Helicopter Pilot Lifestyle

[Dustinb1313]

Hi, I am not sure if this has been discussed before. I have done searches but cannot find as much information as I want. I am currently thinking of getting my commercial Helicopter licence so I want to know as much as possible before I get into it, mainly the lifestyle. I know it depends on the job but I just want to get somewhat of an idea.

What are the working schedules like?

Where do you live? In a camp, tent, hotel?

What is the pay like?

Can my girlfriend come with me to where I am working?

How many hours do you need to get into fighting forest fires?

How many hours do you fly a day?

Does anyone know how many people company's like great slave helicopters or canadian helicopters take a year for training? I want to do my training at a company that hires from there students, is it hard to get into these courses or do they take anyone willing to pay?

I think that is it, thank you for any replys.

 

Dustin

[Ryan]

Though I'm not a working pilot yet, I'll take a stab at answering some of those.

 

The working schedules can varied depending on the flying involved. IFR and Instructing seems the most stable, while VFR can be and often is all over the place so the schedule follows suit.

 

As far as living in a camp, tent ot hotel when away from home...the answer is yes, yes and yes. Again depends on the job you're working on at the moment.

 

Not gonna touch the pay issue.

 

Sure your girlfriend could probably come with if you're staying in a hotel, but the only quality time you'll get is her watching you sleep 5 minutes after walking in the door.

 

I think a pilot needs 1000 hours and be BCFS approved to fly buckets on fires. Someone will correct me if I'm out to lunch on that.

 

Hours spent flying again depends on the job. Will probably always be either not enough or too much.

 

Schools that hire their students are a good place to start. Call them up to see what the class sizes are and expect to book at least a year in advance for many schools. Don't limit your training facility search though, take a look at every one in Canada.

Don't count on being that 1 or 2 students out of 10 that is hired after training is done.

Don't expect to be hired within a year of getting your licence...most aren't.

Don't be surprised if you're still a rampie 5 years after getting your licence.

Don't give up! :up:

[412driver]

What are the working schedules like? depends on the contract

 

Where do you live? In a camp, tent, hotel? depends on the contract.

 

What is the pay like? depends on the contract.

 

Can my girlfriend come with me to where I am working? ya right....

 

How many hours do you need to get into fighting forest fires? minimum about 600 PIC

 

How many hours do you fly a day? max 8 hrs if your lucky

 

Does anyone know how many people company's like great slave helicopters or canadian helicopters take a year for training? I want to do my training at a company that hires from there students, is it hard to get into these courses or do they take anyone willing to pay?

 

do your homework by calling all the schools and asking ALOT of questions!

[tDawe]

Boy you must be new, why in tarnation would you want to bring your girlfriend on tour with you?

[Swinger]

Sure bring the girlfriend, there's lots of lonely pilots, engineers and oilfeild workers all over the place who would gladly keep her occupied while you're flying.

 

Her going with you is a pipe dream. many places you would go require you to fly there, ain't no way an employer is footing her bill for transportation etcetera.

 

The rest of what the guys say is true, every situation is different and you just never know where or what will transpire. Best to prepare for the worst everytime.

[R22Captain]

The number of students being hired from a company's own school depends on the year. One year it might be 8....next year it could be 2.

Even then not all those hired will get to fly.

 

If the girlfriend is already concerned about you being away for a month or more at a time then time to re-evaluate. You need to decide between her or flying. For me it was flying. Tough desicion. But she stuck beside me and has been nothing but supportive. 110%. You'll need the same. No chance of girlfriend taggin along. I'm half hoping you were joking when you typed that. Plus she needs to be home working. best of luck supporting 2 of you while working in the hanger!

[vortex]

Sure bring the girlfriend, there's lots of lonely pilots, engineers and oilfeild workers all over the place who would gladly keep her occupied while you're flying.

Is she hot??

[Jet B]

I have said this before, and I will say it again...

 

This business is ONLY worthwhile if you are the type of person who just HAS to fly for a living.

 

Were you the type of kid who would daydream about flying all day and get jealous when you saw a bird go by??

 

If you can answer yes, then maybe you should start looking into being a helicopter pilot, if you answered no, then save yourself some heartache and find a job you enjoy and have a life.

 

Shifts will vary from 4 weeks on 2 weeks off, 6 weeks on 1 week off, or the elusive 2 weeks on 2 weeks off.

 

I have had my wife come visit me on some seismic jobs if I am in a decent hotel and she is within driving distance. But realize that most summer type jobs you WILL be doing 14 hour days and won't feel like doing much but sleep at night.

 

The money when you start out will most likely be around 20-30,000 a year until you get some experience.( anyone correct me, it's been a while so I don't know how much inflation has changed that). Once you get some hours, you should be able to make anywhere from 70,000-120,000 a year depending on how much and what type of work you do. I understand that some individuals doing specialized work like Heli-logging will make even more than that.

 

This industry is all about who you know and who likes you and is willing to take a chance on you, so if you have friends who fly or run a helicopter company your chances of succeding are much better.

 

Starting out, you might expect to fly 200-500 hours a year. With experience, if you fly year round a good number is 800 hours/year.

 

It is very difficult to get your first job, so definitely train with a company that has work for low time pilots and actually does hire them, don't believe anything any school says to you. They are trying to sell you a service and will do just that.

 

If you do train, be the go-getter with the best attitude and you might be one of the lucky few who gets hired.

[cranedriver]

Sorry Ryan, but anyone who is still workin the ramp after 5 years should be asking themselves some serious questions, don't encourage that path.

[Reddog]

Dustin,

 

The best thing for you to do is find an experienced driver that likes his(her) job and lives near you and offer to buy him(her) beers in exchange for information. There is no way you will be able to get your questions answered well here because the answers to your questions will lead to more questions as you explore your way through all the variables that make up a helicopter pilot's life.