Raven 11 you are having a laugh, preferring to be in an R22 than in a 300 if the engine quits?????? There is absolutly no comparision, the 300 is far far superior to an R22 in auto and touch down. I will show you an engine off landing in nil wind with a 300 ask how many instructors will do that in a 22
Hi Hughes500. how many hours do you have in 22 and 300. I bet you got much more in 300. Which Heli you prefer for fulldowns dependes to a hight degree on your experience on the type. Sure the 22 has less inertia but that doesn´t make it an unsafe helicopter. It requires a different technique - sure. Personally I choose the R22 also. Even after I have done fulldowns in both! Because the glide is qiute a factor in an single engine
. How many emergency spots do you find in mountains like the cascades or over a city?
So back to the initial post. I think it is much better to start on R22 and then transition to the H300. You want to be a skilled pilot? Then you have to look for the best training and not for the fastest! You will last much longer if you take the challange that the R22 offers rather then setting a record for the "lowest flight time required" during initial training.
For you matteolo, I can tell you from excessiv instructor experience that the pilots who trained on the R22 had no issues converting into other (heavier) helicopters. The R22 is a light aircraft and requires permanent control inputs but that trains you for your life as a professional pilot. You have no reason to be scared of the R22. It has a main- and tail rotor and the laws of Newton and Co apply as well. I will take a few houres untill your hover is as stable as it is in the 300 right now but that is it. Your reflexes to the "Low rpm warning system" in the 22 will need to develop also. But the only way to lern to fly is to fly.