I only had one brief lesson in a helicopter, but I've flown fixed wing aircraft, starting out in fabric covered Stearman Biplanes.
I never had a fear of flying, going fast on bicycles, dirtbikes etc. However I did have my full share of skateboard speed wobbles, wrecks and times where my skull met concrete.
I had no fear of heights, from climbing trees to going up hay elevators and jumping off. I used to think I would love to skydive, but thankfully have grown out of that. I was able to work as a kid at various odd jobs, then socked away as much money as possible and when I saw a sweet Suzuki RM 125 in a gas station parking lot for sale, I begged my mom and stepdad to let me buy it. My dreams began at about 8 years old from a classmate's Benelli Mini Bike catalog I ogled. My dream finally came true that day @15. There and then, I found my speed machine,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, my race bike to ride the fields and woods and trails around the reservoir and farm that surrounded the apartment complex mom moved us into.
Sadly, we lived on the 2nd floor of the apartment, I could not bring it inside the building, and had to chain it to a pole in the parking lot. When I awoke 5 days after I bought it, to see only the chain lying on the ground, I was totally crushed. My hard earned prize was stolen and I had a suspicion who did it, because of an oddity I experienced one evening when a boy from my school who lived maybe 7 miles farther away from a totally different neighborhood rode by and my stepdad and I spied him. Stepdad quipped, "who was that?" My reply was the guy's name and my reaction as being, "I wonder what he is doing around here"
We filed police reports, had a neighbor even have an encounter with him in possession of my bike out at a friend of his place near their hood, and a subsequent court date which he beat the rap, despite my witness's testimony and the threat he made to my witness during their encounter.
In the end, I lost my bike and never got another dirt bike for another 20 years. Once I got this killer bike, I learned to take jumps, and eventually raced it at National MX track in Southern Md near smittyp's place.
I took my lumps trying to keep up with other riders who had more seat time, but I cowboy upped it and got decent at racing by the time I was about 34-36 yrs old. My last races saw me doing lots better with an even better bike, my current 1998 KX 250 I bought around '99 or 2000. Great bike for sure.
Sorry this tale is so long, but over the few years prior, I was a passenger in a 4 seat light airplane, but never a copter. I did sell a set of drums to a guy from Virginia who owns a helicopter company though. He showed up in a yellow Hummer with personalized tags, COPTERZ.