Kenny Keller breaks down FAA requirements for a commercial helicopter pilot certificate: 150 total flight hours minimum, including 50 in helicopters, plus 100 pilot-in-command hours. For an add-on rating if you already have a commercial certificate, you need just 35 hours PIC in helicopters and 20 hours of dual training.
Hello, I'm Kenny Keller, creator of Helicopter Online Ground School and I want to cover the question we get a lot about how many hours does it take to become a commercial helicopter pilot? And we're going to cover for initial pilot and we're also going to cover for add on pilot. So the FAR AIM tells us a person who applies for a commercial pilot certificate with a rotorcraft category and helicopter class rating must log at least 150 hours of flight time as a pilot. That consists of at least 100 hours in powered aircraft of which 50 hours must be in helicopters, 100 hours of pilot in command flight time which includes at least 35 hours in helicopters and 10 hours in cross country flight in helicopters. It then tells us 20 hours of training on the areas of operation listed in 61127-B3 of this part. That includes at least five hours on the control and maneuvering of a helicopter solely by reference to instruments using a view limiting device, 12 hour cross country flight and helicopter in daytime conditions that consists of a total straight line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure, 12 hour cross country flight and a helicopter in nighttime conditions that consists of a total straight line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure, three hours in the helicopter with an authorized instructor within two calendar months of the test, 10 hours of solo flight time in a helicopter during that 10 hours of solo time, one cross country flight with landings at a minimum of three points, with one segment consisting of a straight line distance of at least 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure and 5 hours in night VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and landings with each landing involving a flight and traffic pattern. So whether you're doing an initial commercial or an add on commercial from a fixed wing commercial, you still have to do the same requirements. If you're doing an initial and you're just going to do all your training in a helicopter, then it's not really that hard to figure out. You just go through what we just read and you have to have the required duel, the required solo and the total time and the total PIC time. Now when it comes to commercial add on, this is where people really want to know, okay, well what do I really have to have? Minimum to do the commercial add on, you're going to have to have the 35 hours pilot in command. In helicopters you're going to have to have the 20 hours duel. So you're going to have at least 55 hours of flight time to do your add on because there's a clause in there on the 10 hours of solo time when you're doing the commercial. During that 10 hours of what they call solo, you can actually have an authorized instructor on board. Meaning you can't take up your friends and your family when you're doing this 10 hours of solo, but you can have an authorized instructor on board. So that may be just clear as mud for you, but if it is feeling like that, don't worry about it. Because every time I go to do an add on rating with somebody, we sit down, I kind of have it, you know, in my head, but I still have to sit down, open up the far AIM manual and go through it step by step with the person so we can go through, talk about it and make sure we know what exactly it is that we have to do and we have to cover. So I wanted to make this just kind of an in general video to give you an idea. If you're off the street, it's going to take 150 total hours. Some could be in airplanes, some can be in helicopters. So you have to really go through the reg to figure out what can be what. Same thing with the add on 150 total time. And the other key is the 35 hours pilot in command and the 50 hours in helicopters. So I hope that helps just a little bit. Please give us a like and a share. If you'd like to learn about our helicopter online ground school, there's a link in the description box down below this video. You can go to that link or you can Simply go to helicopterground.com in your browser. We offer online ground school memberships for private commercial certified flight instructor. We have specific sections on the Robinson R22, the Robinson RD4 and Enstrom helicopters. And we also provide flight training in the Robinson R44 and also the Enstrom F28F which you can also find more about on our website@helopterground.com so please give us a like and a share and we'll see in the next video.
