Helicopter Pilot Career: Am I starting too late in life?

Sep 12, 2018

Hey, it's Kenny with Helicopter Online Ground School, and I want to answer a question I've been getting a lot lately. It's from people in their mid 40's. I had this email request today. This gentleman is 45 years old. He wanted to change to another career. He's like, "Kenny, is it worth it? Am I making a good move?"

Helicopter Pilot Career: Am I starting too late in life?

 I want to cover the whole age thing across the board as quickly as I can. I've had people solo on their 16th birthday. One of our Online Ground School members got his private pilot rating in a Bell Jet Ranger at 70 years old. I don't think you're ever too old to learn the aircraft. You can learn to fly the helicopter. You can learn the ground school. You can learn what you have to know to pass the test to become a helicopter pilot.

 The biggest thing if you're thinking about changing career later in life, some people are going to tell you you're too old. I don't think so. I'm a dreamer, always been a dreamer. I would caution, the problem's going to be the money. The money is the problem for most people when they go to pursue a helicopter career. The training is expensive. There's no way around it. You can try to go to cheaper places and save here and save there, and you can save a little bit, but in general, it's expensive to become a helicopter pilot. Then once you start working in the industry, you're not going to make a lot of money.

Helicopter Pilot Career: Am I starting too late in life?

So the biggest caution would be, can you financially do it? I would never tell somebody to hurt themselves financially because I've done it. I've been there, and I know what it feels like, and it's rough. But, with that being said, if you think that you can do it financially as a second career, maybe you've got some money in the bank, whatever the case is, if you can handle it financially I say go for it. Flying helicopters is an absolutey rewarding experience. They're the coolest machines on the planet. So if you have a desire to become a helicopter pilot, I wouldn't not do it because of my age. You can at least do it for fun. You could possibly do it for a career. It all boils back to the money.

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Helicopter Pilot Career: Am I starting too late in life?

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