Helicopter Pilot

Hally_89

Hi

Been looking at becoming a helicopter pilot with more than a year now and have been looking at helicopter academys and jobs here and in the states. The most appealing to me so far was Bristow Academy in Florida where i was considering doing the Professional Pilot Program. Its alot of money but i think the extra hours and courses included in it would be very usefull when it comes to actually getting a job afterwards. Just wondering is there any professional pilots on here that would have done something similar to what im doing and might be able to give som information to the way they went about it? Any help/info would be appreciated. This is a kinda dream job so its something im intent on getting as much information as possible.

Thanks

marketty

I'm not a professional pilot but I spent some time there and at another (fixed wing) school so I'll just give my two cents.
the bristow academy is probably the best place in the world to earn your heli license (outside of the military where you don't have to pay for it:cool:).It's almost definitely not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for.
The whole set up there is very professional and well run, the instructors and facilities are top notch the aircraft are in great shape and aircraft availability is good, which is very important. Now thats all from my experience there 3 years ago so things may have changed obviously with the global financial situation meaning less students higher fuel costs etc. I'm not gonna lecture you on how insanely expensive getting a commercial pilots license is especially for a helicopter, and how are you going to pay for it and how there's no jobs in Ireland and yada yada yada as I'm sure you will come across plenty of this and make decisions based on your own circumstances which I know nothing about. For example you may have rights to live and work in the states in which case you would be at a great advantage when looking for work. One thing I can't stress enough though is do not under any circumstances pay a lump sum up front for your training. this goes for any school, and any reputable place like Bristow will arrange a pay by the hour or pay in instalments set up with you.
If you do head out there you will have a great time, especially on your first solo flight, there's nothing like it. But work hard at it, it's not easy and getting a CPL is a long, hard but very rewarding process if you follow it through. Even earning a PPL is a fantastic experience if you decide not to go down the professional route.
Florida is a great place to train too, lots of flying schools and great little airports around, there's a huge aviation culture which you just won't see anywhere this side of the atlantic. If you're an aerosexual like meself there's tons of places to visit and great aircraft to see including the warbirds museum which is actually at the same airfield as bristow. You have all the theme parks etc over in orlando and bars restaurants etc are good value, so its a nice place to be when you're not flying. I think this is important because if you're going to be there for that long you need to be able to relax and enjoy yourself on your down time so you can work hard and get the most out of your training. But don't go mad on the sauce!! A DUI will really ruin your day and actually invalidates your pilots license as well as your drivers license. This happened to someone I knew in another florida school whose parents had been paying for his training, he couldn't continue his course and stayed out there doing nothing for a few months rather than tell them what happened :eek:

Jesus Nut

Don't do it now!

Way to many Irish Helicopter Pilots on the Dole these days.
You wont ever find work in this country or anywhere near it.
Save and do something else for the next decade...

Unless you are super rich, do not do it!
Honest to god, you dont want to go down this road right now...
Its very bleak and depressing and heart breaking at the moment

Mboy

Hally_89 wrote: »

Hi

Been looking at becoming a helicopter pilot with more than a year now and have been looking at helicopter academys and jobs here and in the states. The most appealing to me so far was Bristow Academy in Florida where i was considering doing the Professional Pilot Program. Its alot of money but i think the extra hours and courses included in it would be very usefull when it comes to actually getting a job afterwards. Just wondering is there any professional pilots on here that would have done something similar to what im doing and might be able to give som information to the way they went about it? Any help/info would be appreciated. This is a kinda dream job so its something im intent on getting as much information as possible.

Thanks

You mention the Professional Pilot Program, so I assume you are looking for FAA certification? Are you US citizen/green card holder? You will need to be to get a job.

Nothing against Bristol but an alternative consideration is http://eastcoastaeroclub.com Their hourly rate on the R44 is reasonable at $329/hour (wet). However, they don't sponsor visas (if you need one). Still they might be a consideration for hour building when compared to the hourly rate of $480/hour that Bristol are quoting.

The only reason that I mention East Coast is that I got my PPL (A), with them and would recommend them as they have very good instructors and well maintained planes and choppers.

Hally_89

marketty wrote: »

I'm not a professional pilot but I spent some time there and at another (fixed wing) school so I'll just give my two cents.
the bristow academy is probably the best place in the world to earn your heli license (outside of the military where you don't have to pay for it:cool:).It's almost definitely not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for.
The whole set up there is very professional and well run, the instructors and facilities are top notch the aircraft are in great shape and aircraft availability is good, which is very important. Now thats all from my experience there 3 years ago so things may have changed obviously with the global financial situation meaning less students higher fuel costs etc. I'm not gonna lecture you on how insanely expensive getting a commercial pilots license is especially for a helicopter, and how are you going to pay for it and how there's no jobs in Ireland and yada yada yada as I'm sure you will come across plenty of this and make decisions based on your own circumstances which I know nothing about. For example you may have rights to live and work in the states in which case you would be at a great advantage when looking for work. One thing I can't stress enough though is do not under any circumstances pay a lump sum up front for your training. this goes for any school, and any reputable place like Bristow will arrange a pay by the hour or pay in instalments set up with you.
If you do head out there you will have a great time, especially on your first solo flight, there's nothing like it. But work hard at it, it's not easy and getting a CPL is a long, hard but very rewarding process if you follow it through. Even earning a PPL is a fantastic experience if you decide not to go down the professional route.
Florida is a great place to train too, lots of flying schools and great little airports around, there's a huge aviation culture which you just won't see anywhere this side of the atlantic. If you're an aerosexual like meself there's tons of places to visit and great aircraft to see including the warbirds museum which is actually at the same airfield as bristow. You have all the theme parks etc over in orlando and bars restaurants etc are good value, so its a nice place to be when you're not flying. I think this is important because if you're going to be there for that long you need to be able to relax and enjoy yourself on your down time so you can work hard and get the most out of your training. But don't go mad on the sauce!! A DUI will really ruin your day and actually invalidates your pilots license as well as your drivers license. This happened to someone I knew in another florida school whose parents had been paying for his training, he couldn't continue his course and stayed out there doing nothing for a few months rather than tell them what happened :eek:

Thanks for your input your post was very helpful. The course im planning on doing is going to cost me in the region of 70 grand. Its something I need to give serious thought about it before actually doing it. If I do do it i plan on staying in the states or working out of the states because like you said there is very few jobs here. Unfortunatly i dont have US citizenship or a green card so if i go i will need an M1 visa and work on it from there. I have a few friends who went throught the academys in Florida and who are now flying full time but trying to get in touch with them where they work is like trying to contact someone on the moon. One is flying with the UN in Afghanistan, another is flying on Oil rigs in Nigeria and another is a Heli Musker in Aus.

Jesus Nut wrote: »

Don't do it now!

Way to many Irish Helicopter Pilots on the Dole these days.
You wont ever find work in this country or anywhere near it.
Save and do something else for the next decade...

Unless you are super rich, do not do it!
Honest to god, you dont want to go down this road right now...
Its very bleak and depressing and heart breaking at the moment

I know where your coming from which is why im giving it serious thought before doing anything. Its not something im going to jump into but id rather do it sooner than later to get the most out of it. Like i said to marketty if i do go i wil stay in the states unless something comes up.

Mboy wrote: »

You mention the Professional Pilot Program, so I assume you are looking for FAA certification? Are you US citizen/green card holder? You will need to be to get a job.

Nothing against Bristol but an alternative consideration is http://eastcoastaeroclub.com Their hourly rate on the R44 is reasonable at $329/hour (wet). However, they don't sponsor visas (if you need one). Still they might be a consideration for hour building when compared to the hourly rate of $480/hour that Bristol are quoting.

The only reason that I mention East Coast is that I got my PPL (A), with them and would recommend them as they have very good instructors and well maintained planes and choppers.

Yes its an FAA that i will be looking for, but unfortunatly no i dont have US citizenship or a greencard. As i mentioned to marketty i need an M1 visa to do the training and ill try my best to get a permanent resident card from there hopefully. I know it sounds easier than it actually is but if i do go im just goin to hope for the best. Ya they seem reasonable prices. Another I was looking at was http://www.cloud9helicopters.com. A few people have recommended here as another good academy. There prices seem to be fair enough too.

bluecode

You won't get a green card on the basis of being a helicopter pilot. Morever if you even hint at that during the process of getting clearance from the TSA and getting the Visa. It will be denied.

On the other hand if you can qualify for a Green card on some other basis. That's possible. However it's a long haul and extremely expensive. The commonest method is having a close relative in the US or winning the annual visa lottery.

You would be better too to aim for an F1 visa to allow the possibility of staying on as an Instructor for a while. Again more expense initially but you will be all but unemployable without experience of some sort. This won't help with the Green card either. But no doubt it will help with other jobs similar to your friends. Obviously if you establish a good reputation there it might just might ease your way into some job within the Bristow network.

Another point to remember is that if you want a job in EASA land you'll need an EASA licence. Which means all the written exams must be done along with a flight test. It might be better to combine the two.

You have to remember that when it comes to helicopter jobs you are up against a lot of very experienced ex military pilots. If you do get a job don't expect to be back in Ireland anytime soon!

Jesus Nut

What was it, something like 175 Irish Helicopters disappeared of the face of the planet in the last couple years!

I was never very good at maths but that is a MASSIVE LOAD of pilots.

MASSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly. I know 3 lads myself, who in 2006, 2007 where flying lovely turbines into the golfing and racing events in Ireland.. Now they are on the dole!
I know another lad in the UK who hung himself (he was only 28, the debt got to him and he had no work).

The next decade is going to get worse and worse and worse.

If it really means that much to you. Do a PPL. Then sit down and think it all over again. I know what you will do then....!

EI-DOR

Another I was looking at was http://www.cloud9helicopters.com.

Hi Hally,

I did my FAA PPL with Cloud9 in 2008. Very Professional Flight School. You won't be disappointed. Drop Geoff or Debbie an Email on their Website, lovely people. Cloud9s fleet includes the R22 (Beta IIs), R44 RII, Schweizer 300CBis, Bell 206, Hughes 500E, Agusta 109S.

dannyc31

hi i'm new to this. but is there any clubs i can join in Dublin & surrounding counties were i can just fly helicopters as a hobby without aiming to get a proffesional pilots licence. would really just love to do it as a hobby in my spare time without breaking the bank? any info welcome.

EI-DOR

Hi Danny,

Give SkyWest Aviation a shout. They are based at Weston in Dublin. Also based in Newcastle and Cork.

http://www.helicopters.ie/

Aero Helicopters and Cuttingedge Helicopters are based in the North.

http://www.cuttingedgehelicopters.com/

http://www.aeroheli.com/

Unique Helicopters is based in the West at Enniskillen.

http://www.uniquehelicopters.co.uk/

dannyc31

thanks EI-DOR i'll check em all out, appreciate it

dannyc31

sorry just another question. what exactly would a PPL (H) entitle you to do? does this licence mean you can rent helicopters anywhere in europe and take them out solo and even carry friends as passengers? thanks

Jesus Nut

dannyc31 wrote: »

sorry just another question. what exactly would a PPL (H) entitle you to do? does this licence mean you can rent helicopters anywhere in europe and take them out solo and even carry friends as passengers? thanks

Yes.

A PPL means you can fly except you cant earn money from it.
Think of a PPL like been a car licence and a CPL would be like someone with a Truck or Bus driver licence if that makes sense!

This guy would teach you how to fly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC6CUTQqkSA

bluecode

dannyc31 wrote: »

sorry just another question. what exactly would a PPL (H) entitle you to do? does this licence mean you can rent helicopters anywhere in europe and take them out solo and even carry friends as passengers? thanks

In theory but it's not like hiring a car. They will want to check you out first and probably expect you to fly a few hours for insurance reasons with an Instructor. Also most likely you will be expected to fly a minimum number of hours a day. You can't just take it for a weekend and only fly it for an hour or two. That's even assuming you can a place that will rent a helicopter to you at all.

It's probably easier in the US. You can get an FAA licence on the basis of your European licence but all of the above applies. You cannot simply walk in off the street and fly away.

dannyc31

thanks guys. also i'm just wondering are these schools structured like clubs at all? what i mean is there like a social element to them so that you are mixing with the other students along the way or is it simply just a case of arrive, pay your money, do your lessons with your instructor and then see ya next week kinda thing? i like the idea of mixing with other potential pilots, exchanging experiences etc, am i wrong in thinking this is how it would be?

EI-DOR

Yes all the Schools are structured like that. If you happen to be at the school the same time as a few other fellow Students then you can chat with them when your free. Some days you might be there when it's pretty quiet, depends. Some schools would bring their Aircraft to small Flyins around the Country during the Summer. You can mix with a lot of Pilots this way too.