General advice on training and job prospects

[gtc]

Hi.
I took a helicopter taster session last year and loved it. Recently started researching how to become a helicopter pilot. Lookng on the web looks like it wil take about £70k and 12 months to achieve CPL from zero. My local flight school do PPL and CPL, also noticed Bristow do anintegrated CPL. Is this cost about right?
The other apect i've been looking at is employment after training. This is proving more diffiuclt. Odd bits and pieces when I do searches but doesn't appear to be much or likely I'm looking in the wrong places.
I'd appreciate any general advice on how others trained and how they got their first job. I have no connections in the industry so feeling a bit lost.
Thanks

ps UK based.

[TomPPL]

Bristow in the UK will do an integrated course, flying offshore for them though is a non starter right now due to the sate of the oil industry - there are pilots with a fair amount of turbine hours struggling to keep their heads above water. Are you anywhere near an airport with a flying school you could maybe get a CFI job with?

[Wally]

 

Hi.

I took a helicopter taster session last year and loved it. Recently started researching how to become a helicopter pilot. Lookng on the web looks like it wil take about £70k and 12 months to achieve CPL from zero. My local flight school do PPL and CPL, also noticed Bristow do anintegrated CPL. Is this cost about right?

The other apect i've been looking at is employment after training. This is proving more diffiuclt. Odd bits and pieces when I do searches but doesn't appear to be much or likely I'm looking in the wrong places.

I'd appreciate any general advice on how others trained and how they got their first job. I have no connections in the industry so feeling a bit lost.

Thanks

ps UK based.

 

I can teach a monkey to fly. I can't make a monkey an aviator. (US Army instructor pilot, "encouraging" me in 1968)

 

Employment after training is the most difficult part of the process. There are many routes from zero to employment, but not much certainty, it depends on your ability to take advantage of opportunities.

If you don't have a sponsor and a job waiting for your qualification, the next best choice is instructional employment at the school that trained you. After that, teaching flying at another and/or various flight schools. You can begin the long process of learning to really fly while teaching, make contacts and establish a reputation.

 

Or, work and fly as financially feasible. I know people who bought almost every hour to the level of general employability, scavenged hours, or bartered time for other skills. I know people who established their own flying businesses to build time.

 

This is a poor time to be in the helicopter business. The biz may continue to decline, especially in view of novel alternatives (drones, for instance); or if you're a determined contrarian, this is the time to become employable in a couple, maybe ten years when business expands and/or attrition opens a seat. The new pilot who will take that seat is starting now.

 

Most who start will quit for one reason or another. The only thing certain is that you won't fly for a living if you never start the process.

Edited January 27, 2017 by Wally

[r22butters]

Most who start will quit for one reason or another.

As an entrance requirement to flight school we (like the WO wannabees) should have to write an essay on, "Why I want to be a Career Helicopter Pilot?"

 

Lets face it, you're trying to enter a job market that doesn't actually "need" you! That makes the path ridiculously difficult! Writting such an essay would allow you really take a good hard look at the reasons why you "want" this, and perhaps spare you the sh*t-loads of money you'll spend, when you realize the idea of the job in your head doesn't match the reality of the job you finally get!

 

Something to think about?

[LionHeart]

Do you have a family?

[ajm872000]

This question is more geared towards the "General advice on training" part of this post. The increasing influx of the Guimbal helicopter into the mix for trainer helicopters brings up some interesting questions. From reading through the forums on here it looks like the R22 is by far the most common trainer out there. However, I've seen that there's also a lot of schools dumping the R22 in favor of the Guimbal. In terms of longevity and looking down the road, would it be more beneficial to go for a school that offers one airframe over the other looking at operating cost, maintenance costs, reliability, and safety. I've seen many post and say "if you can fly an R22 you can fly anything." I know there are other aircraft to consider as well like the Schweizer.

 

It also looks like the used market for R22s is much more robust if one is looking to purchase the aircraft to build hours although a quick look at the prices is pretty confusing. How is a 2006 R22 worth $200,000 but a 2017 worth $275,000? For someone looking to take the plunge into my PPL and onward which would you recommend?

 

I'm a newbie here so apologies if any of my questions are misinformed. So much to learn.

[adam32]

The 2006 R22 most likely had a 12yr/2200hr overhaul recently completed which essentially makes it a "zero" time helicopter.