firststep Posted February 2, 2006 Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 Hello all.First of all i just want to thank anybody in advance who is willing to give me advice.I am a 30 year old guy from the UK currently working in Japan and have become very interested in pursuing a career as a commercial helecopter pilot. However i have some worries and am uncertain about quite a lot of things.For example: in about a year and a half from now i will have the money to train for and hopfully get my licence, which is expensive but it's the expense after that, that i am worried about because i will have a max of about 200 flight hours i suppose. please can you give me some advice on how to increase this to a level that will make me employable. Also what other factors are there to consider that make me more employable? what country has the best flight schools? i'm willing to work hard, i know it's a risk and will take a long time but is this just a dream or is it actually possible for me to pursue what i believe would be an amazing career? some advice or a place that i could write to, to get the relevant advice would be really helpful... thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flingwing206 Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 If you can afford it, train in the country where you want to work. If cash is an issue, train in Canada or the USA, get the JAA and FAA or CAA ratings. Getting the hours after is the big challenge. If you train in another country, you need a work visa, then a job. This is probably most feasable in the USA, but by no means a sure thing. Not to kill your desire, but the road to being a professional pilot is strewn with the debris of those folks who never quite could get the hours and experience needed to get a job - either they ran out of time (visa), or they ran out of money, or both. The most common path for someone in your situation is to go to Helicopter Adventures in the USA, do the JAA/FAA thing to CFII, get a CFI job in the USA to get the hours/experience, then back to Europe to do the rest required to unfreeze your JAA license and work in the EC. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firststep Posted February 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Thanks very much that helps a lot.You're right, i've been doing quite a bit of research recently and the US seems the best place to train and get a job as an instructor. I'm thinking about applying for the J1 visa which would apparently give me 2 years in America, which would leave me about 1 year to get about 800 hours flight time. Would it be difficult to get a position as an instructor for this amount of time? Also is this enough time to build these hours. I should have about $70,000 to start which means i can't go buying lots of flight time!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flingwing206 Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 To answer that question, I receive an average of one resume a week from folks on a visa looking for a job. I would guess that Helicopter Adventures hires about half of all their foreign students who are looking for jobs. So like I said before, it is in no way a sure thing. You can better your odds by being a top student and playing nice with everyone, but even then, you may have to search far and wide for a job. An added incentive to getting done quickly is that if you take 14 months to complete your CFII rating, you only have 10 months to work. Since it takes around 2 months to really hit your stride as an instructor, that leaves 8 months where you will be productive - for many operators, it just isn't worth it to hire someone on a visa. Harsh, but reality none the less. There's also the real chance that you will find a job but still not build the hours you need. Finally, realize that when you are on a visa, you cannot hold another job, so if you don't make a living wage as CFI, you may not be able to eat. Having painted as bleak a picture as possible, I'll leave you with this - folks are successfully "getting 'er done" every day! It is more likely that you will be successful than not, it just isn't guaranteed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firststep Posted February 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Thanks Flingwing i appreciate your candor.i was not expecting it too be easy and i'm actually quite happy it isn't because it makes success that much more enjoyable!! Going by what you said in your last message you are either a flight school owner or work for one so i have another question or two for you if you don't mind? Do many Japanese people train for their helo licence in the US? Would speaking fluent Japanese, having some years of experience instructing in another field and a glowing reference from a previous employer be and help in my search for a job? It's nice to here that helicopter adventures hire about half of there foreign students. I say this because i'm a pretty likable chap if i do say so myslef!! Also that shool is in a perfect place for me becasue i have some american friends who are from that area which will help a lot i think with living comforts, and eating etc! (you don't happen to work for helicopter adventures do you?) Well thanks again for all your help!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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