 PIC/solo/etc into your calculation.

    Army helicopter pilots cannot find jobs and are converting to airplanes in droves. They have instrument ratings, multiengine, IFR, heavy helicopter experience and can’t find jobs. Where do you think you will get a job other than instructing at the school where you learned to fly? (Yes, I know some Robinson pilots do find jobs. Just like some 500-hour pilots are in jets.)

    If you want to fly helicopters, go fly airplanes and make a lot of money. Then fly helicopters for fun.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. LTCTerry on Aug 29, 2023

    I was on a recent charter trip to a place with a gyrocopter school. My captain wants to do gyro commercial and CFI. The DPE there told us initial commercial in a gyrocopter only requires 25 hours as compared to 50 for helicopter.

    Making gyrocopter the initial rotary wing commercial allows for helicopter as an additional rating, saving a good bit of money.

    I have no great interest in either, but thought I’d share the information.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.