Interesting Helicopter and Fixed-wing Facts for Charleston, WV

In 1997, a Robinson R44 was piloted byJennifer Murray for the first helicopter circumnavigation of the world by a woman, covering a distance of 36,000 miles in 97 days.

The first helicopter to achieve completely untethered flight was the Cornu in 1907, which managed to hover one foot above the ground for 20 seconds.

Helicopter Facts for Charleston, WV

Every helicopter pilot must obtain a private helicopter pilot license to fly. Students must be at least 17 years old, obtain a FAA medical certificate and pass a FAA written test. Additionally, the student must take at least 40 hours of flight time, 10 of which must be solo flight time. As part of those 40 hours, the student must do three hours of dual cross-country flying, three hours of dual nighttime flying and three hours of solo cross-country flying. The student must also do at least one 75-nautical mile cross-country flight and perform three solo takeoffs and landings.