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How far are you along training? I'm trying to decide between helicopter or fixed wing. Or did you start from fixed wing and go to rotorcraft?



I have 15 hours, and my training is paused because I don't have a medical yet. (The FAA wanted me to be evaluated in the cockpit before issuing a medical; long story.)

I did not start with fixed wing, though I have flown fixed wing a couple of times, not logged. I wanted to do fixed wing when I was younger, but helicopter seems a better bet now.

The reason is because the fixed wing industry is mostly airlines. And when I say "mostly", I mean 90% or more. That means that the fixed wing industry is subject to the volatility of demand for airline travel. Even before COVID, I knew it was volatile; 9/11 made that clear as well. With COVID being endemic and people not relaxing restrictions, I doubt the fixed wing industry will really recover to what it was. It might, though; my neighbor trains pilots for an airline, and his schedule is full right now because they can barely keep ahead of the demand for new pilots. And there are still other jobs, so the fixed wing demand might remain pretty high.

But rotorcraft was really only affected in one area: tours. The rotorcraft industry is much less volatile, and the demand is just as high. That's why I chose it. Also, it's easier to learn to fly helicopters and then to switch to fixed wing later if necessary.

The downside is that getting your Commercial certificate for rotorcraft is far more expensive, just because even the lightest helicopters cost far more to run per hour.

I can't say which is right for you, but that should at least give you more info.


Thanks! That's more to think over, and absolutely makes sense.

Good luck with your progress, and hope the medical knot untangles itself.




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