Hour Requirements

FAR 61.109 – Private Pilot Helicopter

40 hours total flight time, including:

• 20 hours dual instruction and
• 10 hours solo flight, both in areas of operation listed in 61.107(b)(3), in a helicopter.

The 20 hours of dual instruction in a helicopter must include:

• 3 hours of cross country flight training
• 3 hours of night flight training, which includes: 1 cross-country flight over 50 nautical miles total distance and 10 takeoffs/10 landings in the traffic pattern to a full stop, at an airport.
• 3 hours flight training within 60 days preceding the practical test.

The 10 hours of solo flight time in a helicopter must include:

• 3 hours of cross country time which includes;
• 1 solo cross country at least 100 nautical miles total distance, minimum landing at three points, one segment at least 25 nautical miles straight line distance between starting and landing points.
• 3 takeoffs and 3 landings in the traffic pattern to a full stop, at an airport with an operating control tower.

FAR 61.65 – Helicopter Instrument Rating

50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, of which 10 hours must have been in a helicopter.

40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time in the areas of operation listed under paragraph (c) of this section, of which 15 hours must have been with an authorized instructor who holds an instrument-helicopter rating, and the instrument time includes:

(i) Three hours of instrument flight training from an authorized instructor in a helicopter that is appropriate to the instrument-helicopter rating within 2 calendar months before the date of the practical test; and

(ii) Instrument flight training on cross country flight procedures, including one cross country flight in a helicopter with an authorized instructor that is performed under instrument flight rules and a flight plan has been filed with an air traffic control facility, and involves:

(A) A flight of 100 nautical miles along airways or by directed routing from an air traffic control facility;

(B) An instrument approach at each airport; and

(C) Three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems.

FAR 61.129 – Commercial Pilot Helicopter

A person who applies for a commercial pilot certificate with a rotorcraft category and helicopter class rating must log at least 150 hours of flight time as a pilot that consists of at least:

100 hours in powered aircraft, of which 50 hours must be in helicopters.

100 hours of pilot-in-command flight time, which includes at least:

• 35 hours in helicopters; and
• 10 hours in cross-country flight in helicopters.

20 hours of training on the areas of operation listed in §61.127(b)(3) that includes at least:

• 5 hours of instrument training in an aircraft.
• One cross-country flight of at least 2 hours in a helicopter in day VFR conditions, consisting of a total straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure;
• One cross-country flight of at least 2 hours in a helicopter in night VFR conditions, consisting of a total straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and
• 3 hours in a helicopter in preparation for the practical test within the 60-day period preceding the date of the test.

10 hours of solo flight in a helicopter on the areas of operation listed in §61.127(b)(3) which includes at least:

• One cross-country flight with landings at a minimum of three points, with one segment consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and
• 5 hours in night VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern).

FAR 61.183 – Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) and Certified Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII)

There are no hour requirements for certified flight instructor (CFI) past a commercial or airline transport pilot rating. Basically, you must be at least a commercial helicopter pilot, pass the appropriate written tests, and complete a check ride. The same is true for CFII, with the exception that the applicant must already hold a helicopter instrument rating.