Hi D & C, As your at the "which way should I go" stage, and the expence is an obvious concern, I think you`ll find the fixed wing world is the cheapest way to see if you like it. Book yourself a couple of introductory flights with both a fixed wing and rotory flight school to see which bug bites the hardest!!! After that start doing your research. Its a whole ton of cash to make any form of flying a career without joining the armed forces, so think long and hard...Just one thing, don`t rule out training overseas as it tends to be a lot cheaper (and I don`t necessarily mean the USA). Best of luck...Max