rotorfan "Instincts in airplane flying have no place in helis." I agree with most of what you wrote, but not that. Learning to fly in a fixed-wing first gives "bird sense" at a much cheaper cost than in helis. Many folk have done this, including me without confusing the different control inputs in emergency situations like engine failures.
If someone can't remember which kind of flying machine he's in and first shoves the nose down in a helicopter instead of lowering the lever when the engine quits, then perhaps he shouldn't even be in control of a shopping trolley.
Likewise, I never heard of anyone trying to hover a light airplane when coming in for a landing. Possibly the absence of whirling rotors plus the sound of reducing wind noise as a fixed-wing machine slows down would remind someone that the stall is approaching.
For most phases of flight the stick and rudder pedals in an airplane and in a helicopter are designed to be operated in the same sense, so I'm not quite sure where you're coming from. Throttle and collective are so different as to be near-impossible to confuse.
Camp Freddie stated that 50 to 60 hours are needed in reality to gain a licence and he's spot-on correct. I'm not suggesting that some flying in a fixed-wing would necessarily save time or money; only that it's useful for gaining bird-sense and it doesn't impart additional risk for careful people.