Commercial Pilot

Designed for the individual who holds a private pilot license, the commercial pilot rating is required to work as a helicopter pilot.

The minimum hourly requirement is 150 hours of total flight time, of which 50 hours must be in a helicopter. This means that you can combine fixed-wing time with your helicopter flight time to become a commercial helicopter pilot.

A minimum of 100 hours must be pilot-in-command time of which 35 hours must be in a helicopter. The 10-hour instrument requirement can be obtained in a fixed-wing or a helicopter.

Cost

• Helicopter rental : $275/per hour dual. (10 hr. block rate $2600)
• Ground instruction $45 per hour.
• Examiners Fee: $500
• Written Test Fee: $90

Things you can do as a commercial helicopter pilot:

Flight Instruction
Powerline/Pipeline Patrol
Wildlife Survey
Photography
Sightseeing Flights
Ranching - Stock Counts
Frost Prevention
Firefighting
Search and rescue
Off Shore
Logging
Law Enforcement
ENG - Electronic News Gathering
EMS - Emergency Medical Services