View Single Post
Old 02-08-2006, 10:02 AM
  #3  
rickair7777
Prime Minister/Moderator
 
rickair7777's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,100
Default

Originally Posted by miker1
I am going to start my flight trining this summer and i pretty much have made my mind up as far as flying planes and what school i am going to. I am not closed minded about possibly going helos though. Can anyony offer any insight into training, career path, or time to first decent job for helos? thanks
Helicopters are a BLAST to fly, no doubt about it.

BUT, here's the supply and demand reality of helicopter pilots...

The training is 3X the cost of fixed wing. Fixed wing pilots usually buy their first 280 hours, then work as a flight instructor to get up to 1000+ hours (insurance minimum for almost all commercial ops) It's difficult to get a helo CFI job if you have less than 1000 hours, so you might have to actually BUY 1000 hours at $300/hour...if you want to be a pilot, I assume you can do math...

Then when you get your 1000, you find out that all the commercial helo ops use turbine (jet) engines. Your training was done in a small piston engine helo...OK, so somehow you figure out the turbine engine experience requirement, you have 1000 hours plus a little turbine experience...

Now it get's REALLY tough...the US Army has more helicopters than the all the commercial helos in the US. They use enlisted men (called warrant officers) to fly most of them. These men (not being commissioned officers) are paid less than other military pilots. They typically stay in the Army long enough to get a retirement, then they get out with a $25-40K pension and enter the workforce. They don't really want a desk job, and since they already have a decent retirement income, they are willing to fly helos for less than they would otherwise. So you're competing for a civilian job with a guy with years of experience, thousands of hours in heavy, high-performance, turbine powered helicopters. And he was flying at night, at tree-top level, on NVG's, while being shot at and shooting back. If he wasn't REALLY, REALLY good, he wouldn't be alive to go to the interview.

Even if you somehow get the job (does your uncle own a helicopter flying service?), you are still living in a salary economy that's artificially depressed by the extra supply of military helo pilots. Plus a pilot's max possible pay is ultimately dependent on how much revenue can the aircraft generate...an airliner with a gross weight of close to (or over) a million pounds can generate a LOT of cargo and pax revenue. Helos are obviously much smaller, so they are limited as to how much paying cargo can be carried.

There are a few relatively high paying helo jobs out there, but it takes years to get one. If you absolutely love the idea of helicopters, and can't imagine doing anything else, go for it! (but I recommend the military for your training!) However, if you just dig aviation in general, fixed wing is easier to get into and will probably pay you significantly more.

Oh, another route to helos is to join a law enforcement agency that has helos and hires pilots FROM WITHIN. Some agencies hire outside pilots, who are all ex-military of course. Those that hire within will require normally three+ years of regular cop duty before you can apply to their flight ops. BUT you usually only need a fixed wing commercial and a helo private to apply, and they will then train you to commercial helo standards (in turbine aircraft). Pay and benies are usually great too.

Last edited by rickair7777; 02-08-2006 at 10:07 AM.
rickair7777 is offline