GA pilot reported a near midair collision with a helicopter in the vicinity of a VOR.

Attributes
ACN	1521059
Time
Date	201801
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Plan	DVFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Helicopter
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 1650 Flight Crew Type 165
Events
Anomaly	Conflict NMAC
Miss Distance	Horizontal 500 Vertical 200

Narrative:

The two aircraft successfully executed the see-and-avoid procedure described in 14 crash fire rescue equipment 91.113; with both missing to the right to avoid a head-on collision. This event could; however; have been executed with a higher margin for safety. The helicopter pilot decided to take off in close proximity to the fixed wing aircraft; the pilot could have more thoroughly visually cleared the area before taking off. Though the weather was above VFR minimums; the relatively low overcast and reduced visibility certainly made this task harder for the helicopter pilot. The fixed wing aircraft could have begun its deviation to the right of course more expediently after establishing visual contact with the helicopter. The external pressure to maintain the planned route to ensure the collection of high quality data; and the pilot's uncertainty as to whether the helicopter's takeoff was imminent after first seeing it on the oil rig's landing pad were factors that delayed this decision.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: GA pilot reported a NMAC with a helicopter in the vicinity of a VOR.

Narrative: The two aircraft successfully executed the see-and-avoid procedure described in 14 CFR 91.113; with both missing to the right to avoid a head-on collision. This event could; however; have been executed with a higher margin for safety. The helicopter pilot decided to take off in close proximity to the fixed wing aircraft; the pilot could have more thoroughly visually cleared the area before taking off. Though the weather was above VFR minimums; the relatively low overcast and reduced visibility certainly made this task harder for the helicopter pilot. The fixed wing aircraft could have begun its deviation to the right of course more expediently after establishing visual contact with the helicopter. The external pressure to maintain the planned route to ensure the collection of high quality data; and the pilot's uncertainty as to whether the helicopter's takeoff was imminent after first seeing it on the oil rig's landing pad were factors that delayed this decision.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.