Question

[Helihead]

I have a two year AAS degree in law enforcement 3.7GPA at a very good school,,, If I have a fixed wing private around 100 PIC and a helicopter CFII, would any agency hire some one and work on the streeet part time and fly part time starting out or would I have to work the street full time first?

Edited November 28, 2007 by Helihead

[Sparker]

I have a two year AAS degree in law enforcement 3.7GPA at a very good school,,, If I have a fixed wing private around 100 PIC and a helicopter CFII, would any agency hire some one and work on the streeet part time and fly part time starting out or would I have to work the street full time first?

 

I have done some research on this and it depends on the agency. Some want you to be on the street for a year or two and they still have high reqs as far as hours. Your best bet is to contact specific agencies you are interested in and work to make yourself attractive to them.

[EC120AV8R]

Any agency is going to want you to work the streets first, unless you got an agency that will hire you as a pilot (Customs/Border Protection for instance). Honestly, you do need to have an understanding of what it's like to work the street, and the tactical considerations of a major call, so that you can properly support it from the air. In our unit, we switch back and forth between serving as the "Flight Officer (Observer) and Pilot. One day you fly, the next you observe basically. Another factor is that once on an agency, you are going against your peers for openings in any special unit. Anything you can do to market yourself to get a transfer into an air unit can help. Keeep building time and gaining experieince.

[gator274]

Generally, most agencies will want you to spend some time on the ground. That length of time depends on the policies of the particular department. Another option might be to go to a department that hires civilians to pilot their birds. There not as plentiful as pilots who come from the ranks but they do exist. In fact, the Maryland State Patrol uses civilian pilots.

 

Hopes this helps.

[EC120AV8R]

Generally, most agencies will want you to spend some time on the ground. That length of time depends on the policies of the particular department. Another option might be to go to a department that hires civilians to pilot their birds. There not as plentiful as pilots who come from the ranks but they do exist. In fact, the Maryland State Patrol uses civilian pilots.

 

Hopes this helps.

 

Generally, the agencies that use civilian contract pilots want real high-time pilots. With the amount of experieince they want, they generally do not pay as well as the sworn positions. We had a guy retire from our unit and apply as a part time contract guy for another agency. He had about 5,000 hours, and they only offered entry level pay for that experience. My opinion is that if you want to get into L.E. flying, get on with an agency that has a unit, do your time on the road and apply for an air support vacancy when it is available. Time on the streets, or investigations is really invaluable once you start supporting the troops from the iar. You've been there and done that and know what to expect they are going to want.

[Voyager11]

It's even tougher then that now for some reason. I'm a veteran with seven years on and well on my way to a CFII and that still does not cut it. You have to understand police operations to fly for them and that is understandable but some of the requirements are just a bit much I think. It is a double edged sword actually. If you are starting from scratch as a rotorcraft trainee and a police trainee there is not a enough time in the day to do both. I left law enforcement all together to train full time and it consumed six days a week with 4 to 6 hours a day study time. I will not even get into the study time for a CFI or II. So as you can see LE flying is a taco of a different flavor. There are so many other areas of rotorcraft aviation. I would say look at them all do not just focus on LE aviation. Give yourself option all the time.