Junior Pilot Programs

[DGP]

Oh... and after 3 hours...I get to drive down a logging road in that snow storm back to the hotel in Blue River...lots of fun there bye! Then get up at 4 in the morning to giver again!

[FiveCut]

23 minutes ago, DGP said:

Oh... and after 3 hours...I get to drive down a logging road in that snow storm back to the hotel in Blue River...lots of fun there bye! Then get up at 4 in the morning to giver again!

I see you too like to be punished! 🤣

[DGP]

Oh...for you low time pilots...I had close to 3000 hrs when I did the trip to BR...don't get an ame license as well. I have a million more of these...guess I just loved the business too much...kind of nice sitting at home next to a warm fire watching the boob tube...miss the flying though.

[shakey]

14 hours ago, MEOB said:

Wow, a lot of pissed off people here!... Yes the industry is in the toilet. Not sure how a jr pilot would get going now let alone get through client hour requirements. But someone will have to figure out something. I guess left seat mentoring would be possible in a medium or bigger but will be a lot harder to do in a light aircraft. 

After 20 years I can say I still love flying! I was well informed of what I was getting into before I started and can thank RDM for that. I'm not saying its all peachy but some of those buckets and outhouses have been in some pretty cool places and I've gotten to do and experience some pretty awesome things. Not to mention the amazing fishing! There has been lots of ups and downs but thats in everything you go at. I've never starved to death but I've never been out of full time work for any longer than a week or so at a time. Not a big complainer either but I wasn't afraid to speak up. There are lots of jobs I've been on that I've wondered what I'm doing with my life sitting in the flies or in a tin can at -30 with snow up passed the doors but something always comes along and ya forget about that till the next time you're second guessing your decision making skills. Theres been lots of times i've scratched my head wondering why the driver of the boom truck I just loaded from 120' above is making more money than me but most times I've done it with a smile as I enjoyed what I do.  I wonder how i'm going to enjoy fighting with winter covers in 30kts of wind at 20 below at 60 years old but ill cross that bridge when I get to it. Would I let my son or daughter get there licence? Well, thats a tough one, mainly because of the state of everything in the world right now. If its something they were as passionate about as I was, then I guess my biggest piece of advice to them would be stay single as long as you can (LOL) or at least until you find someone to put up with the life of a bush Pilot. Make the best of an industry that can take you to spectacular places and see some amazing things. By the time my kids are able to get licensed it will probably be a licence for a drone. 

Yes, there are lots of negative but the positives out weight it by a long shot! It all comes down to what route you want to take and the attitude you bring along. With that said, I honestly don't know what flight schools are telling students these days in regards to getting work when they finish. Only juniors I can possibly see getting hired would be those who went to a school that was also a commercial operator.    

I think the question was getting a left seat without putting all that crazy work in like most of us had to do. I don’t know one guy that hates the actual flying. Even the pissed off ones.

[Wizard]

I would hope that if there was some kind of left seat program that it would involve a ground component too. For me at least it made me respect everything and everyone so much more, and I feel like that gets lost when someone hasn't had to pay their dues and gets flying right away. 

[DGP]

It probably wouldn't hurt to get some kind of basic training on the ship you are flying...just don't start taking things apart...I could tell you a good one about a pilot that thought he was an engineer. I know a few old timers that flew for years and never did a di...drain fuel...never...check oil levels...never...I went and did a 100 hr inspection on a 206 years ago...when I checked the engine oil tank it was almost empty...when I left I put witness paint on the oil tank cap...came back a month later...cap still had the witness paint on it and the tank again was almost empty...

[wcobra]

4 hours ago, DGP said:

Didn't have to wait til I hit 60 to start shacking my head...working on a 205..on a logging job...putting covers on in a snow storm on the side of a mountain in the dark and then having to pull a fuel pressure switch out of the right side fuel bladder...still had 300 lbs of fuel on board...running a generator to get some light up in grizz country...by my self...should I say more!

Ahh the life! It's all great stuff eh DGP?

Grizz country?  Try that (or similar challenging tasks on a B212) in active Polar Bear country, no generator. mini-mag light taped to my balaclava or clamped by my now chipped teeth (headlights weren't quite here yet).  Without an Eskimo "Bear Monitor"...of course shotgun was kept close by.  As an AME I truly loved the challenges, even when it wasn't so much fun sometimes.  There aren't many that can say they've actually done that kind of stuff, been in those kind of places, and got paid too!  Ya, not as much pay as the other guys in camp but hey, HELICOPTERS ARE WAY COOL!  And working on them out there in the middle of who knows where...how does it get much better!?  Yup, It's a bad disease with no known cure for many.  Great people (most of the time) and plenty of great memories too!  It's a hard career to endure, but with a great Wife and adaptability on my/our parts it's provided sufficient income for us to raise our Family and maybe, just maybe retire in a few years with a measure of comfort.

[DGP]

No sweat...did lots of wrenching and flying in polar bear country...inside and outside...did a lot of wrenching at the rocket range in Churchill...kept the shotgun close!

[DGP]

We should start a new thread...roughest maintenance ....I will start it.

[MEOB]

7 hours ago, shakey said:

I think the question was getting a left seat without putting all that crazy work in like most of us had to do. I don’t know one guy that hates the actual flying. Even the pissed off ones.

Ya I kind of went off track a little....