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Heli Expo


Boatpix

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Heli Expo in Las Vegas runs this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and is the big nationwide heli show where you see a LOT of brand new helicopters and many movers and shakers in the industry. . I've gone every year for the last 25 years so let me give you some tips:

 

It's an expensive show and I've paid $800 this year for badges and tables but you can pay only $30 to attend if you send me an email and I'll write you a student ticket (you pay the show) provided you aren't an ATP and we therefore have a legitimate shot at training you in our flight school: HeliAcademy@gmail.com

 

Cheap nonstops to Vegas are always available last minute and then Uber or taxi to www.RitaSuites.com a hotel that you can walk to the convention center and is $24/night. I'll be staying there with my wife and some students who listen to me, lol. Pietro's is a great Italian restaurant across street from the Convention Center and between it and the hotel but an expensive place to drink much like the rest of the town.

 

Stage Door has $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon beers all day and all night and you should google map that place. I think for $2 you can get a hot dog and a PBR which has to be the cheapest place in any town for a brew and a tubesteak.

 

Walgreens and CVS abound and are a familiar discount face for things like breakfast bars, snacks and drinks.

 

If a girl comes up and shows a lot of interest in you she probably is more interested in your money as "she'll need $500 to make you holla as she get's paid to do the wild thing!" which i kind of bastardized from the immortal Tone Loc.

 

 

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If a girl comes up and shows a lot of interest in you she probably is more interested in your money as "she'll need $500 to make you holla as she get's paid to do the wild thing!" which i kind of bastardized from the immortal Tone Loc.

 

So, that really hot chick who started talking to me while I rode the escalator up to the food court at Excalibur was a hooker?!

 

,...but she even touched my arm,...! :D

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Ah the morning move at Luxor. Well Heliexpo was, well,...something to do. Not as many choppers as I remember from the last time it was here, but they did have a pretty cool looking cobra,...man those blades are massive!

 

Stopped by the "career fair" for shits and giggles. Couldn't belive how packed it was! There must have been three dozen operators all ju,...Ha I'm just kidding, it was pretty small, and well tucked away (had to ask three people where it was)...but that's what to expect during a "looming global pilot shortage",...Ha!

 

I saw you there Tom, but you didn't see me. Only one forum member has seen the face of Butters,...and lived!

 

Anyway, time to flush and head to the airport.

 

,...oh yeah, almost forgot. There were hot chicks EEEEEVERYWHERE!!!!

:)

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Ah the morning move at Luxor. Well Heliexpo was, well,...something to do. Not as many choppers as I remember from the last time it was here, but they did have a pretty cool looking cobra,...man those blades are massive!

 

Stopped by the "career fair" for shits and giggles. Couldn't belive how packed it was! There must have been three dozen operators all ju,...Ha I'm just kidding, it was pretty small, and well tucked away (had to ask three people where it was)...but that's what to expect during a "looming global pilot shortage",...Ha!

 

I saw you there Tom, but you didn't see me. Only one forum member has seen the face of Butters,...and lived!

 

Anyway, time to flush and head to the airport.

 

,...oh yeah, almost forgot. There were hot chicks EEEEEVERYWHERE!!!!

:)

Butter,

 

I have to say, your negative attitude towards the industry is amazingly glaring. Maybe you had a bad experience while coming up in the industry. I don't know you from the next guy... I just get that sense from your constant negative and industry-berating posts.

 

From my two cents, going to, speaking, and getting an award at HAI, it was pretty fun. I have had at least 3 friends interview and get offers from out of the blue at the show, and at least 2 others get offers to come interview. Maybe you don't meet company minimums... fair enough. But, if you and others do, there are LOTS of jobs open in multiple sectors. Or, maybe you should just lighten up, Francis.

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Butter,

 

I have to say, your negative attitude towards the industry is amazingly glaring. Maybe you had a bad experience while coming up in the industry. I don't know you from the next guy... I just get that sense from your constant negative and industry-berating posts.

 

From my two cents, going to, speaking, and getting an award at HAI, it was pretty fun. I have had at least 3 friends interview and get offers from out of the blue at the show, and at least 2 others get offers to come interview. Maybe you don't meet company minimums... fair enough. But, if you and others do, there are LOTS of jobs open in multiple sectors. Or, maybe you should just lighten up, Francis.

Lighten up,...? What, poop jokes aren't light enough for ya? Eat more fiber!

 

,...and its butters, with an "s"!

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Yoooo, can't be talkin to my homie butters like that bruh.

 

....and I'd have gone to Heli expo but I didn't wanna get punched in the face

Please explain the punched in the face bit, although I do have a theory...

 

My point is that Butter(s) puts out so much negative stuff here, and this is a place to freely exchange info, I thought I would give my perspective, in the hopes of not scaring off the new generation of people hoping to become helicopter pilots.

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My point is that Butter(s) puts out so much negative stuff here, and this is a place to freely exchange info, I thought I would give my perspective, in the hopes of not scaring off the new generation of people hoping to become helicopter pilots.

If anyone gets scared off by any of my experiences or opinions, then they probably wouldn't make it in this cold, heartless, stuckup, and two-faced industry anyway.

 

https://youtu.be/JOIcnlB1DCM

 

,...and besides, someone's gotta to wear the black hat. :)

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Everyone knows Butters is the face of VR. I think he single-handedly keeps the forums open when there's little to talk about, he just talks to himself.

 

In fact....now I'm having a bit of an existential crisis

 

...wondering if I'm the only real pilot here and everyone else is just Butters' multiple personalities.

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"If anyone gets scared off by any of my experiences or opinions, then they probably wouldn't make it in this cold, heartless, stuckup, and two-faced industry anyway"...

 

Hence the negative energy. I love being a helicopter pilot, and I very much have enjoyed, at least for the last 21 years, the people that I fly with. I would recommend it to those that love flying as well.

 

"Everyone knows Butters is the face of VR"...

 

Well, I did not know. Maybe she needs a face-lift. I have been blessed to save people with a helicopter for a paid profession for the past two decades. Maybe we should try and share the positive nature of our trade, instead of the divisive, negative, sad attempts at humor and ridicule. There is an entire other site dedicated to that.

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"If anyone gets scared off by any of my experiences or opinions, then they probably wouldn't make it in this cold, heartless, stuckup, and two-faced industry anyway"...

 

Hence the negative energy. I love being a helicopter pilot, and I very much have enjoyed, at least for the last 21 years, the people that I fly with. I would recommend it to those that love flying as well.

 

"Everyone knows Butters is the face of VR"...

 

Well, I did not know. Maybe she needs a face-lift. I have been blessed to save people with a helicopter for a paid profession for the past two decades. Maybe we should try and share the positive nature of our trade, instead of the divisive, negative, sad attempts at humor and ridicule. There is an entire other site dedicated to that.

I love being a helicopter pilot too!

 

In fact when I took the 22 up a few weeks ago it was one of the best flights I've ever had! Nice and peaceful along the coast, warm enough to take off my door (yeah, door off at night in February) gorgeous sunset behind the city, cool looking cruise ship at the pier,...frickin' awesome!

 

Ahhh, so much positive energy, I can actually feel my balls shriveling up, quick, gotta think of something negative before they fall off!

 

It really sucked that Sbarro's wasn't at the expo food court this time!

 

,...ah much better! :)

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Mudkow, you're deff a sharp dude. No doubt, you've been there, done that, much respect, but hear me out over here...

 

IMO, each chump Butters turns off from flying is doing us all a favor in the long run don't ya think?

 

Plus, he generates content.

 

Must be nice to be on top, winning awards and stuff, all the ass kicking you're doing might give you a different perspective from us lowly, low timers.

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I love being a helicopter pilot too!

 

In fact when I took the 22 up a few weeks ago it was one of the best flights I've ever had! Nice and peaceful along the coast, warm enough to take off my door (yeah, door off at night in February) gorgeous sunset behind the city, cool looking cruise ship at the pier,...frickin' awesome!

 

Ahhh, so much positive energy, I can actually feel my balls shriveling up, quick, gotta think of something negative before they fall off!

 

It really sucked that Sbarro's wasn't at the expo food court this time!

 

,...ah much better! :)

If you're balls shriveled up....wouldn't they fall IN?

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Sooooo

 

To get the thread back on topic and further away from Butters' testicles...

 

How was the career fair? Which operators were there hiring? How many people looking for jobs? etc

 

I think I might be about ready for a change here but I couldn't make it to Heli-success myself, so it would be nice to know which companies were in attendance and how desperate they appeared.

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Mudkow, you're deff a sharp dude. No doubt, you've been there, done that, much respect, but hear me out over here...

 

IMO, each chump Butters turns off from flying is doing us all a favor in the long run don't ya think?

 

Plus, he generates content.

 

Must be nice to be on top, winning awards and stuff, all the ass kicking you're doing might give you a different perspective from us lowly, low timers.

Got it. I am not bragging, just bring my perspective to light.

 

Please be advised, where I work there is a civilian pilot along with two of us military types. While we all respect each other, we have our differences. As per the "different perspective" comment you made, not to open up a can of worms, but we all work to get where we are at in this profession. While I never had to pay for my helicopter time (read I did pay for my fixed wing, up through my multi engine commercial), I think my dues were paid sitting in the bottom of a floating prison, surrounded by people who wanted to harm us, sweating thinking about the 0-dark thirty launch I was schedule for that night. We all paid our dues, and have a place where we base our current perspective. I feel that offering a positive perspective on the industry can help people who are considering taking the plunge into the helicopter world.

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Sooooo

 

To get the thread back on topic and further away from Butters' testicles...

 

How was the career fair? Which operators were there hiring? How many people looking for jobs? etc

 

I think I might be about ready for a change here but I couldn't make it to Heli-success myself, so it would be nice to know which companies were in attendance and how desperate they appeared.

Well Novictor was there if you want to fly R44 tours in Hawaii? The Border Patrol was there of course, and Boatpix,...that's all I remember (which is odd since it was such a small room with not that many operators) sorry.

 

Speaking of Helisuccess, does anyone know if they had the "Helisuccess lite" there, I didn't notice?

 

Oh yeah, if HAA is your game, well I've recieved email offers from at least half a dozen HAA recruiters over the past month or so for SPIFR,...and if they're contacting me, they must be getting desperate!

 

So open up the phone book and start calling Zippie. :)

Edited by r22butters
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Got it. I am not bragging, just bring my perspective to light.

 

Please be advised, where I work there is a civilian pilot along with two of us military types. While we all respect each other, we have our differences. As per the "different perspective" comment you made, not to open up a can of worms, but we all work to get where we are at in this profession. While I never had to pay for my helicopter time (read I did pay for my fixed wing, up through my multi engine commercial), I think my dues were paid sitting in the bottom of a floating prison, surrounded by people who wanted to harm us, sweating thinking about the 0-dark thirty launch I was schedule for that night. We all paid our dues, and have a place where we base our current perspective. I feel that offering a positive perspective on the industry can help people who are considering taking the plunge into the helicopter world.

FWIW. I didn't think there was any bragging, most all of your posts are insightful like a quiet professional.

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My experience with Heli-Expo (back in 2013):

 

I paid $120 to sit in helicopters and see what I comfortably fit in, and get a bag full of shirts, pens, and other swag.

 

To me: Worth going once, if it's nearby. I wouldn't travel to one unless I was trying to get on to my first turby job.

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I didnt go this year. I tend to lean more towards mudkow60s perspective. But butters certainly points out the dark underbelly of this industry. One of the things I really hate about the expo is highlighted in the types of shoes you see. Expensive leather on the sales and marketing folks. Cheap leather on the pilots (who generally live paycheck to paycheck). Comfy sneakers on the company owners and folks who have the real money (and thus dont give a toot about impressing anyone).

 

I love this industry, but I have learned to loath certain aspects of it.

Edited by Counterrotate
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