We store ours in a t-hangar, or a big box hangar depending on how the other aircraft are shuffled at that time. In many ways, I think helicopters can be easier to store than airplanes (especially large airplanes). All the airports in my area allow pilot discretion for takeoff and landing, meaning you could depart from the ramp in front of your hangar if you felt that was safe and favorable or you could reposition to another area on the airport for takeoff or landing.
Helicopter vs airplane
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We store ours in a t-hangar, or a big box hangar depending on how the other aircraft are shuffled at that time. In many ways, I think helicopters can be easier to store than airplanes (especially large airplanes). All the airports in my area allow pilot discretion for takeoff and landing, meaning you could depart from the ramp in front of your hangar if you felt that was safe and favorable or you could reposition to another area on the airport for takeoff or landing.
Paul V
Pre-takeoff checklist
In the 3 different fields I operate in and out of the helicopters are all lined up in a big box hangar. In 2 of these, each helicopter has its own designated “spot” which makes getting into and out of the hangar brilliant. In the 3rd, the hangar is bigger and can fit 2 helicopters deep so it’s usually a mystery if I’ll be in the front or the back and getting in or out can involve moving other helicopters around.
most of the controlled fields will give us take off or landing from wherever we are on the field “at your own risk” which really cuts down on time. Usually we take off and land right in front of the hangar or elsewhere on the ramp.
other fields will have helicopters land on the dolly (monster) and tow them into the hangar for you. VIP service.
k9medic
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ATP-H, CMEL, CSEL, CFI/CFII Airplanes and Helicopters
I have thousands of hours in helicopters and about 1000 hours in airplanes. CFI/CFII in both.
If you want to go somewhere fast, go in an airplane. If you want to go somewhere fun, go in a helicopter.
If you want to go somewhere fast, go in an airplane. If you want to go somewhere fun, go in a helicopter.
I mostly agree, and would absolutely agree if we only compare the typical airplanes people own against helicopters. You can still go to fun places in airplanes, but it is probably going to require floats, skis, or big tires.
I’m glad I can fly both but if I could only access or own one aircraft it would probably be my Super Cub; It does almost everything I personally like to do. I would miss helicopters though, if I had to give it up.
Vertical Reference Forum used to be good, it's pretty dead now: https://helicopterforum.verticalreference.com/index.php?
Helicopters are a lot more fun to fly than most airplanes in my opinion. The problem is they're real expensive in terms of maintenance and insurance. As was mentioned earlier, an R22 could be affordable but you're basically getting Cessna 150 levels of performance and payload for Bonanza levels of cost (with the added perk of *usually* being able to takeoff and land vertically). One of the things I learned when earning my rotor add-on was that hovering outside of ground effect in helicopters is not possible in a surprisingly wide range of situations (especially underpowered ones operating near max takeoff weight).
I am glad I earned the commercial add-on. However, I have not flown a helicopter since the checkride. Rental helicopters, or lack thereof, are largely driven by lack of insurance. My flight school said I can rent the helicopter after my rating, but to carry passengers I also had to carry a CFI.....kinda rules out the R22 (two seats). It was also $300/hr for an R22 and $500/hr for an R44 last I checked, and according to my CFI the flight school wasn't making much money off that (charging for instruction was the profit center).
With that said, I feel like the academic side of the rating greatly expanded my understanding of aerodynamics. Studying the rotor system of the Robinson and getting to sit around with an instructor to really flesh out how it all works to the point where I was knowledgeable enough to pass a commercial checkride was a lot fun.
If it was affordable for me, I'd have my own helicopter. The only one I could really afford is the R22 and since I weigh over 200 lbs, it's basically a solo only machine. The R44 is incredibly fun to fly, It's like strapping on a superman cape once you're proficient with it. Flying them is a bit tedious. Even the engine starts are stressful given the chance of overspeeding if you mismanage a motor that is stubborn to start. Then the governor off approaches, hydraulics off approaches, slope landings, autorotations etc would require a lot of practice to stay proficient with. In my airplane I just practice engine out work once in awhile and call it good, there just isn't much that can go wrong in a small single engine airplane compared to even an R44. R44 was more like an airliner in terms of stuff that could go wrong.
In the end the rating ended up being a $50k black hole, but it was a bucket list item for me. However, the experience makes me think twice about things like a glider rating that I've always wanted to do but deep down know there isn't a practical application for. There's a reason that powered airplanes are the dominant form of air transportation.
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Pinecone
En-Route
Agreed.
IF they took over in forward flight. You could then pretty much fly it like an airplane and run it on.
Flying into hover or taking over in a hover would be ugly.
Silvaire
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Silvaire
My intertest in helicopters has always been the challenge to get that whole walk and chew gum at the same time thing conquered where every action you take to fix one thing messes up the other two. Outside of that they just have more moving parts than I can afford to keep moving.
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Piperonca
Helicopters can be great fun. Or stark terror. You can always tell a helicopter pilot in anything moving, a train, an airplane, a car or a boat. They never smile, they are always listening to the machine and they always hear something they think is not right. Helicopter pilots fly in a mode of intensity, actually more like "spring loaded," while waiting for pieces of their contraption to fall off.
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