Hello all. I own a powered parachute, and while it’s fun, I have had the bug for a a helicopter since ai was a kid. Now that I am a middle-aged guy with a mostly successful career and a decent amount of money to allocate to this pursuit, I am looking into what it will take to make it happen.

There are several already built 162Fs for sale, but what about becoming a rotary wing pilot? Someone told me that Rotorway (since been sold, I understand) had their own flight school where you could bring your helicopter and they would train you in stages and at the end, you would test for private rotor pilot (?) license.

Anybody have some insight into what I would need to do to get the training in the most safe but cost-effective way? Thanks.

Find a helicopter flying school.  Chances are you'll learn in a Robinson.

You might be able to find a Schweizer 300.  A little more expensive, but maybe safer.

Once upon a time there was a 162F with a gas turbine (a converted Czech fighter APU turbine).  There's also the Robinson R-44 and -66.

TLDR: probably not a good idea. Finding instruction will be very difficult, finding maintenance may be difficult, unless you are a small guy performance is very limited, and there are no shortcuts--you need a private pilot helicopter certificate.

Longer answer...

R44 owner/operator and commercial pilot, here

There are no shortcuts to becoming a rotary wing pilot. Not even if you are only looking to own a 162F. It is not an ultra-light, and there is no "light sport" rotary wing certificate. It's all or nothing, full-on private pilot helicopter or bust.

So you are looking at the standard FAA regulations, Part 61. 40 hours minimum total time, 30 hours minimum dual, etc., etc.

If you bought a Rotorway with the intention of getting instruction in it the odd's of finding an instructor and, later, a DPE to work with you on that are very, very low:

https://www.eaa.org/eaa/aircraft-building/intro-to-aircraft-building/frequently-asked-questions/flight-instruction-in-an-experimental-amateur-built-aircraft

However, if you Google "rotorway flight training" you'll find there's some guy in Alabama that does it, and Rotorway supposedly reopened their school but you'd probably have to call them. In either case you are looking at relocating for a month or more to get it done.

And don't forget that since YOU didn't build it that means YOU can't do much more than an oil change on it unless you are a certified airframe and powerplant mechanic (A&P). So you'll have to find an A&P who is willing to work on it for you, and that can also be a problem. Hell, most FBO's won't even work on helicopters, many are expressly forbidden from doing so by their insurance coverage!

All the usual cost/time saving ideas apply when going for a private certificate. Most notably do your own studying for ground school and get that written test out of the way BEFORE starting flight training. And get the medical out of the way, too. Then you can just fly your brains out in the most efficient manner, study for the checkride, and be done with it.

IMHO you are better off finding a local helicopter school and banging out at least 10 hours to see if it is something you really want to do and enjoy. At the very least, go find one that offers the 30 minute "experience". As this will almost certainly be done in an R22 it will also get you some experience in a 2 seat helicopter with no luggage space and limited performance. You may decide that perhaps a 162F is not helicopter you want. IMHO the R44 is the lowest form of actually useful helicopter life outside of a training environment.

And finally, there is this ugly question: how much do you weigh? If it's north of 200lbs the R22 is not the preferred training machine unless you can find an instructor named "Tiny". And the 162F is much worse. Full fuel (1:40 + 20 min. reserve) in the 162F leaves a max. cabin payload of only 323 lbs. If you only want to fly for an hour plus the required 20 minute reserve maybe you can put 365 lbs in the cockpit.

Can the owner not do any maintenance that he wants? The airworthiness certificate is "Special" and not "Standard" and that should be the difference.

That's how it works on my two homebuilts.

Looks like I was mostly wrong about who can do maintenance on a second hand experimental homebuilt.

https://www.eaa.org/eaa/aircraft-building/intro-to-aircraft-building/frequently-asked-questions/non-builder-maintenance

Thanks for the info so far. I do know an A&P mechanic but I don’t know what she can and cannot do, never broached the subject with her.

I would love a R44 or similar, but my career hasn’t been THAT successful. I know aircraft are not a poor man’s game, but I thought I might reasonably scratch my itch with the Rotorway.

Any more insights, I’d love to hear them.

You are going to be hard pressed to find a CFI that is going to instruct you, or a DPE to give you a checkride, in a homebuilt helicopter of any make.....especially if you're getting it second or third hand.  There used to be a CFI in southern Missouri that travelled all over the country to give Rotorway training, but that's been 20+ yrs ago.

My suggestion would be getting your rating in a Robinson or other certified helicopter via a flight school, then if you are still interested in a Rotorway, then you can look into them.  At that point, you will hopefully have learned enough about helicopters to move on from home builts.

The comedian-ventriloquist Jeff Dunham has built- and crashed- a couple Rotorways.

A local guy built and flies a 162 pretty regularly. I went for a ride with him and it was a bit of a struggle for both of us on a hot, humid day. We stayed in the pattern for that ride.

CFII heli pilot here>

I would highly recommend steering clear of the rotorway stuff. I have two previous employers that almost died in them pleasure flying.

Buying a helicopter that won't be used for a work purpose is usually a short term dream.

Find a good school that uses Robinson or better products and that will let you rent the aircraft after you get your rating.

Best of luck, the helicopter is the ultimate off-road machine.