Medevac Career Help

K

Kmaceri

Well-Known Member
Hello Everyone,
Here is my situation and current thoughts about my career goals. Right now I am in college about to receive my A.S. in Business. My ultimate goal is to be a firefighter (used to be an airline pilot). So this Summer I am taking a break from Business school and going into an EMT program at my local tech school. I should become certified by the end of the year. I will then continue my business/fire science degree accordingly. If I get a firefighter job after my EMT cert then I will go for the job and then finish college after the academy. Now my second goal, currently, is to fly Medevac.
Can a Medevac be about of a fire department or is it a private service? I've seen the show "The Academy: Orange County Fire Authority" and they have their own heli's.

Would they take you as a firefighter/pilot?

Anyone have any experience as a firefighter/pilot for airplane/heli?

If you have .02 then please give it!

My Current ratings now is Comm ASEL & AMEL and CFI & CFI-IA. TT - 450

Thanks,
Kevin
 
Generally the helios are operated by seperate companies except in a few big cities that can afford to own their own. To fly for a company that just operates helios in medavac you usually need a few hundred combat hours it seems like. Everyone I have ever met is a ex mil helio pilot. They aren't going to train you to be a helio pilot and its hard to get the turbine time in the civilian world. Now for the few police and fire departments that own their own. They are all police or firefighters first and they will train you from the ground up to fly the helio. AOPA in their last issue had a good article about a police helio pilot in virgina beach. But generally the list to fly the helio is crazy long and most guys who get to fly have been with the force for over a decade.
 
Kmaceri said:
Anyone have any experience as a firefighter/pilot for airplane/heli?

If you have .02 then please give it!

Thanks,
Kevin
Click to expand...

Do both but in separate capacities. What would you like to know besides what Inverted has posted (which is good general info)?
 
If you want to fly helicopter EMS you will need the following,

Pay for your ratings, comercial helo/instrument, and CFI helo/instrument.

Flight instruct for 1-2 years to get 1000 hours helicopter time and 135 minimums. The market for helo CFIs is even more saturated than it is for fixed wing.

Get on with PHI or one of the other companies flying in the Gulf. Fly there for 3-5 years minimum. Scheduale is useally either 7 on 7off, or 14 on 14 off.

Apply for one of the helo EMS companies with more rural outstations and lower pay. Fly there for 3-5 years.

Apply for one of the helo EMS companies in a major metro area with good pay.


Or plan B, Give 10 years to the Army
 
Besides--generally, helo operators don't want their pilots EMS certified--Want them concentrating on flying--not treating patients. That's for the Flight Nurse and Medic.
 
One of my former co-workers flew helicopters for the National Guard. He flew Medevac flights. His take was that he didn't want to know what was going on in the back, because he didn't want it to affect his aeronautical decision making. I remember reading an "Aftermath" article in Flying magazine years (decades now) ago that was about a medevac helo that crashed, killing everybody, including the patient, because the pilot was flying in weather he shouldn't have been flying in, because he was trying to save a life. :(
 
skydog2 said:
One of my former co-workers flew helicopters for the National Guard. He flew Medevac flights. His take was that he didn't want to know what was going on in the back, because he didn't want it to affect his aeronautical decision making. I remember reading an "Aftermath" article in Flying magazine years (decades now) ago that was about a medevac helo that crashed, killing everybody, including the patient, because the pilot was flying in weather he shouldn't have been flying in, because he was trying to save a life. :(
Click to expand...

There are a number of medevac operators who have policies that the pilot doesn't know specifics of the medical emergency (age / sex / etc), but knows the general situation. That way, they may not be unduly self-pressured to launch into bad WX to go get the 5 yr old girl in the auto accident.
 
Just chiming in too - you do not recieve any information regarding the patient until you airborne. You page is solely whether it is a scene call or an interfacility transfer and the location - you decide whether you are flying based on that. When you are airborne you get the pt. information - this is done to prevent people pushing the boundaries based on patient information.
 
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