How much does it cost to learn to fly a helicopter?

What steps do I need to take in order to become a helicopter pilot?

• This is of great interest to me and want to learn to fly a helicopter as a means of pleasure. How do I do this? What are the required licenses? How much does it cost? I'm based in ...show more

• Answer:

  I went through military flight training to get my UH-60 qualification. I received my commercial instrument rating once I completed flight school. If you don't go to a military flight school, you will pay a large amount of money to become qualified. Helicopters cost more per hour to operate than an airplane. It is a great feeling flying in a helicopter, but unless you have tons of money to throw down, the military will train you for free, plus you get to fly some great aircraft. The bad part is that you owe them some time once you become fully qualified. But looking at your question you are mainly interested in just flying for pleasure. As far as ratings, I am not sure what the UK would require. I fly in the US. I am sure you can get just a basic private helo pilots license or an instrument rating of some type.