Good question. Looking at the monthly AAIB reports it is clear to see that there are more FW incidents than RW. This is perhaps due to the fact that there are possibly more FW GA hours flown than RW GA hours, so statistically an incident is more likely.
Whether people are killed / seriously injured more often in RW accidents than in FW accidents - well I am not sure.
My flying has almost been exclusively FW, I have done a couple of hours RW and I thought it was amazing. However, I can't justify the cost and continue to get great enjoyment from my FW flying at a fraction of the cost.
In terms of learning to fly FW / RW, I can't offer much insight. Although there are no doubt a few 'gotchas' for example the stall warner goes off in a FW natural instinct is to push the nose down. Low Rotor RPM buzzer goes off in a Helicopter, the unwitting (experienced FW pilot) may be inclined to push the cyclic forward (unloading the disc and reducing RPM further) which would be a bad day for all concerned.
Last edited by b.a. Baracus; 27th May 2013 at 08:38.