Originally Posted by
tartare
Have always liked the 500D and E from when I were a nipper.
Considerable costs of starting straight on a turbine machine aside - purely from a handling point of view - how easy would it be for a moderately experienced fixed wing pilot (light aircraft PPL only) to learn to fly rotary wing on the 500?
(Yep - I know the plank experience counts for nowt airmanship wise when you swap a yoke for a cyclic)
I understand it's considered the sports car of the light turbine world - not long legged and you're always looking for fuel - but highly manoeuvrable and extremely responsive.
Possible, or would it simply be too much of a handful - would a 206 be more benign?
Have fooled around in a Robbie once, but that's about it.
Costs aside it Shouldn't really make a difference at all to be honest, learn in whatever type you wish.
There are some training advantages of learning in something that doesn't have a throttle governor (e.g. H269), but still isn't really a big deal at all to learn manual throttle manipulation in any type you decide to learn in.
Good luck with your training.