I have read this forum off and on for years now and after seeing this debate I just had to get a login name and give my two cents worth.
A little quick history on me. I have been flying commercially now for 3 years. I am just under 2000 hours. my first 1000 was instructing in the R22 and then I got about 50 hours in the jetranger and now the rest in the AS-350
Reading all of your posts really made me think back to my first 1000 hours. Mostly instructing or doing the odd photo flight or charter. I then had to decide if I felt that time was necessary in establishing my skills as a pilot or if I could have just gone strait into a larger aircraft and a more complex work environment at 200 or 300 hours
We all know that if we sit down for long enough and study the POH for just about any helicopter, we will eventually memorize the numbers and learn the procedures. If we have the basic flying skills most of us have after the first 100 hours, there is no reason, aside from getting it started maybe, that we can't pick it up and fly it.
Like many of you have already said, aside from having a few more buttons or switches, the bigger helicopter are easier to fly. Expecially when compared to the R22, which is likely one of the hardest to fly and most underpowered helicopters out there.
That said, I believe there are a lot of 200 or 300 hour pilots out there that are perfectly capable of flying the bigger machines. There also seems to be operators out there hiring people at that level to fly them.
What I don't agree with is the experience these pilots have (or don't have) when they are put into a position flying more technical jobs with more complex machines. There are a lot more factors involved than just memorizing the POH.
I hardly knew a thing at 300 hours and bairly do now. No matter how much reading I had done, I couldn't identify vibrations when something was going wrong.... Never felt a power loss because of fouled spark plugs or bad gas.... the adreniline rush the first time you heard your blade tape coming off..... Then there's the meteorological factors such as extreme turbulence, mountain flying, low visibility..... Don't forget about the Customer lying about their weight, screaming in your ear or worse yet, puking in your lap. The list goes on and on...
These are all things that only come with time and most of them need to be experienced before you are flying a 2 million dollar machine with 5 other passengers lives to worry about.
There is a reason most insurance companies as well as operators require 1000 hours to get a job. Yea, a lot of us might be ready at 500 hours or maybe even less but I feel it takes most people closer to 1000 before they start to develop the skills and decision making necessary to become a safe and professional helicopter pilot. The learning never ends either.
For you newbies out there: Hang in there. It takes a lot of time and money but if you have the desire and a little skill, you will succeed. Aside from a few sour apples, this industry really is a lot of fun. We actually get paid to fly around the world and look at an everchanging view of georgeous scenery. Get an office job if you want a lot of money but don't complain when your only view is a cubicle wall.
Well, enough rambling on for me. At least for now. I hope my perspective helps.
Ratherboutside