Sounds crazy, but is it common for doctors to take a helicopter to work? I met a physician the other day who works in a rural area but lives in a metropolitan city. He explained to me how his wife works in an investment bank and therefore cannot live in a rural area and practice alone. The community he lives (EXTREMELY upscale) in has a landing pad close by, so he's to park his helicopter there and flies it to work (after his wife drops him off at the landing pad of course). His commute time is about 45 minutes each way, but doesn't mind it. Once he lands in the rural area (its a small helicopter school), he takes his car and drives 5 minutes to hospital he works in. The pay difference is pretty substantial between the metropolitan city and the rural area, so I can see why he would choose to do this. Anyways, has anyone else ever heard of something like this?
Helicopter to work?
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Of course it's not common...
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Probably costs him $40-50k a year to commute. Between pay differential and assuming he would want to fly anyway, probably pretty easy to make economically feasible. I'm sure having an investment banker as a wife helps too...
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Not to mention even small, cheap helicopters are hundreds of thousands of dollars...
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Used aircraft can be found at affordable prices and that's ignoring the multitude of options besides being the sole owner and operator of an aircraft. The scenario certainly isn't common but if that's your goal in life it's feasible. Most people are content with just driving to work and have fun with their hobby on weekends...
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Then you don't really come across as informed on the subject...
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I ride my bike to work. I don't waste any fuel. I'm a neurosurgeon btw so I could have a jet if I wanted. $$$$$$$$$$$
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Damn that's a great idea actually. Would make living in the city and working for the bigger bucks a reasonable idea.
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Taking a helicopter to work will only make people think you're poor. You should really be taking your G650 to your private airport. Besides, how are you supposed to enjoy your caviar and Dom Perignon on a helicopter? Honestly, my monocle almost fell out reading that nonsense.
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Helicopter not common
Cessna yes - quite common among the well to do. Flying (small planes) is a great hobby by the way and it's easy to get started.
I think i'm going to start doing this to get to school:
Cessna yes - quite common among the well to do. Flying (small planes) is a great hobby by the way and it's easy to get started.
I think i'm going to start doing this to get to school:
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Echoing others that this is definitely possible and done more often than people realize. Fixed wing aircraft are more common simply because they are less expensive, generally faster, and have a longer range (plus it's cheaper/easier to learn to fly on one). You could get a decent used gps-equipped 172 for the price of a luxury car, cruises at 120mph, and it costs ~$100 an hour to fly, fuel included.
Helicopters are usually more expensive to purchase and more expensive to maintain and operate, though not too terribly much. Helicopters need a little less space to takeoff/land, though not as little as you would think. A little cessna doesn't need much ground roll to takeoff or land and there are tons of landing strips all over the US in almost every rural community I know, so I doubt this would ever be an issue. Neither this nor fixed wing aircraft will ring in as cheaper or equivalent to driving or flying comercially, but it also isn't unaffordable and depending on the value of your time may actually be worth it. It becomes an economic no-brainer if you have a couple partners who also fly and you planepool together. I know some guys in construction who do this regularly when they have a job out of town.
Biggest drawback to doing this is weather and maintenance. You would definitely need an IFR ticket if you want any reliability (so you can fly in poor weather, low visability conditions), and even then certain weather conditions could ground you just like they do the big airlines. Maintenance issues can also ground you, as can all the required inspections so these need to be planned well in advance.
Overall I think that general aviation is a lot of fun and can often be very useful. I feel that many people aren't aware of just how affordable and doable it is and I would encourage anyone to check out their local airport and take an intro lesson. Most places will give you a great deal on a first lesson which includes ~30 minutes of flight time!
Helicopters are usually more expensive to purchase and more expensive to maintain and operate, though not too terribly much. Helicopters need a little less space to takeoff/land, though not as little as you would think. A little cessna doesn't need much ground roll to takeoff or land and there are tons of landing strips all over the US in almost every rural community I know, so I doubt this would ever be an issue. Neither this nor fixed wing aircraft will ring in as cheaper or equivalent to driving or flying comercially, but it also isn't unaffordable and depending on the value of your time may actually be worth it. It becomes an economic no-brainer if you have a couple partners who also fly and you planepool together. I know some guys in construction who do this regularly when they have a job out of town.
Biggest drawback to doing this is weather and maintenance. You would definitely need an IFR ticket if you want any reliability (so you can fly in poor weather, low visability conditions), and even then certain weather conditions could ground you just like they do the big airlines. Maintenance issues can also ground you, as can all the required inspections so these need to be planned well in advance.
Overall I think that general aviation is a lot of fun and can often be very useful. I feel that many people aren't aware of just how affordable and doable it is and I would encourage anyone to check out their local airport and take an intro lesson. Most places will give you a great deal on a first lesson which includes ~30 minutes of flight time!
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If it saved you hour daily and you made $200/hr it would likely save you money by allowing you to work longer.
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Doesn't really make sense to me still... 1.5 hour commute to make slightly more money than in the city where he lives. Not to mention wife is an ibanker 😕
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The physician I mentioned in my reply earlier makes 1.5x as much in his rural practice as he did in his urban practice. He worked 20 years in the urban practice with no increase in wage, and then within 1 year of moving to the rural practice started making 1.5 the amount he was used to. How much inconvenience is $150K-200K worth to you?
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Personally still wouldn't do it, but to each his own.
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Anyone who is actually capable of commuting by helicopter obviously enjoys flying. This isn't sitting in traffic for 1.5 hours a day to get to work. This is "Awww, damn. I want to take this job that pays vastly more money but the only way to get to work is to play naked leap frog with some models. It's a sacrifice I'll have to make..."
You guys have to take into consideration that if he worked in the city he'd have to commute 15 minutes each way by car (30 Minutes total compared to 1 hour and 30 minutes). The extra hour he'd save isn't worth much when he's being paid nearly twice as much per hour in the rural area. The city he lives in is a huge metropolitan city so its extremely saturated. I don't want to go into details (to protect his privacy etc.) but he's in a subspeciality; so, "twice the income" is certainily worth a lot more and can easily cover the helicopter expenses.
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Words can't properly express how much I loved this post. Thanks for making my morning.
Im a pilot and its an enjoyable hobby but not feasible for commuting. The costs of owning and maintaining your personal aircraft, insurance and fuel costs aside from the expense of just getting a decent single engine fixed-wing (around $50k) reserve such an enterprise to the rather wealthy . You also would need to factor in commuting time to airport A, preflight, weather/ runway delays at both airports not mention needing transportation to and from both airports.
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You missed my point. My point was not that it is surprising that a woman is an investment banker. My point was that investment bankers typically have far greater earnings than physicians, so money wouldn't have to be such a priority for the couple. I was suggesting that the marginal benefit from earning 150K more would not be greater than the marginal benefit of having an hour extra of free time. At least for me. He obviously sees the money as being more worthwhile.
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my uncle does that in louisiana
makes WAY more than he would working in the city
helicopter ride is paid for; he stays there 2 1/2 weeks, then gets 1 1/2 weeks off
makes WAY more than he would working in the city
helicopter ride is paid for; he stays there 2 1/2 weeks, then gets 1 1/2 weeks off
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Yeah yeah I know...it's just a lot of fun and I gotta sell it to the wife somehow one day, right? I don't think it's that expensive, but it definitely isn't truly economical or practical. Many docs drive cars that cost more than 50k, but that other costs are much higher in an aircraft and you don't have to drop 20k for an overhaul every 1500 hours in a car! Plus annuals, etc. Actually, if you flew it often enough for commuting, your hourly cost would get pretty low all things considered. hmmmm...
Good call on the timing, especially coming from a major city to a rural area. Rural to rural wouldn't be bad, especially if you have a private airstrip like a number of rural areas do. But morning traffic coming out of a major city would be slow, even if you managed to avoid the main airport's class B.
Eh, it sure is a hell of a lot of fun though!
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I'm in Los Angeles, and I want to work in multiple parts of the city but it will not be possible due to the abomination known as the 405, and to lesser extents 5 and 101. I also haaaaate traffic. It kills me inside. Even if it's not so cost efficient, it might be worth it just for the increase in quality of life, so that I'm not stewing in my car, hating everyone else on the road for wasting my and their lives (I know it's not their fault, but I'm still miserable in traffic).
What are the logistics of flying a helicopter to different parts of the city? Assuming a parking lot will allow you to land and "park" in the lot, are there any regulations as to where a helicopter can land and "park?"
What are the logistics of flying a helicopter to different parts of the city? Assuming a parking lot will allow you to land and "park" in the lot, are there any regulations as to where a helicopter can land and "park?"
You'd be dead in a year if you were flying a 172 for daily commuting through low viz conditions, I don't care how good of a pilot you are. IFR is for the pros, not somebody doing the exact same flight every day in a minimally equipped airplane.
Single engine + IFR rating + thinking you can fly to minimums whenever you want/need to = dead doctor. Happens all the time.
Leave general aviation for what's it's supposed to be for: private pilots enjoying VFR flights in non-busy airspace during good weather. Anything other than that, get in a car, or get on a commercial flight in a jet with pilots with thousands of hours of IFR procedures at hundreds of different airports.
Yes, there are lots of them. Unlike what you see in the movies, the military doesn't really like it when private aircraft fly all over metropolitian areas doing whatever they want. Expect to be intercepted and potentially shot down.
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Hahaha. 👍
You might be able to pull it off working in downtown LA, LB, Burbank, Glendale, Santa Monica etc where there are large corporate skyscrapers/buildings with helipads. AFAIK you would need a helipad or airport to launch and land a private helicopter due to FOD and FAA regulations. It would cost a pretty penny but there are helishare programs out there.
Would never work in an urban environment.
Out in the country/alaksa that is a different story.
There were lots of guys in texas who used to fly planes to see patients (don't know if they still do anymore). And there was a guy out in the eastern shore in VA who had a helicopter who would fly to see patients on some isolated islands in the chesapeake bay once a week. He was supposedly the man, but is long retired and recently passed away. The ability to do these kinds of things is unfortunately becoming a thing of the past. Soon we will all be working for the government and living in 1 room 100 sq. ft. apartments in skyscrapers holding 10,000 people and eating processed sludge for nutrition and our only choice in life will be whether we want our sludge in yellow or red color.
Out in the country/alaksa that is a different story.
There were lots of guys in texas who used to fly planes to see patients (don't know if they still do anymore). And there was a guy out in the eastern shore in VA who had a helicopter who would fly to see patients on some isolated islands in the chesapeake bay once a week. He was supposedly the man, but is long retired and recently passed away. The ability to do these kinds of things is unfortunately becoming a thing of the past. Soon we will all be working for the government and living in 1 room 100 sq. ft. apartments in skyscrapers holding 10,000 people and eating processed sludge for nutrition and our only choice in life will be whether we want our sludge in yellow or red color.
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What are the risks associated with helicopters (piloting them yourself)?
Please no comparisons to driving lol.
Please no comparisons to driving lol.
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Oh please.
There is nothing wrong with used aircraft that is properly inspected and regularly maintained.
There are plenty of docs who love to fly. Granted, it's usually a light fixed-wing as opposed to a helicopter, but I suppose someone who flew choppers for some other reason in their youth might be partial to them. Or someone who has watched too many of these videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50MbPACZF-4
I, for one, would love to fly to work.
There is nothing wrong with used aircraft that is properly inspected and regularly maintained.
There are plenty of docs who love to fly. Granted, it's usually a light fixed-wing as opposed to a helicopter, but I suppose someone who flew choppers for some other reason in their youth might be partial to them. Or someone who has watched too many of these videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50MbPACZF-4
I, for one, would love to fly to work.
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Based off BF3/BF4 videos, you clearly have to jump out of a helicopter, shoot an RPG at a car, and parachute directly into the OR. that's the only way to do it.
Risks of flying a helicopter:
You are putting your life in the hand of an overly complicated machine that is a 'mechanical engineer's idea of flight.'
What happens when your engine goes out in an airplane? You just became a glider. Or, if you are lucky, you're flying a multiengine aircraft and can limp by on one engine. Take your time and find a place to land. What happens when your engine goes out in a helicopter? You just lost your lift and most of your forward motion capability. Ever seen those things that spin down from trees? You just became one.
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Wow man, you seem to be an expert on so many topics. Not to mention knowing A-list actors on a personal basis. Could we get a lecture on building a rocketship next?
I have a private pilot's certificate. Do you?
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Fun, but no real way to justify the expense. Without browsing Controller or Barnstormers, I would estimate that a good low time, well maintained Robinson R22 (smallest helicopter you really want to try on) would run about $110,000. Training to the point of obtaining a private license with an instrument rating (yes, a good idea if you are going to use it to commute) is going to run you tens of thousands in rental and instruction. Hourly operating costs incorporating scheduled maintenance are going to be close to $120. So keeping in mind the acquisition cost along with the operating cost, it is difficult to imagine that guy paying for his helicopter time by commuting to a rural hospital or clinic unless he is really soaking his rural patients, e.g. performing monthly colonoscopies.
That being said, little helicopters are a blast. Flying them in canyons is the next best thing to actually being in Star Wars blowing up the Death Star. It is a lot of money, but in terms of the cool factor, I think it is better than a lot of the dumb stuff people blow their money on, such as luxury cars and SUVs. Or for that matter, big houses in exclusive neighborhoods.
On a sober note, feeling pressured to take off when the weather is bad, due to external reasons, such as having to be at a job, is how accidents happen.
One could certainly live at an airpark, and commute to a nearby town with an airport and a hospital, but it would probably be best for the semi-retired.
That being said, little helicopters are a blast. Flying them in canyons is the next best thing to actually being in Star Wars blowing up the Death Star. It is a lot of money, but in terms of the cool factor, I think it is better than a lot of the dumb stuff people blow their money on, such as luxury cars and SUVs. Or for that matter, big houses in exclusive neighborhoods.
On a sober note, feeling pressured to take off when the weather is bad, due to external reasons, such as having to be at a job, is how accidents happen.
One could certainly live at an airpark, and commute to a nearby town with an airport and a hospital, but it would probably be best for the semi-retired.
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Yah I have a commercial pilot's too and I was the inspiration for top gun
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ya helicopters are pretty sketchy but extremely badass.
It is common for California doctors to fly personal aircraft to remote areas to practice but I have never heard helicopter. It works the other way around too, doctors may fly into LA daily to practice and fly back to rural area to their homes where they can have their own runway right at their home! Believe it or not, not everyone wants to live in big cities.
This is very difficult since it takes a lot of experience to fly in adverse conditions, and even with lots of experience there is always increased danger associated with flying in wind/storm conditions so just because you are IFR rated does not mean you should fly every time in IFR conditions. So anytime their are 'thunderstorms' in the forecast you are really in tough situation. I imagine it is even more dangerous to fly helicopters in adverse weather conditions, so you end up with 2-3 hour drive to work on bad weather days or risk death
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lol.. I'd prefer to live within 20-35 mins and just drive my Ferrari to work 🙂 On second thoughts, leave the ferrari for the weekend and take the R8 to work 🙂
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True regarding the IFR comment. Exactly the problem with having to commute. Los Angeles does seem like a place where a semi retired person could work something like that out. There is an airpark near the Tejon pass called Agua Dulce or something like that. One could fly there to Torrance/Zamperini, or Fullerton, or Longbeach, and drive to a nearby hospital.
Regarding the safety issue raised by the previous poster: A light single engine airplane that has lost power makes a very disappointing glider. The helicopter has less options, it is true, but it isn't as bad a picture as you describe. Google autorotation if you are curious.
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