Spring Helicopter Jobs

[407 Driver]

I agree with Jetbox, We get a lot of "drop-ins" here as we're on the Trans Canada Highway, but don't expect we have the time to sit and visit with you.

We do not hire pilots at the base level. That's the job of the chief pilot, and there is no chief pilot here.

We will visit if we have the time, and we will steer you in the direction of the Chief Pilots office.

 

Yes, we were all low timers once BlackMac, but we have a job to do at the base level, and don't always have the spare time in a day to sit with several 100 hr guys a week either.

 

When I got hired on, I made an appointment to meet a guy at OKie, I'll bet you'll know him....Frank Ranger ? :shock:

[SAR]

Anyone want to go back to the original question? All I wanted to know was there anyone out there, be it you, your employer or even the competition, looking for a low timer or even a hand around the base with hopes of flying soon. I never said this guy will knock on your door just to piss you off and act like he knows it all. I thought that this would be a friendly and easy way to reach across the country to find some good information. I'm not looking for a job, I have one. But where I work is not really an option for a new pilot. However if I read this same post and knew of someone that was looking I would have passed it on. I thank those who did answer, and maybe someday you will have a question that I may be able to answer. Funny how these threads always piss someone off!

 

SAR

[shaggy]

sorry about contributing to the off-topicness ( i know that isn't a real word) of this thread. amazing how they seem to do that. unfortunately the few suggestions i have would be airborne out of whitecourt but they have their own school and would likely take new guys from there, although, i have heard of them hiring from without also. alpine (in canmore) will sometimes bring on new guys to work the ramp and such, remote in slave lake had a new fella helping out doing scanning on the sioux lookout fire i worked last year. i don't think he flew an awful lot but he did get some stick time in a 206 if i remember correctly. rupert's land in bonnyville is another place to maybe get a start but you have to have a pretty thick skin to work there, and be prepared to do seismic and nothing but (except for menial work around the hangar for pennies a day). there is always canadian, too, and then some of the dedicated spray shops like western aerial applications.

 

to the other guys, i can understand the frustration of having to deal with constant interruptions but i always went to the CP, rarely the ops manager, never the base manager. i can appreciated that it would be better for them to concentrate their efforts to the guys who can help them but whether or not you like having the new guys drop in on you there really is no other way for them to go about looking for a job unless the more senior people in charge of hiring start accepting resumes that are either faxed, mailed or emailed. i certainly wouldnt drive all the way from newfoundland to bc and go back without talking to everyone i possibly could (prick or not).

SAR, hope that helps.

cheers

[SAR]

Thanks Shaggy, Some very good points there. I will pass them on. See guys, that didn't hurt that bad!

 

Thank you!

 

SAR

[407 Driver]

Alpine in Canmore will be hiring right now for ground crew positions, but don't expect any word on a flying job. They say that there is NO chance for that flight job, and NO chance to even get a checkride when you work there.

It's near minimum wage in one of the most expensive towns in the Rockies.

 

In saying that, some guys have stuck it out on the ground for THREE summers and have that first job....

[shaggy]

wish your friend the best of luck, SAR. i do remember very clearly the dissappointment of having to put the licence away for the long wet winter (i was living in vancouver at the time) and having to go work in a mill that made cardboard boxes. whoopee. it did lead to many a joke about me being a professional boxer and such. it did also keep me in the black enough that i could go back to where i trained for an hour here and there. as they say nothing substitutes for experience excpet when you don't have any, then all you have to go on is perseverance. i asked our CP if it was possible to hire a low time guy to work on ops gear and then do the odd maintenance flight/ferry trip so he could build hours and he said that it had already been tried andapparently it didn't work really well for either party. too bad. my point i guess, and i'm sure you've told him/her this is don't let it get you down if it doesn't work right away.

good luck

[PIC]

How about starting as a cojo for a heli-logging outfit? It's not the kind of job I would have taken, but it might work for some...

 

One could try Transwest in Chilliwack, Black Tusk in Squamish, or East West in Salmon Arm. All three operate 214s and use a copilot in the right seat. I think that they often take on 100-hour pilots when they need one.

 

I know of a few guys that got started that way and their first job carried them on to good careers.

 

Good luck to your friend SAR.

[AirCon]

Hi SAR

 

I'm not sure about other parts of the country, but here in Alberta, the fling-wing companies do tend to get busy at this time. As I work in forestry, this is the time that we start servicing the look-out towers for occupancy, firebases etc. You might be able to get on with a company with low hours, but there is another set of minimums that you need before you can fly in forestry related work...servicing, fire-fighting etc. The four RW companies here do a lot of forestry work here and we generally use all the resourses they have during a fire flap, so low timers might not get a chance to build a lot of hours......regardless, here are the minimums you need to fly for Alberta Forestry

 

Rotor-Wing Aircraft

 

1. Light and Intermediate rotor-wing

 

• 600 hours total

• Minimum 300 hours pilot-in-command

• Current Transport Canada Commercial Pilot Licence (rotor-wing)

• Current Pilot Proficiency Check (PPC)

• 100 hours of low-level mountain flying time mountainous terrain and;

• Transport Canada recognized mountain-flying course.

 

2. Medium and heavy rotor-wing:

 

• 1,500 hours total rotor-wing flying time

• 1,000 hours pilot-in-command

• Current Transport Canada Commercial Pilot Licence for rotor-wing

• Current Pilot Proficiency Check Ride (PPC)

• 100 hours of low-level mountain flying time mountainous terrain and;

• Transport Canada recognized mountain flying course

Upon request the pilot and company must provide the pilot’s flying history.

 

Note: Pilots within 100 hours of the minimum requirement may be used under emergency situations as approved by the Fire Manager.

 

Hope this helps...

 

A

[SAR]

Thanks All,

 

Now this is the kind of information that I was looking for. I'll be sure to pass it on. I know it has to be tough getting that first job. I went through training with a group of 10 - 12 pilots and of that only 3, that I know of, are flying. I was one of the luckier ones, I finished my training April - 97, started my first job 2 weeks later. It was a ground job at first, but was promised an evaluation ride that fall. All went well. However, I have friends who have not even sat in a helicopter since. It must be real tough to hold your head high all this time. I wish more could get the chance that I did. It's such a battle to spend all that money and not reach the goal you had set out for.

 

Thanks again, I appreciate the time taken by all!

 

AirCon,

 

A little off topic here, but when did Alberta forestry request a Transport Canada Approved Mountain Course? Thats gonna make it real tough for the newer pilots as well. I lived in Alberta from '98 - '01 and never knew of a requirement then. (that's not to say it was not there) I flew lights on fires for 4 years and only knew of B.C. with the Mountain requirement. Good info. to know.

 

Thanks

SAR

[Needles Split]

Is your buddy a Newfie? If so, tell him to give CHL a call in Goose Bay, they may have a summer position for a dispatcher opening up. The hours are long, the pay isn't great, they provide housing though and it tends to get a little crazy there in the summer months (the staff house & the hanger).

Henry Blake D. OPS/B. MGR

709-896-5259

 

 

 

 

Good Luck !!!

 

 

SAR did you work for the Goose crowd once?