Originally Posted by
controlz
I am fully aware it costs a lot of money, but if working hard allows us to pursure hobbies like this then why not!
Oh, agreed, agreed! It's no different than owning a yacht of some sort, except that anyone can take the helm of a private (not for hire) yacht in the USA. Indeed, it doesn't take much of a yacht to have it become a far more expensive proposition than a light helicopter! The funny thing is, if you tell someone you have a 40 or 50 foot yacht they'll generally react with a "Very nice!". If you tell them you own a measly R44 helicopter, you get "Holy crap! That's unbelievable!" At any rate, owning a private helicopter, or a yacht, is not a sane choice, i.e. not a fiscally prudent one! But, as you point out, it doesn't need to be.
Coincidentally I was wondering if any recreational/hobby pilots have managed to do some commercial flying for fun, as opposed to always paying for SFH? I have no idea how this would work in reality and I certainly wouldn't be doing it for the money or as a day job per se, but it does seem quite fun to be able to fly "for free" sometimes.
And, with Bell ringer weighing in on this also, clearly this is doable, assuming you get the rating of course, as Ovc000 points out.
I initially planned to only be a "recreational" pilot. But while I was very satisfied with my PPL for fixed wing, when I finished up my PPL-H I felt like it was merely a license to go out and get killed in a helicopter. Hence I immediately pursued my CPL-H, and not only was this very worth it from a safety and skill standpoint, it also turned out to provide many more opportunities to fly in additional to the occasional $500 pancake or hamburger. Interestingly, IIRC there are approx. 15K helicopter pilots in the USA and approx. 13K of them hold a commercial or higher license.
Flying is a passion with most pilots, but not all. Some are passionate enough to fly for the sake of flying, not because it's a job. But as we all know you have to work hard and have not a little luck to make that happen in even the lowliest helicopter.
Originally Posted by
Pugilistic Animus
My hobby was making fireworks
That's quite interesting. Still have all the fingers? 
When I finally got back around to aviation it was because I was hanging up my leathers after many years of amateur motorcycle racing.