"How much will it cost?" — it depends.
It's a question we get often here at JTH, and one that's tough to answer because it depends on so many factors. We put this page together to explain the process — and the difficulty — of answering it. We don't offer flat-rate packages because we want you to spend as little as possible to get your ratings, and everyone's situation is different.
We'd be thrilled if every student got their ratings at the FAR minimum times. Out of the thousands we've trained, that's not how it usually goes. The honest answer is that your total depends on you — your background, your motivation, how much ground study you do on your own, and which rating you're pursuing.
First things first: you can find our current price sheet on the Our Rates page. Use that, plus this letter and the requirements in the FAR, to estimate what it'll take to get your ratings. For the FAR requirements, reference Part 61 or Google "Part 61 requirements for [the rating you're pursuing]".
Helicopter Hour Minimums
A basic breakdown of the FAA hour minimums for each helicopter rating.
Private
- Total flight time 40 hrs
Instrument
- Cross-country 50 hrs
- Instrument time 40 hrs
Commercial
- Total flight time 150 hrs
CFI / CFII
- License minimum None
- To legally instruct in an R-22 200 hrs
Helicopter Add-On Minimums
If you already hold a fixed-wing rating, here are the minimums to add a helicopter rating.
Private Add-On
- Helicopter time 30 hrs
Instrument Add-On
- Helicopter time 15 hrs
Commercial Add-On
- Helicopter time 50 hrs
The Basic "Issues" with Hitting the Minimums
Shooting for the FAA minimum is a fine goal, but here's what we actually see at the school.
Private
It's very rare to get your rotorcraft private rating in 40 hours. Out of thousands of candidates, our examiner has only seen a handful finish under 45. Shooting for the minimum is good, but plan on it taking more. If you're pursuing your commercial, it isn't an issue — you'll need 150 hours for that checkride anyway.
The issue with the add-on is that the hardest parts of flying a helicopter — hovering and autorotations — don't directly relate to airplane flying. 30 hours is possible, but most people fly more.
Instrument
Some of the cross-country time requirement gets handled during your private. If your goal is the instrument rating and you don't plan to become a CFI, our simulator is a great option — you can use up to 25 hours of sim time (the legal maximum), which drastically reduces your instrument costs. If you're pursuing CFI or commercial, you may as well fly, since you'll need 150 / 200 hours regardless.
The other issue is the cross-country requirement itself. Because of it, much of your instrument training is point-to-point flying. The hardest part of instrument flying is the last bit — the approach. Some students need a few more hours to practice approaches after the cross-country requirement is met.
Commercial
Almost everyone gets their commercial rating right around 150 hours.
The Ground
The final piece of the cost puzzle is ground training. Because we're a Part 61 school, there are no required ground training hours. We've had students span the entire range — from almost no ground at all to a substantial amount. It depends on your preference and your motivation level. A motivated self-starter can avoid paying for a lot of ground training. We do require stage-check ground lessons to assess checkride readiness.
Airplane Hour Requirements
For students pursuing fixed-wing ratings, here are the FAA minimums.
Private
- Total flight time 40 hrs
Instrument
- Cross-country 50 hrs
- Instrument time 40 hrs
Commercial
- Total flight time 250 hrs
CFI / CFII
- Hour requirements None
Prior Experience
We get a lot of questions from students who already have flight time. For example: "I went to Silver State Helicopters and was soloing at 30 hours before they closed — how much will it cost to get my private?" This is extremely hard to answer. Ideally, you'd just need ~10 more hours to get a solo endorsement and polish things up for the checkride.
But if you look at the regulations closely, there are specific items still required for your private rating. Here's how the regs read:
- 3 hours of cross-country flight training in a helicopter.
-
3 hours of night flight training in a helicopter that includes:
- One cross-country flight of over 50 nautical miles total distance.
- 10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport.
- 3 hours of flight training with an authorized instructor in a helicopter in preparation for the practical test, performed within the preceding 2 calendar months from the month of the test.
-
10 hours of solo flight time in a helicopter, consisting of at least:
- 3 hours cross-country time.
- One solo cross-country flight of 100 nautical miles total distance, with landings at three points, and one segment being a straight-line distance of more than 25 nautical miles between takeoff and landing locations.
- Three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop (each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower.
So a student with 30 hours might still owe three hours of cross-country, three night, and four more solo — and that leaves no time to practice emergency procedures or the more technical parts of the checkride. The odds are you'll need quite a bit more flight time to prepare.
How to Keep Your Training as Inexpensive as Possible
Hopefully you can see why it's so difficult to give a blanket answer to "how much will X cost?" Long story short — it depends greatly on the individual. There are two things you can do to keep flight training as inexpensive as possible:
- Read the regulations (Part 61) and know exactly what you'll need for your rating.
- Be motivated to self-study the ground knowledge so you pay as little as possible for ground training.
We'd love to help you toward your flying goals — even if it's just a phone conversation. Feel free to call or email with any other questions you may have.
Questions about pricing?
Every student's path looks different. Whether you're budgeting for a single rating or a full career path, tell us about your background and goals — we'll put together a realistic written estimate for your course of choice.
Jerry Trimble Helicopters — alison@jerrytrimblehelicopters.com · (503) 577-6371