Rotary or fixed wing...

[ade.lemon]

So I intend on doing my PPL over in the states this year, however I have a massive desire to fly both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. I am finding it hard to decide what to do.

I will be starting with PPL but ultimately would like to gain a CPL qualification so I can take some jobs. Not airlines though, so would it be more finantially beneficial for me to go with rotor?

I'm unsure of the current climate and job prospects for the different types. I find myself reading forums for hours and coming away with more and more questions! Ha :)

[Pilot DAR]

Welcome Ade,

If you plan to do both qualifications, I suggest that you earn your fixed wing first. The simple reason is that there is a lot of carry over between the two (navigation, weather, airspace, radio work, traffic awareness, and some systems), and it's cheaper by the hour in the plane. Having the basics of being comfortable in the air makes it much more easy to focus on learning the differences in the helicopter. Once you have a fixed wing CPL, you'll find that the rotor wing training goes faster = costs less, and depending upon the nation, the exams are probably abbreviated for the CPLH.

I hold both fixed and rotor wing licenses, and this is what I did. Plus, I could use the plane to fly to the helicopter training!

[ade.lemon]

Thank you very much for your response.

If I was to only be able to do one, which would be more benefficial to me financially? I presume getting a CPL(H) would cost a similar (ish) amount but would it also provide more opportunity for work and at better remuneration?

[JDJ]

I would echo what Pilot DAR says about the training. I did an intensive 4-week course to get my PPL on the R22, after having done fixed-wing training.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Thank you very much for your response.

If I was to only be able to do one, which would be more benefficial to me financially? I presume getting a CPL(H) would cost a similar (ish) amount but would it also provide more opportunity for work and at better remuneration?

You are rather coming across as somebody incapable or unwilling to do any research for themself, as this answer can be answered in 10 minutes with the aid of Google and a calculator and notepad.

G