100hr Wonders

[mg42]

this thread is hilarious, i can just picture the faces of the not so legit training schools , worried expressions and thinking 'uh oh they are going to find out' then all the good ones out there that train the best they can getting frustrated at the negative comments.

there are just as many people out there percentage wise with bachelors degrees not using them (even though i don't know what u would use a bachelors degree for) and they spent 4 years and the same amount of money getting edumacated. at least for the people that never fly a helicopter again those so called puppy mills only kept them for 4 months and they have that good experience to tuck into their belt for the rest of their life.

have fun u guys and gals

[helix]

Yup, I'm endorsed on the 214. I'm lucky in that sense but it's still incredibly difficult to break into the industry even with that I find.

a 214 endorsement? how far did you bend over??

 

:shock:

[volition]

Without it, you log 500 hours of co-jo, and only 10 of them really counts.

[412driver]

when i started out as a hangar rat the boss would say two words to the 100 hour guys that came through the doors: "stick around". he would then walk away and leave you alone.

 

i went to the chief engineer and asked what i could do in the meantime and he happily put me to work doing various jobs. in the weeks that followed i saw 100 hour guys come in and the boss said the same thing. difference was that most of these guys would sit around in the coffee room waiting for the bossman, who i know was watching them all day. these guys were given a thanks but we have nothing for you and sent down the road.......

 

i kept at it, worked hard and didn't complain. i got the odd non-rev flight then a little training until that wonderful day when he told me to pack my sh@t cuz i was headed for the arctic the next day.

 

today, i teach at a school that some (mainly the competition) have called one of those "mills" although i don't see why.... i take a max of 4 students and i drill into them the need for a good work ethic and good attitude. i recommend that when they are not flying or studying they put on some coveralls and go into the hangar and work with the engineers. not for free labour but to get to know the machine. it's good to learn about the machine you are flying and learn to take care of it (washing, greasing ect)

 

bottom line,i am seeing that many of this generation of want to be pilots(not all mind you) is on a "i want it now and i deserve it" mindset

 

when i hear about this talk of overtime ect. sure whatever, i say, go ahead and ask for it and make sure you tell them during your interview that you know the law and demand it!

 

like someone said earlier, in this business the cream does rise to the top and for the guys that get there, it's earned and the dividends are worth it........

[Cole]

Well said 412D.

 

I do however think that, yes I do know the laws, but no that doesnt mean im only willing to work 5 8 hour shifts with the schedualed half hour break... that crap really gets to me. Just that if Im on my 15th 16 hour shift in a row and im bagged I know I can throw in the towel.

 

As for "Puppy mills" I suppose there are schools that force peolpe through the doors and just want the coin but Im certain for the most part if a school was so horrible they wouldnt last nearly as long, nor have near the reputation as some of the schools that have been 'accused' of being one have.

 

I think alot of what one gets from a school is what they put into it, Im sure some of the best individual pilots come from a 'puppy mill' and some of the worst could come from the best facilities. If you have the best instructor with the best program and groundschool it means nothing if you dont put effort in.

[porterpower]

I just wanted to say "puppy mill".

[ChairmanoftheBORED]

The big issue that most have missed here but 412 touched on is the generational attitude. The guys now are programmed to want it now and cant figure out why they shouldnt have it. 5 mins flying in the real world should explain it to them but they still probably wont get it.

If you are a 100hr guy, give up on the idea of flying for a couple of years and learn to do the ground job excellently so that you get noticed. Trying to scab 0.2hrs here and there is pointless and probably will only detract from your real work which is supporting the pilots.

 

For those concerned about the 8hr day... consider what the pilots are out there doing. We are working 14-16hrs a day and we too are getting tired. If you think sitting on your fat arse unloading, cleaning and refuelling is tough, try flying for a living. Cant hack that then dont let the door hit you on the arse on the way out.

[sirlandsalot]

Well chairman that is one way to look at it. To give up the idea of flying after working your *** of in a ditch with a shovel, re-morgaging the house and dreaming of flying for ten solid years might be a litle bit much to ask. There are quite a few oppritunities for low timers to fly real soon out of school if they can make the right decision where they want to work. The days of 2 or 3 years on the ground are passing quick as pilots are needed. I am a low timer and started flying 2 months after graduation. I have been flying quite steadily since, now its daily. Just past 500 hrs and not even 1.5 years out of school. You can't hack a low timer for wanting to fly. I have never had a job that is a lowsey 8 hr shift, what can you get done in 8 hrs? You are right about my generation, full of baby-bomers offspring which are full of lazy *** mama's boys who don't get the work concept whatsoever. Easy for me, less competition! However I want to fly and I want to fly as soon as possable....I have worked my *** off on the ground since I was 14. The last thing I want to do is work for some old salt that thinks I need to "pay my dues because I want to fly" just because he did. Guess what, we are here to learn and replace the highly experienced one's leaving, it only took me 2 mins to learn how to roll a drum, what's next? No offence, but we are not all lazy short shift wistle blow'in union rights activists, I hate the union, it's for the weak.

[sirlandsalot]

Maybe instead of bashing lowtimers....find a good guy and give him a chance, pass on your knowlege and put back into the industry what you got out of it.

[Htech]

Hi,

I got hired 3 months after i finished my training. i took 8 months to do my commercial training (basic training). i worked hard because my instructor also worked hard for me. (rob w. was my instructor for most of my training) a good team. When i was in school and when i was not in the air i helped the engineers do 1200/hour inspections 100 hour inspections, ate donuts with them etc. i even pulled weeds in the the schools garden. When i got hired there were other good candidates competing with me for the one position available. i took a test did a couple of circuits with the chief and then he told me to wait a couple of days for the answer. There were other guys getting tested that day . ok, so instead of going to the amusement park for 2 days, I went to the hanger the next day like i was hired but instead i went to a apprentice engineer and asked him what he was doing, and if i can help him out. So, we loaded a 204 with ops gear, then the engineer of the 204 needed help taking the cowlings off,, Then while the ame was working on a hydraulic pump, i grabbed a bottle of soap and cleaned up the cowlings... i guess i was being watched by the owner and a engineer or two. at lunch time, I went to the chief and told him i will be back I was going to get a sub for lunch .. out of courtesy I asked him , " if he wanted anything", he gave me 20 bucks and asked me to get him and a pilot that was sitting in his a office an Italian sub without tomatoes etc.. i came back and the three of us sat and ate lunch. We got to know each other a little better. That afternoon the pilot( looks like santa claus) that i ate lunch with and I fully tested all the bambi buckets . I definitely learned allot on my first day and they learned allot about me. I was not even hired yet. the next day i showed up again in the AM and not until they made me sweat to find out if i got hired,,until 11am.. i was told that i was hired and that i will get paid for the day before. 2 days later i was in rainbow lake which is the north east corner of Alberta it is a place where there are no girls, mud and huge mosquitos and deer flys that can fly 40km/h . i worked from 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset everyday for months. i banked 50 days by the end of the season. Up north the sun goes down almost never. i was refueling the 204 every time it came back, cleaning the machines thoroughly if there was time, or I cleaned the million bugs off the windows; i am tall so i had good reach, cleaning all types ops gear, setting up sling loads, painting, cutting grass, taking pictures of pepsi machines being slinged, roofing, building decks, garbage dump runs, i was working allot with AME’s it is a valuble way to learn, by doing inspections and everything they asked me to do with them is priceless information that you just absorb and never forget, I also did some flooring, concrete, vacuum the crew house made signs. man, there is always something to do. Instead of sitting on my *** watching jerry springer on tv. i kept busy. The pilots and engineers that were there with me showed me appreciation for sure. some of the ways I am sworn to secrecy. the bottom line is they tell the chief pilot everything,,, i got to fly here and there for a the first few months and for the entire month of august all i did was ferry flying and of course always cleaning the machine. i spent hours and hours cleaning the machine with a toothbrush sometimes. The machine was clean everywhere, you could read the serial and part numbers on the bolts, transmition, engine, inside the cockpit blades, etc. i cleaned it like it was a classic corvette that i owned for 20 years. I got allot of experience from experienced pilots and engineers and I have excellent references for my resume. Pretty happy with my start in this industry.

Cheers, Alon