The Importance Of Helicopter Pilot Training
It has jokingly been said that if a man or woman can run a back-hoe, they can fly a helicopter. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires 20 hours of dual instruction and 40 hours total. Part of the latter is solo time. However the average helicopter pilot being trained usually finishes at around 55 hours.
The first rotary winged aircraft was the Autogyro in 1907; the wing was not powered, but had an engine with a propeller. 1924 seems to be the year of the first powered rotary wing. WW II brought the helicopter to the important status it holds today with the World's Military.
The rotary winged aircraft, the helicopter, has come a long way from the simple Autogyro. As an example, the Presidential Helicopter; Marine One, is stationed at Anacostia Naval Station, D. C. Although for special (evasive) pilot training, Marine One is moved to Langley AFB, VA — just an 8 minute flight. At Langley, selected sensors, electronic counter-measures, and other top secret equipment is installed for the protection of the President and family. The helicopter crew, made up of US Marines, is highly trained on each special component being installed. This is one of the most important helicopters in the world.
Before solo, the helicopter pilot being trained is also examined by an FAA trained physician. There is an eye test and a simple physical. This physical is repeated every two or three year’s dependant upon the age of the pilot being trained and re-licensed by the FAA.
Further specialized helicopter pilot training will vary dependant upon what type of helicopter flying the new pilot will be involved with; law enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs, Border Patrol, Local and State Police, fire fighting, news gathering, military operations, traffic reporting, heavy-lift transport, crop spraying, offshore oil rig transport, search-and-rescue, air-ambulance, hospital emergency support, sightseeing, aerial photography, and business transportation. The career possibilities for an FAA trained helicopter pilot or a military trained helicopter pilot seems to never end.
Considering this, there is a new field of helicopter pilot training — they are now starting to use unmanned helicopters and the pilots sit at a computer workstation and fly the helicopter much like the pilots of the UAVs. These are being developed for the US Border Patrol in real time and it is speculative, but the military will probably look into the development of mini-helicopters for surveillance — particularly the US Army. The USAF presently has experimented with standard, but small size, helicopters by merely converting them to Radio Control. The USAF has removed the seats and any instrumentation no longer needed.
The safety of helicopters is no more of a concern than with fixed wing aircraft. The same FAA and DoD criteria hold true. The airspace regulations are a bit different as the helicopters do not need a runway; just a heli-pad – a bit larger than any expected size helicopter that lands there.
Like fixed wing aircraft, helicopter pilot training is big business. There are hundreds of helicopter pilot training schools world-wide and they are growing in number.
