I believe the purpose of helicopter training is to make you the best/safest pilot possible – not an exercise in finding the cheapest/fastest/lowest hours/easiest to fly route.
Yes, seek a good deal, but the most important part of training is the guy sitting next to you – your chosen instructor.
R22 can be an excellent training machine with a good instructor. Yes, there are easier-to-fly and more crashworthy designs. An example: a R44 will hide a lot of sloppy piloting, but in the R22 no mistake goes unnoticed.
Some notes:
- Be wary of deals with all inclusive pricing (they haven’t even seen you fly yet, let alone consider all the variables that can increase/decrease your hours to examination flight.
- Take into consideration what type of flying you will doing after getting PPL (can you SFH that type where you live)
- R22 weight limit is 240lb/seat, whereas R44 limit is 300/b/seat. You noted you were heavy (possibly also consider a R44 Raven I which can be found at pricing near S300 in some locations)
Last edited by RMK; 25th Jul 2012 at 09:38.