Hawcs Ifr

[AH1]

Curious-how much usage does HAWCS in Calgary make of their IFR requirment? It's one of the killers for working for them apparently, if you don't have it, you can't fly for them. Soooo.....how many filed IFR trips have they done, and what use is a Surveillance helicopter when flying blind in a control zone. (Doesn't a night endorsment fill the bill?) Just curious......

[Ryan]

it's a requirment more for if they fly into cloud by accident. think the machine is a single-engine anyways isn't it?

[helicopper]

I can only offer a guess, AH1... we (opp) operate a couple of vfr-only twinstars province-wide and will be NVG capable within the next 6 months... all of our aircrew (all 5) require ifr tickets as a means of providing options should we suddenly find ourselves within imc (per ryan's comments)... our fellow brothers & sisters in the red serge operate in similar fashion.

[Phil Croucher]

It would appear that they regard it as a badge of excellence, in that you are allegedly automatically a better pilot. They've had a lot of good candidates without one who were passed by, and some with one who didn't make the grade at all.

 

Phil

[T-rex]

Their IFR rated crews, use this training for night VFR. Kind of a 'blackhole' beyond city limits in some situations. Yes, they have 2 EC120's.