How much should i fly?
For detailed information find the license you want in the menu, but in general these are the basics:
Your private license, or PPL, is achieved with a minimum of 45 hours. You can fly and act as the Pilot in Command (PiC).
After you have flown about 100 hours as Pilot in Command, you can start your CPL/ATPL training. This is 30 hours.
To get your license you will also need a Night Rating, which you get in an additional 5 hours.
So with about 180 hours Total Time you can start working as a pilot. The first babysteps of your career can be at our company because we have an Air Operator Certificate which allows us to organise commercial flights.
Offshore companies often require an Instrument Rating, together with the typerating for the Bolkow to give you the ME-IR this adds up to another 50 hours. Part of these hours can be flown on an approved simulator.
Job applications often have a minimum requirement of 500 hours Total Time. To gain this experience there are several options to gather these hours.
Keep your license valid
Once you have your license, you want to keep flying. Luckily your license is valid indefinitely. The type ratings that are on your license can expire. Helicopter pilots have to fly 2 hours every year to keep their ratings valid. This seems very minimal, but at least 1 hour has to be a profcheck.
A profcheck is like a re-exam where you have to show your flying skills are still good enough.
If you don't pass the profcheck, you can take additional training until the examiner agrees that you can safely perform the duties of a Pilot in Command again.
Flying a bit more than the bare 2 hour minimum isn't only a lot of fun, it's also a good way to make sure you keep your skills on a good level.
Is the profcheck coming up and you are not sure whether you will be good enough or simply want some extra training, our instructors are at your disposal.