On average, how long does it take to become a helicopter pilot?

Duration

To give you an idea, 3-4 months would be about right for a private if working at an average pace. 1.5-2 years would be a good estimate to complete all of the training needed for a career pilot. You can finish more quickly if training full time.

The actual duration depends on how frequently you fly, and what your ultimate goals are. I've seen some people complete all of their ratings (private, instrument, commercial, CFI, CFII) in as little as 8 months. I have also seen others take several years just to get their private.

How often you fly will depend on three things: your schedule, the flight school's schedule, and the availability of funds. Any one of those may cause you to get stuck, and to take longer. Do some research, and plan ahead carefully to minimize delays created by any of these. Please try to make sure you can consistently take at least 2 lessons per week or it will take you forever.

Airplanes

Some people make the argument that you should fly airplanes first to save money. I strongly disagree with the suggestion to fly airplanes first. This recommendation assumes a best case scenario where you will be perfectly efficient and gain the necessary proficiency in the bare minimum time. It also neglects the fact that a commercial certificate in helicopters only requires 150 hours, not the 250 needed in airplanes. Plus, a lot of the cross country and night experience requirements must be done "in helicopters" even for an add-on, as required by Part 61. And finally, for career pilots, your experience in helicopters may be too low for employers if half of your time is in airplanes. My first instructing job required 200 hours in helicopters for the insurance. My next instructing job required 250 hours, not only in helicopters, but in the specific make and model.

It is more likely that the average student learning at the average pace will actually incur greater total costs by doing airplanes first. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so I recommend against using airplanes solely as a stepping stone if you really just want to fly helicopters.

Good luck!

it depends on the person and how well you learn.. and How much you want to spend. if money is no problem go fly two to three times a year or go to a college that teaches flight training. I know a helicopter pilot that teaches a wallace state college in North Alabama. I work with helicopters everyday and working towards becoming a pilot i have a fixed wing now .. Its cheaper to get a airplane private and add on a private helicopter. because then you have all your insturment time and night time and cross country time out of the way and all you have to do is learn to fly the helicopter..

tops, a year. and it depends on what kind of licence you want to get. the biggest ting is how much you "want" it. if your not comitted and onley go flying once a week to build hours it will take alot longer. but go for it! it is worth it! trust me, i love flying and every thing about it