Originally Posted by
CGameProgrammerr
Comparing 2020 rates and 2025 rates is nonsensical; apparently that guy never heard of inflation. For a *real* comparison, the Bell 505 course I did a few months ago was $17.5k! Of course that's for a much more expensive helicopter and included 3 hours of flight time plus a bit of time in a fancy sim, but it was really only a 2-day course plus a flight or two on each of the next few days, and did not include a factory tour since it wasn't at the factory (dedicated training facility).
$1800 is dirt cheap for a helicopter course. If you're a helicopter owner or even renter, you can obviously afford that cost (it's the equivalent of renting a R44 for 3 hours). If you're a professional helicopter pilot, your employer would pay the cost.
Going from $500 in 2005 to $750 in 2020 (15 years) is inflation. Going from $750 in 2020 to $1,500 in 2022 (2 years) is corporate greed,...not to mention another $300 in just another 3 years!
I was a renter for 16.5 years and $1800 was about have my yearly rental budget. Maybe you're rich enough that $1800 means nothing, but a lot of us Robby drivers aren't.
,...and I seriously doubt any pilot pays $17k out of pocket for that Bell school. Its an apples to oranges comparison to a course that was designed for pilots at the "burger flipper wages" end of the industry.
Plus, when the course is an insurance requirement just to get that burger flipper wage job, the employer is definitely not paying for it. You're as out of touch as the new guy who now runs Robinson.