been there, done that got the T shirt (and the nice stiff silver licence holder!)
My observations.
Helicopters:
1) Challenging/impossible until you relax and then the best toy in the box.
2) Expensive to run, expensive to buy. Not much that you can do to reduce maintenance (eg DIY servicing etc)
3) If you have enough space to operate from home a good choice. If you have to go to an airfield to start out and if you are going to another airfield go fixed wing.
4) If you are going to be doing hire and fly then you will need to be able to plan well ahead. The flying schools cannot generally free up a helicopter at the drop of a hat. They will need you to book 10 days+ before the hire date. Weather will change, work commitments will change, you may be too tired by the time the day comes round etc. You will not fly very often.
5) When I did it there was very little social side, very few fly ins. I suspect that most of the private owners use their helicopters in connection with their businesses and not for "social, domestic and pleasure" activity.
6) You can go directly to a nice hotel and have sunday lunch but ......... I never did.
7) Big investment to get a licence.
Fixed wing:
a) Challenging to fly (actually to land) in the beginning.
b) Starting prices for fixed wing aircraft start at a very few Łk and work up.
c) If you choose carefully you can operate from as little as 200 metres but this is bigger than most gardens so it is still off to an airfield...
d) There will be a greater choice of hire and fly sources but the pre booking timescales will be the same.
e) The social side. If you break away from the flying schools and their spamcans you will find a much more active social scene. Many of the homebuilt types have clubs which will organise flying events and outings. Some even do annual dinners etc. Probably the most active will be the microlight fraternity with an annual fly in (Spamfield - google it) and many BBQs in grass airfields all over the country. And they go abroad with a minimum of paperwork to permit it.
f) Much of the maintenance of a homebuilt aircraft can be done by the owner (with appropriate inspection and sign off) thus keeping running costs down.
g) Aircraft ownership gives the best availability, if you wake up and the day looks good then you go flying.
So, I started out determined to get a helicopter licence, a nice R22Beta rating, and got it. Then I buzzed about for a few years, just getting enough hours to keep current, often having to pay for a check flight before being allowed to hire and fly away. I could never quite stretch to owning a machine. The small amount of flying I did was just not spontaneous enough and there was little to do in terms of events.
Eventually I let it lapse.
A couple of years later I still felt the need to go flying but I needed something more spontaneous and with a purpose beyond "being up there". I bought a cheap 3 axis microlight and converted onto it. Best thing I ever did. There is 2 microlight clubs near to my home so that means 2 club nights a month (flying reports, event news, a few beers etc) and plenty fly ins to go to. I get to fly up to 70 hours a year for little more than a family car running costs. As a club we go to somewhere abroad (usually France) every year for a week of touring around and sight seeing.
A helicopter is still the best toy in the box, but there is only so much need to go backwards and sideways in the air. In the end the microlight/home built aircraft ( or gliding, or ballooning, or powered parachuting or para-motoring.....) scene has so much more to offer to someone who wants to fly for pleasure.
Good luck.
Rans6.....