Amounts

European Helicopter Center (EHC) in Norway offers an integrated course for over EUR 100,000, plus extra costs such as skill tests. In general, professional training as a helicopter pilot (CPL(H)) costs over EUR 100,000, and more with an instrument rating. An offshore helicopter pilot estimated in 2009 that a CPL(H) with IR and MCC easily costs EUR 100,000. Mauna Loa Helicopters in Hawaii listed a professional helicopter programme in 2013 at the equivalent of about EUR 75,000, excluding accommodation, food and transport. A student reported in 2009 that the complete course at European Helicopter Center in Norway, including 135 flight hours and 500 hours of theory, cost 535,000 kroner, which comes to about EUR 60,500.1246

What is included

The EHC integrated course in Norway includes a CPL(H) with ATPL VFR theory, an EC135 type rating and MCC VFR.1

Funding

In 2011, a helicopter pilot recommended the modular route instead of a full-time course in the US: obtain the PPL(H) in your home country, study ATPL theory by distance learning, keep working, build hours in the US or South Africa, and then do the CPL(H). In 2011, a helicopter pilot called borrowing EUR 100,000 for helicopter training unwise and funded his own training after years of saving. After a military career, there are many opportunities in civil helicopter aviation.35

Additional costs

For full-time flight training, budget about EUR 1,000 a month for accommodation and living costs, according to an experienced instructor in 2013. For helicopter training in the US, also include the European (JAA/EASA) instrument rating in your budget, because an FAA IR is not the same as the European one and matters in Europe, especially offshore. One applicant calculated in 2011 that the FAA/JAA helicopter course at Bristow Academy, including JAA IR, accommodation and living costs, came to about EUR 120,000. A stand-alone JAA IR(H) at Bristow Academy or Bond Air Services cost GBP 25,000 to 28,000 for holders of an FAA IR (according to pilot discussions in 2011). A former student who trained at both Bristow Academy and EHC in Norway advised in 2013 to budget around EUR 150,000 including living costs and to ask for exact costs. Moving from a single-engine to a multi-engine type rating on a helicopter requires at least 10 hours of training and a 1-hour test (according to pilot discussions in 2009).236

Comparison

Building hours is much more expensive in a helicopter than in an aeroplane: one pilot cites about 800 dollars an hour for a helicopter against 200 dollars an hour for a Cessna 172. One pilot cited in 2024 about 800 dollars an hour for a helicopter against 200 dollars an hour for a Cessna 172. The average rental price of a helicopter was already around EUR 400 an hour in 2013. This makes building hours with a PPL(H) towards a HEMS job an unrealistic option.148