Are there any happy pilots out there?

[abailey0116]

Im new to the forum and I am in the process of checking out a few flight schools so Ive been doing a lot of researching and reading a ton of forums lately and I went from being very excited to pursue a passion of mine, flying, to feeling like I am going to hate it or might be making the wrong career choice due to all the negativity I read from people; And not just from random people, but from actual helicopter pilots.

 

Ive read everything from crappy/long hours, horrible pay, cant financially support yourself with this kind of career, not worth being in debt from school, guaranteed divorce, moving constantly, dangerous, etc.... I know not every job is perfect and just because you spend $100k+ on school and put in all the flight time to get where you are, doesnt entitle anyone to a perfect mon-fri job making great money flying a helicopter. Im willing to put in as much time and effort that it takes in order to succeed. Nothing ever comes easy and I understand that it will take a lot of dedication and may be extremely hard at times, but I feel like that alone is what is going to drive you to try even harder... at least thats how I operate.

 

So I guess my question is, are there any happy helicopter pilots out there who actually enjoy their job and what they do for a living and what is it exactly that you love so much? Other than flying because thats a given Im going to school to be a pilot no matter what anyone has to say but for anyone out there who picked up more of a negative vibe than a positive, and might be second guessing your decision, well hopefully this forum will help spread more of the positive sides of flying a helicopter as a profession.

[zippiesdrainage]

Great post, welcome to the forums. As you can guess, there are a lot of people on here with various opinions, backgrounds and ideals which shape everyone's opinion about there life, their decisions and their goals. Take it with a grain of salt, and understand the type of people who flock to forums in the first place. Some come for the anonymity to complain while others come to give back, and others come to network.

 

The only advice I have to give you is to not let anyone sugar coat it for you. It WILL be tough at times. You will at some point feel underappreciated and underpaid. Very few are fortunate enough to have their education and their career advancement given to them on a platter through friends and colleagues.

 

When you begin you'll learn to fly and will have to earn your licenses. It will be difficult. You'll spend a lot of money, you'll go into debt and you'll have concerns about the future of the helicopter industry and your place in it. After you complete your training, you will most likely become an instructor. Easily the hardest job you'll ever have will be teaching guys how to not kill themselves and you while trying to build your own hours. You WILL be paid peanuts for the first few years while you work to build hours, and you will most likely have a hard time getting by without a second income, but if you stick to it and always have a good attitude and make friends along the way you won't regret it.

 

After being an instructor you'll most likely get a "1000 hour job" doing tours, or flying in the Gulf of Mexico. You will get discouraged because it's once again not handed to you. Your 1000 hour job may require 1500 hours because of competition or some companies simply not hiring. You'll apply for tons of jobs you're qualified for and not even get an interview from some, or not get hired. It's tough out there and there is competition. Guys who didn't get their own 1000 hour job last season will be reapplying this time with 1500 or more hours. This may be your situation or maybe not. Even then you'll have loans to pay back, and the pay increase for these positions won't feel like it's enough but you'll be getting the turbine time.

 

Stay positive, be the guy who is always there and happy to go the extra mile both at your current job and for jobs you apply for. As long as you don't give up, you'll get there. Worst case scenario, you have to stay as an instructor a little longer, but then you'll be the guy applying for a 1000 hour job with 1500 hours. There is no stream line process, everyone does their time, and some guys complain about it because some CFI sold them the dream and made it sound easy.

 

If you love to fly, you won't care about money. If you love it unconditionally, you won't care about repetitive days flying in circles, and that will make it all worth it in the end. It won't be easy, and it won't be quick. You'll go into debt and you'll second-guess yourself, and you'll fight with your spouse (if you have one) and you'll be hounded by debt collectors. But if you let yourself be happy flying, and you never give up, you'll never regret it.

 

There are ton of guys on here that will happily give out great advice about choosing a flight school. Take notes and do your research before making your decision, it can set you back (but not ruin your career) if you chose poorly.

 

Get on here constantly and ask lots of questions. Don't feel intimidated or worried that a question is dumb. We've all been there.

 

Good Luck

 

Welcome to Vertical Reference.

[Wally]

Yeah, I like my job. Flying on and off since 1968, mostly ON.

I have had non-flying jobs that paid more and the best employer I ever had was a non-flying job.

Does the necessary investment in time and money versus risk and probable reward work mathematically? No. It's what I always wanted to do, from the age of 9. It's not at all what I thought it would be.

In my opinion, flying is art. You do it whether or not it makes you rich because it satisfies something inside... Yeah, and it's a "job".

[Nearly Retired]

Look, it's complicated. Of course there are happy pilots! Most of us LOVE to fly! Most of us are only truly happy when we're at the controls.

 

But to those of us who fly for a living, flying becomes a j-o-b. You may fantasize all you want about how wonderful and dreamy your life will be if you could only get paid to fly a helicopter. I'm sure it's like all the little girls who dream about dating Justin Bieber. "Ooooooh, my life would be PERFECT!" But the reality is that helicopter flying is a j-o-b. A job that must be taken seriously if you're going to do it well. And I sincerely hope that is your intention.

 

You will not always fly on beautiful, clear Spring days with birds chirping and flute music playing. Some days you will fly on days when the weather is so bad you'll wish you never got out of bed. But you do not have that choice. If the weather is even slightly above "minimums" you go. It may be raining, the wind may be howling, it may be colder than hell...but you go.

 

You will not always work for great employers. You will sometimes hate your boss and the company you work for very, very much. You will hate the very act of coming to work. People will tell you, "Just quit!" But when you took this job, you accepted some pretty crappy pay/benefits because you "just love to fly!" And you're not really in a good financial position to "just quit!" There is usually rent and utilities to pay and car payments to make, and you don't really have enough money to just pack up everything and move across the country to some other gig. But you look desperately for another job - and that messes with your attitude at your current job.

 

You will not always like the people you are working with. And they will not always like you. Hey, you might consider yourself Mother Theresa, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama all rolled up into one awesome person! Wouldn't it be great if everyone in the world was just like you? Well they're not. And you're going to work with some real schmucks. Hopefully not, but it's not a perfect world.

 

And so you say, "But Bob, these things are true with ANY job!" And I say, "YES! That's because flying for a living is JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER JOB." Good things and bad things.

 

But we haven't even talked about the risk of crashing and dying. You must do your "job" perfectly every time you pull up on that little lever thingee next to your seat. There are no "average" commercial helicopter pilots. They tend to die and weed themselves out. YOU must be perfect. Every. Time. You might think this pressure to perform is simply "part of it." Inconsequential! Who cares! But I'll tell ya, toots, it wears on ya after a while. Because some days you'll pull up on that little lever thingee and you'll say to yourself, "Am I really good enough to keep from crashing and killing myself today?" I hope the answer to that question is always, "yes." For me it has been...so far. But I wonder...

 

The problem is that just getting to that first crappy job is a challenge. You spend all this money and time and energy to get rated, and then you find that you're not even employable. You send out resume after resume, and you get no offers. You get really discouraged. And then you FINALLY find some job somewhere, making dirt-with-no-benefits. And you go, thinking to yourself, "I'VE HIT THE BIG TIME, BABY!"

 

And then you find out that flying for a living is like every other job.

 

It's okay at first, like say for the first five or ten years. I've been flying for a living since 1982. That's 31 years.

 

Now I'm nearly retired. I'm pretty much done with all the crap this industry has to offer. I have this sweet part-time gig where I come up to Washington State and fly some old helicopters and nobody messes with me - all I have to do is fly.

 

And that makes me happy.

 

If I were you, I'd try to date Justin Bieber instead of pursuing this crazy career flying these wacky machines. But (sigh) to each their own, I suppose.

[aeroscout]

The best way to really enjoy flying is having your own aircraft. Everything else is a compromise of some sort.

[WolftalonID]

I read one post about there isnt always flute music?......but I have to tell you for me there just about is.....or then again it could be Enya playing via bluetooth over my headset from my ipad as i fly LOL!

 

Don't worry guys, my headset cuts the music for comms priority and volumn is limited or muted during all flight critical opps.

 

Ok onto more serious notes. Why do I fly? I have wanted to be a pilot since before I have memories. I have to go off what My mother tells me I said as a small child. I do remember taking my father to DFW often as he traveled for work. One day a pilot and his 2nd were walking out of the passenger terminal, i chased them down and asked to see there airplane.

 

My very embarrassed mother caught me, but to no avail....I was given a tour along with all my sisters. I remember asking for a ride too but didnt get that. I also remember buttons and switches from the floor to the roof of that airliner.....and i like shiney buttons! I was hooked like a drug!

 

People say.....you will have to move alot. I am 38 and have moved 28 times in my life.....so your point? I like adventure.

 

People say your going to get divorced. I have been married 11 years this October, we said Divorce was not going to be in our vocabulary if we were to committ to marriage, and we mean what we say. We are a committed couple.....my wife put me through flight school.....so your point?....my responce, learn how to committ.

 

People say you will barely get by.....but they live in a home too big for their income, drive cars the banks own, order every service under the sun, live off credit, and try to be the Jones family. No offence if you are the Jones family. These people dont really have a point, if your wise enough to avoid the glutenous American attitude, these people make you laugh at their own downfall. So live within your means, be willing to live small so you can dream big. Always remember to give first, thank second, and keep third. In all things.

 

Its a job some say......so is taking a crap day after Thanksgiving! LOL. When you truely love what you do, its not work, but a passion. Some say you will hate who you work with.....so interview thouroughly any opportunity before jumping. Be willing to say no, be willing to move on, keep networking all your life, keep options alive, never burn bridges.

 

Some say you might die. We are all going to die. I say, at least I will be happy up to the point I scream like a B all the way down! Sure beats feeling like a smuck in a dead end job you hate.

 

I really am a happy pilot. I work hard, dont settle for nothing, expect more of myself than I should, and hold those around me at the same expectations. I am told that I come across as an ass, but then they get to know me, and realize I just care too much.....

 

I love flying, the adventure, I keep my finances in order, know what I want and what I do not from this career. My wife supports it, my kids are stoked, and life lays infront of me like an unread novel. Hope drives me to experience it. Life teaches us good and bad, but its all good in the end.

 

Keep up your dreams, and they will open the world to you.

[pilot#476398]

I'm going to be miserable no matter what job I'm doing, so I may as well enjoy the view!

[AS350 pilot]

Simply put: I honestly wouldn't trade being a helicopter pilot for any other career. I could go into all the reasons why....but it all leads back to being very fulfilled in my work environment.

 

Best decision I have ever made was going to flight school.

[UH60L-IP]

OP, define "happy."

 

I very much enjoy being a helicopter pilot. In my current position I teach students in the Blackhawk AQC course at Fort Rucker. I very much like to teach new students and pass on the limited knowledge I have. I get excited when a student finally "gets it." While not the thrill that it once was, I like being in the air and performing the maneuvers.

 

What makes me more happy is that it is a job (and it is just a job) that allows me to provide for my family. While I will never get rich it is highly unlikely that I will ever be standing in the bread line either. The hours are such that I get to spend time with my wife and kids that a "normal" job would not allow for. All of that makes me happy.

 

Flying is a job. That means all of the stuff that the term job implies. Some crappy coworkers, some crappy supervisors, TPS reports, and pointless meetings that you've attended a hundred times before. Waking up for the alarm clock still sucks.

 

Happy is a relative term. Yes, I am happy in my job but sometimes I am not. There are a lot more jobs that I am happy I do not have to do because I fly but then again there are a few jobs that I think I would be just as happy doing.

[avbug]

I'm quite happy with my job. I make good money, the flying is diverse and good, and several decades into it, I'm not bored yet.

[zVo]

I'll be brief.

There's probably better jobs out there, but there's definitely worse jobs out there.
Life is what you make out of it -- a job in aviation is no different.

[Little Bird]

The only time you have to worry about pilots is when they QUIT whining...

Every time that turbine winds up (and ok, that throaty Robby roar!), I know I've made the best decision ever...

[rotornut67]

Yeah, I like my job. Flying on and off since 1968, mostly ON.

I have had non-flying jobs that paid more and the best employer I ever had was a non-flying job.

Does the necessary investment in time and money versus risk and probable reward work mathematically? No. It's what I always wanted to do, from the age of 9. It's not at all what I thought it would be.

In my opinion, flying is art. You do it whether or not it makes you rich because it satisfies something inside... Yeah, and it's a "job".

 

Ditto Wally...

 

I turned down a full scholarship from the Air Force...Why??? Because they could not guarantee that I would fly helicopters that's why. I chose a different career path and slogged along miserably for years. The money was good but I was just not satisfied. I got my fixed wing ratings, but it just didn't "do" it for me. I finally said the heck with this, and with the support from my wife and family, earned all my rotorcraft ratings. Was it hard? Yes...Was I misled by some along the way? Yes...Was it "worth" it? For me YES...have I ever regretted it? Not for a Second, because I have had the good fortune to meet and fly with some of the best people God put on this earth!! Don't get me wrong, I have met some of the worst too, but they have made me appreciate what I have even more.

 

My wife has often asked me over the years if I ever regretted turning down the scholarship. My answer has always been this: "No, because I may not have met you" She now tells me that I am a completely different person and she is right because I really do "LOVE" what I do. It was always a passion that was inside of me, and as Wally put it, it "satisfies" me. When I sit down in the machine, right seat or left seat, turbine or piston, I thank the Good Lord for truly blessing me.

 

So, all that being said, if that "passion" is really there you know it, and you will never be satisfied until you do it. There will be times that you will second guess your decision, you will be frustrated time and time again and I'm sure you will be misled on occasion. Good luck, and I honestly hope that you succeed.

 

Jesus said unto him: "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth"

[Azhigher]

I'm happy, and I'm a pilot.

 

Also: Check out Quantum Helicopters in Chandler if you're already in Phoenix.

[troll.detector]

Yes sir, I'm a very happy pilot.

[Velocity173]

I'm a happy pilot.

 

Why? Easiest job I've ever had. Getting here was the hard work.

[SBuzzkill]

Another happy pilot here.

[akscott60]

Happy pilot here.

[aeroscout]

This happiness is getting contagious !

[abailey0116]

Thanks for the feedback from everyone! I know flying helicopters is not all rainbows and unicorns and it requires a lot of hard work to get where you want. Ive just heard so much negativity, it almost makes you doubt your decision about pursuing this career, so its nice to get some positive yet realistic feedback.

 

Im willing to do whatever it takes to reach my goal and honestly, the more of a challenge it is, the more of a fire it lights under my a** to work just that much harder so bring it on! Safe flying to you all!

[abailey0116]

I'm happy, and I'm a pilot.

 

Also: Check out Quantum Helicopters in Chandler if you're already in Phoenix.

 

I have checked out and talked to the people at Quantum Helicopters and I am going next week to talk to Universal Helicopters in Scottsdale to see what they have to say. Are you familiar with either of them or have any feedback?

[Spike]

You will not always work for great employers. You will sometimes hate your boss and the company you work for very, very much. You will hate the very act of coming to work. People will tell you, "Just quit!" But when you took this job, you accepted some pretty crappy pay/benefits because you "just love to fly!" And you're not really in a good financial position to "just quit!" There is usually rent and utilities to pay and car payments to make, and you don't really have enough money to just pack up everything and move across the country to some other gig. But you look desperately for another job - and that messes with your attitude at your current job.

 

You will not always like the people you are working with. And they will not always like you. Hey, you might consider yourself Mother Theresa, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama all rolled up into one awesome person! Wouldn't it be great if everyone in the world was just like you? Well they're not. And you're going to work with some real schmucks. Hopefully not, but it's not a perfect world.

 

 

This description is helicopter purgatory. No matter how much I try to enjoy the gift this career can bring, there are others whose apparent purpose in life is to ruin it…..

 

This business overflows with type “A” personalities. As they age, some type “A” personalities grow into egotistical narcissus if left unmanaged…. If you don’t have a tolerance for such dysfunction, you should stay away from higher level service oriented sectors….

 

[aeroscout]

So we need a thread to ask who is a purgatory pilot. I already see one for happy, and unhappy. That should just about cover the spectrum.

[pilot#476398]

So we need a thread to ask who is a purgatory pilot. I already see one for happy, and unhappy. That should just about cover the spectrum.

 

Yeah, but no one's over there bitching about how unhappy they are ,...which makes me unhappy!

[adam32]

Happy Canadian pilots make happy American pilots unhappy...