Top products from r/Helicopters

If you're starting the training process, the first thing you should start doing is preparing for the knowledge exam, and the PPL test prep book (2020) is the best place to start. These are effectively the questions you'll see on the exam, if not THE questions. Most CFIs/pilots treat this as an SAT score, get >90% and you'll get taken more seriously. You'll need a FAR/AIM, which at first seems daunting but quickly becomes a bedside book. Jeppessen Private Pilot Manual is a good resource which consolidates a lot of the information nicely, and provides nice plots for things that otherwise feel a bit disjointed (e.g. medical certificate requirements, airspace).

Books that are helpful in terms of learning helicopter dynamics, my favorite by far is Principles of Helicopter Flight, as well as Cyclic and Collective. Many people like the Helicopter Flying Handbook, but as someone who knows better (I'm a PhD trained physicist), I found it to be garbage. The authors try to simplify things down to make it accessible to a lay person, but get a lot of things flat out wrong or are just plain sloppy with their descriptions. PoHF on the other hand isn't overly complicated, but provides a very clean and correct description of helicopter dynamcics. Don't be dazzled by the bright colors and pictures in HFH. Learning to Fly Helicopters is one I found to be a fun read, which lightly touches on flight details, but provides a lot of tangential tidbits around real world situations.

Study the Pilot Operating Handbook's for your training helicopter(s)! If you got some spare money, I'd recommend buying them (Robinson's can be found at their website, either free PDF or for purchase for ~$60). As you get closer to your check ride, you'll want to become more familiar with the Practical Test Standards which is the rubric the examiner will test you on, and there's several oral exam guide (general, helicopter) which are quite helpful.

I'd also recommend recording your rides and re-watching them. I did this and it was very helpful to go back and see what was happening, much like a quarterback watching film on Monday morning. You can find my PPL training videos on my YouTube channel, which includes my full check ride!

I also bought other books / resources, but these are effectively the only ones I used for my PPL, and I got 100% on the knowledge exam and also crushed the check ride. Best of luck in your journey!

The FAA Rotorcraft flying handbook (which is available for free to download) and "the Donk" aka "Principles of helicopter flight" by W.J. Wagtendonk are two books that you will likely encounter during your training and that are commonly recommended.

However, if you aren't attending a flying school yet, I highly recommend
Learning to fly Helicopters by R. Padfield (non-referal link)

The great thing about this book is that it is very readable - unlike the two mentioned above, which are more like school books.

You can hand it to your parents or partner when you are done with it, and they will be able to read it easily, too. It covers the basics very well without getting too technical, and it clears up a lot of the misconceptions the general public might have about helicopters.

This clip is from a film called Straight Up: Helicopters In Action. It's a bit cheesy, to be honest, but it's awesome nonetheless. Covers everything from line jobs like this to environmental work to military operations. Personally, I thought the line work was the best short, but that's just me.

Make sure you have enough saved to complete the training to CFII without stopping for long periods of time in between finance lows.

Just getting your commercial severely worsens your chances of getting a job out of flight school.

I've seen it happen, but the chance are few and far between.

In terms of reading material get yourself a Test Prep Book and start memorizing the correct answers. The knowledge test is silly and your score on it doesn't affect your career at all as long as you pass. Best bet is to memorize the answers until you can pass the test. You won't be missing out on information or not learning stuff, your instructor will ensure you know what you need to know for the checkride. Also as /u/Cropgun mentioned, the Rotorcraft Flying Handbook is a good start. If you get it, don't read into it too seriously, just get yourself familiar with the terms, again, your instructor will teach you what you need to know.

I recommend this book - Basic Helicopter Aerodynamics by J Seddon

You can find it here or here or probably a bunch of other places.

Definitely helped me study it this year. Super interesting subject.

A good book on the basics of helicopters and how they work:
http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Helicopter-Flight-W-Wagtendonk/dp/1560276495

A good textbook directed at engineers studying helicopters:
http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Helicopter-Aerodynamics-Cambridge-Aerospace/dp/0521858607/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372342685&sr=8-1&keywords=leishman

I like Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics by Leishman. Starts out very understandable, and then gets as complicated as you care to learn. Also includes a lot of history.

My flight school had a pump like this . Kept it full all the time and left on the oil drum. Easy

I recommend this book to everyone. First book on Helicopters I read before I did flight training.

Chickenhawk it's about the helicopter war in Vietnam. Amazing section about the challenges of learning to hover.

Well I mean this guy wrote it, they are his stories https://www.amazon.com/Dispatches-Michael-Herr/dp/0679735259

Sadly, http://www.amazon.com/Casio-PAS400B-5V-Pathfinder-Forester-Fishing/dp/B00134JNUU

It fits nicely on my Air Warrior vest, and shows time in seconds. all I really need.

Isn't WJ Wagtendonk's 'Principles of Helicopter Flight' still considered 'the bible'? ISBN-13: 978-1560276494

https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Control-Helicopter-Landing-Pad/dp/B00SAP2CBW/

this?

That's actually a clip from this DVD Straight Up

This case and this legstrap

I've heard nothing but good things about Shawn Coyle's book Cyclic and Collective. Goes in depth in a lot of the aerodynamics and performance features. Link here