Fixed wing to Whirly bird?

Some random thoughts:
1. On the flip side many EMS jobs are either moving toward the use of NVGs due to the increased safety they provide, or pay a premium for pilots who are qualified in NVGs. While there are a few civilian outfits that train on them in the outside, there are not very many.
2. The type of flying the military does transfers over to the EMS very easily. We land in places and do things that would make most civilian trained pilots pee in their pants. Those hiring look at this. In addition, many of those doing the hiring are former military... guess who they prefer. I'm not saying you can't make it or that you can't get great training and experiences on the civilian side, just that it is tougher. I'm willing to bet about 80% of the EMS pilots are former military.
3. War time now, so military pilots are flying lots of hours while deployed.
4. Pre-9/11 the quantity of military RW pilots was going down while the Viet Nam bubble was retiring. The military (particularly the Army), is now cranking out pilots again. There are just not enough pilots or aircraft to do all the missions in the Middle East. The war will end, one way or another. When this happens the market will be flooded with RW pilots who have thousands of turbine combat hours for about 10-20 years.
5. Nationalized health care will reduce the demand for EMS. Yes, other countries have it, but not to our extent. Again, I'm not saying it will go away, just that some of the lower use areas will see it go away when tax payers are footing the bill and deficits are skyrocketing.
Good luck to you.
 
I agree that the military is training great pilots. I do disagree that the wars are creating more ex military pilots. I think with the economy more pilots are staying longer than before. I would say the number of EMS pilots I have met are 50/50 military versus civilian. In the pilots I have talked to that is the way it seems so far. But with the changing economy and war scenario I am anxious to see what happens. the next year or so will be a turning point in the helo world because the military determines the job market and the level of training. I think as a civilian trained pilot I have developed a good skill set but then again I will never fly 40' ft off the deck in the middle of the night that is for you crazy green suiters.
I just want to again say that I appreciate every bar the military pilots have set because that is what is keeping me alive right now. I respect the military pilots a great deal.
Shane
 
EMS is a good gig, but don't forget that there are a good deal of other rotor jobs out there too.

For some real fun, you could do logging by helo. Nothing like maintaining hovers and low forward speeds for long periods of time, while the tail rotor gear boxes are strained to heck with the loads being lifted and the flight regime.

Those guys also have guts that fill a wheel barrow.
 
Logging is my dream job. It takes skill to drop a hook on a choker so they can use it. But I also know that is where aircraft go to die so that is scary. I did some 133 card training and spent 2 weeks throwing up after wards.
Shane
 
Some are leaving; many more are being trained. Just as with Viet Nam as soon as the war ends there will be drastic cuts. Training and keeping current pilots is expensive; maintaining the aircraft costs lots of money. The deficits will be large and military strength will be an easy cut. Many pilots will be put out on the street flooding the RW market. I'm just going with what happened in the past and what is happening now is very similar. I think it was the owner of PHI in the late 70s who said he could always find another Viet Nam helicopter pilot in the gutters to fly his aircraft if anyone asked for a raise. Something to that effect.
 
Tram said:
Yeh, it's not cheap, that's for sure..

Looks like $9K to get the private.. and then another $5-6k to pick up the commercial..

Then getting the time is a whole 'nother ball of wax..
Click to expand...

Yep, I was looking into it and the cheapest copter you build time in went for $225 an hour.
 
It will be interesting to see what happens the next couple of years that is for sure. The economy is crazy right now. Word round the campfire is one of the players in the gulf of mexico is going to close. That will make things even tighter for everyone. Who knows? I hope it picks up soon as I am unemployed once again as of yesterday. I will be back in the states beating the streets looking for something.
Shane
 
It should be fine. I called a couple of friends and they are hooking me up. I have quite a few interviews coming up.
Shane
 
My cousin does instruct in both, but said if forced to do it all over again (pay for it like I would) he'd never be able to pay for the transition to rotary wing these days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top