Hello everyone, I’ve been reading this forum for quite a while and I really appreciate the level of honesty and experience shared here, so I’d like to ask for some advice from people who are already working in the industry. A bit about me. I’m in my early 40s, based in Europe, and I currently have a stable professional and financial situation outside aviation. I’m not escaping a bad job or a difficult life. On the contrary, my quality of life is already good, both personally and professionally. I have flexibility, independence, and I value my time a lot. Aviation for me is not a last chance, but a conscious choice driven by passion. The question I’m trying to answer is not “can I make it?”, but rather which path offers a better long-term lifestyle and quality of life: airplanes or helicopters. I’m currently undecided between a fixed-wing path, starting from general aviation and possibly moving toward professional flying, and a rotary-wing path, which I find extremely fascinating but also seems more demanding from a lifestyle perspective, especially in the early years. At this stage of my life, what matters most to me is quality of life rather than pure career speed, having some level of predictability in the schedule when possible, being able to maintain relationships, sports, and a social life, not living permanently on the road or in extremely remote locations, at least not forever, and enjoying flying without it completely consuming my identity or personal life. I’m very aware that both paths require sacrifice at the beginning, that entry-level jobs are rarely glamorous, and that aviation is not a 9–5 job, especially early on. What I’m trying to understand, from people who actually live this life, is how your day-to-day lifestyle really looks after the first difficult years, whether looking back you would choose airplanes or helicopters again purely from a lifestyle perspective, and whether starting today at my age, with a solid non-aviation background, would influence your choice. I’m not looking for encouragement or discouragement, just honest, experience-based opinions. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their perspective.

I'm sure an N-Numbers Helicopter would need to be exported from the U.S. and De-Registered with the FAA. I'm wondering about In-Country Maintenance and Insurance Costs?? Puerto Rico has very limited Helo Repair Shops.

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Dennis was a great guy and an excellent instructor. I took a few lessons from him in exchange for work I did at Precision Helicopters at Stark's Twin Oaks airport. I'm sorry to learn of his passing.

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10 Years too late but we are looking for Partner In Punta Cana 80 hours a month guranteed we got 135 Permits Client base and some cash to buy in.

Any of you guys interedted in coming doewn to Punta Cana D.R we got 10 million tourist a year in a 20 Mile sterech Sight seeing is a boom. Need a Helo Partner hands on ,, I got Heliport Permits and Client Base can gurantee 80 hours a month.

Give me a call at 828-839-6541 Up and running operation other partner had to sell out

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That's a significant commitment, so good question. Although I don't personally have any experience with Glacier Aviation, I would try to get in touch with a few former students (perhaps via Reddit or forums) to find out how their schedule and training went in comparison to what was promised. I came across a discussion on flying411 (flying411.com), where a few people mentioned how difficult it can be to plan around weather and aircraft availability, particularly during off-season months. Would be good making sure you obtain information on real completion times and included flight hours vs “ideal” goals before committing.