Originally Posted by kv8r

Hi Jergar,

Looking for a little more info on Air Methods Pilot Pool positions….

Q: Do they travel you on off days or first and last day of rotation?
A: You travel before and after your shift. I was not a float pilot, but I recall that you are on the clock on travel days. That extra pay is sort of like overtime.

Q: Without overtime what would you estimate pay to be?
A: Totally base dependent. There are some places people don't want to work, so they add extra cash (Like the old joke about tying a bone around your kid's neck to get the dog to play with him). Again, I wasn't a float pilot but they paid an extra $15k/year for the base I was at. I think they use the term "area modifier"

What “extras” are there in the pay besides overtime and how are they calculated?
Sign on bonus was $15k if I recall. There's a retention bonus. You get a bonus for referring other pilots. It's been a hot minute but I recall they paid an extra $4k/year if you have an instrument rating (AM is a helicopter company with a few airplanes. Just quietly nod and take the money). Likewise, they add a few bucks to your paycheck if you have an ATP. If you don't have your ATP you can get a single engine ATP in the sim. You do your own written test (ATP/CTP doesn't apply to single engine aircraft). It was suggested to me to wait until a recurrent sim session to do the ATP "ride". Looking back, I agree. There are a few other add ons but they don't amount to much.

Q: Is it always 7/7 ?
A: Sadly, yes. At the base I was at there were some of us who wanted to switch to 14/14. Our area manager was initially willing to support the idea but it was denied by upper management. You didn't ask, but the first half of your shift is generally days, then you switch to nights for the last half. One place management did not interfere was that some pilots preferred the night shift and would offer to switch, so you were either straight day or straight night.

Q: How much did you typically fly per rotation?
A: That is also going to be highly dependent on where you are based. One of our float pilots was from the SW and said he hardly ever flew down there. The YKM base referred to above had 2-4 planes, and at least 1 to 2 were always moving. You're really on salary so an air ambulance gig isn't about chasing hours. It pays well enough that you can own a plane and do whatever the hell you want on your time off.

My cell is 720-434-9227

Thank you !

K