Rotor2Wing

I wish i had found this thread sooner. I am a former military guy, currently flying HEMS and leaning toward a jump to the regionals. Its just that initial couple of years that are going to be tough. I think the hardest thing to give up is going to be my current schedule. Living local to your base in a HEMS job is pretty great when it comes to time at home with the fam. Also, with a minimal amount of effort and workover, I'll hit in the low to mid 90Ks this year... the pay cut is going to be painful.
All that said, I'm looking mainly as SkyWest. I live in the DFW area, and I think if I could reasonably expect to be a lineholder in domicile within six to eight months and average about 85 hours a month, I might just be able to make it work. Thoughts??

3PerRev

My advice is to keep your expectations low. You never know what kind of training delay, hiring/upgrade slow down or something completely unexpected popping up and slowing you down from holding a line or even a particular base. I expected to be finished with training in six to eight weeks and it took me nearly five months because of scheduled breaks and lack of sim instructors.

And yes, the first year of FO pay takes a lot of preplanning after making EMS dollars.

wt7566

3 out of 3 (2 close friends and myself) flew mil RW, then HAA/HEMS for a few years and are now flying 121 jets. 2/3 were VFR twin, 1/3 was SPIFR, all good programs. All 3 of us aren't even glancing back at HAA/HEMS, even given the regional pay cut and starting off on reserve. I'll repeat what's already said....not being woke up by the tones at 3am to fly in sketchy weather to land in an even more sketchy zone, refuel, and wash the aircraft etc etc. the 121 world has its own challenges and headaches, but taken as a whole it's a lot better than the HEMS/HAA industry. The potential financial upside doesn't even compare. One of my close medic/nurse crews asked me what it would take to come back ($$$) and my answer made them laugh. I'd have gone back to HEMS for double pay and addition of soft benefits in terms of massaging the 7/7 schedule that's written in stone. A few years into 121 and it's nearly impossible to even dream of going back.

That being said I do miss the camaraderie, close knit "family" atmosphere, and occasionally the great sight seeing done at 1000' agl and 100 knots. (Fortunate enough to be at a great base with crews that really liked each other 85% of the time)....but still wouldn't even glance back. It's been that big of an improvement for me. Most of all my HEMS program let grow an awesome beard and I do miss that. Oh well.

yakfisher

I know it’s been a year now but has anyone had any changing thoughts about going back or staying with HEMS? I’ve heard of some people going back due to family stability and schedule. Curious if you guys are still enjoying 121 life

3PerRev

I went back to EMS. For me it was all about the family. Call me naive, but I horribly underestimated the time away from home and the inconsistency of the 121 schedule wreaked havoc on my family life. I was so used to the 7/7 life style that going to a completely random 5 on/2 off/3 on/4 off/2 on/6 off schedule wasn't sustainable. I have small kids so that played a huge part. I wasn't really excited about getting back into EMS, but it was the best for me and mine. From a purely flying/pilot aspect, it was the easiest job I've ever had. Nearly zero real responsibility and getting to fly big jets was awesome. I'm definitely glad I did it. I've got a cool rating and some BA stories from "back in the day".

yakfisher

Is the HEMS pay sustainable without a military retirement? Don’t know how much you were making with Airlines or what airline you were working for but HEMS Pay doesn’t look like it’s sustainable long term so just curious.

Also do you fly enough to enjoy HEMS or does it get old after a while. Seems like Airlines would be exciting since your flying a lot and going to different destinations but with kids I totally understand

3PerRev

For me, the move back to EMS was all about family. I left the military so that I wasn't doing back to back to back to back trips to the desert and I didn't want to continue down a similar road. In my opinion pay is all about the person's particular situation. Without much overtime and in my first year with my new company, I'll make in the upper 80s. If I got after it and grabbed all the OT available, I could probably break 100. From what I gathered in chatting with the CPTs I flew with that is more than most of them would make. I completely agree that the long term prospects of a 121 pilot at a major is far better than that of an EMS line pilot, but I like my kids more than I like money.