What Will It Cost?

“What will it cost?” is a question we get often here at JTH.  The answer is that it depends. This question is often tough to answer, as it depends on many factors.  We put this document together to explain the process and the difficulty of answering that question.  We have had a lot of confusion about our school, as we don’t offer packages for a rating. We want you to spend as little as possible to get your ratings, and everyone’s situation is different.  We would be thrilled if everyone who came to our school got their ratings at the minimum times, but the majority of the time, that is not the case.

First thing first, you can find our current price sheet here.  You can use that, as well as this letter and the requirements in the FAR, to estimate what it will take to get your ratings. To get the FAR requirements, you can reference part 61 or Google “part 61 requirements for [rating you are pursuing].”

Here’s a basic breakdown of the hour minimums for each rating:

Helicopter:

  • Private: 40 Hours

  • Instrument: 50 Hours of cross country, 40 hours of instrument

  • Commercial: 150 Hours

  • CFI/CFII:  No minimum for the license, but 200 hours to legally instruct in an R22

Helicopter Add On:

  • Private: 30 Hours  in a helicopter

  • Instrument:  15 Hours in a helicopter

  • Commercial: 50 Hours in a helicopter

Here are the basic “issues” with this:

Private:

It is very rare to get your rotorcraft private rating in 40 hours.  Out of thousands, our examiner has only seen a handful of candidates get it under 45. While shooting for the minimum is good, it will probably take you more. If you are pursuing your commercial rating, this isn't an issue, as you’ll need 150 hours for that checkride. 

The issue with the add-on is that the hardest part of flying a helicopter is hovering and autorotations.  Neither directly relates to airplane flying. Again, 30 hours is possible, but often, people fly more.

Instrument:

Some of the cross-country time requirements will be handled during your private time.  Also, if you are looking to get your instrument rating and not be a CFI, then it may be a good option to use our simulator for 25 hours (the legal maximum).  Both of these things will drastically reduce your instrument rating costs. If you are getting your CFI/Commercial, you may as well fly as you’ll need 150/200 hours anyway.   

The last issue is the cross-country time itself.  Due to this requirement, much of your instrument rating will be flying point to point.  The hardest part of instrument flying is the last bit when approaching the airport. Some people need a few more hours to practice approaches after their cross-country requirements are finished.

Commercial

Almost everyone gets their commercial rating around 150 hours. 

The Ground:

The final part of the cost puzzle is the ground training.  Being a part 61 school, there are no ground training requirements.  We have had a huge range of students varying from almost no ground to a ton. This will all depend on your preference and motivation level. A motivated self-studer can avoid paying for a lot of ground training. We do request stage-check ground lessons in order to assess check-ride readiness.

Airplane Hour Requirements

  • Private: 40 Hours

  • Instrument: 50 Hours cross country 40 hours instrument

  • Commercial: 250 Hours

  • CFI/CFII: No Hour Requirements 

Prior Experience

We get a lot of questions from people with previous experience; “I went to Silver State Helicopters and was soloing for 30 hours before they closed… how much will it cost to get my private?”   This question is extremely hard to answer as it depends on many factors. Ideally, you will just need 10 more hours. In those 10 hours, you will get another solo endorsement and brush up on everything for your check ride.  But if you look deeper into the regulations, there are a lot of requirements 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; and

  • 10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with 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, which must have been performed within the preceding 2 calendar months from the month of the test; and

  • 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 of the flight being a straight-line distance of more than 25 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations; and

  • Three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower.

So, maybe you have 30 hours.. But you still need three hours of cross country, three nights, and four more solo.   That doesn’t leave any extra time to practice emergency procedures and other more technical aspects of your check ride.   Odds are you will need much more flight time to prepare.

Hopefully, you are starting to see how difficult it is to give a blanket answer to “How much will X cost?”.  Long story short, it depends greatly on the individual. If you want your flight training to be as inexpensive as possible, there are two things you can do.  First, look into the regulations (part 61) and find out everything you’ll need. Second, be motivated to self-study the ground knowledge so that you pay as little as possible for ground training.  

We would love to help you towards your goals of flying in any way - even if it’s just a phone conversation. Feel free to call or email with any other questions you may have.

alison@jerrytrimblehelicopters.com +1 (503) 577-6371