Boomer (Not So) Sooner (more on the pilot shortage) - rebuttal

[aeroscout]

 

They said the same thing at the first Helisuccess,...how many years ago was that now?

 

By the way, when is the next date the world will end? They keep changing that one too.

 

By the by the way, I've seen those job openings too. Every time I go to the job boards. Sometimes on jsfirm the whole page will be just HEMS,...and its been that way for years now,...but it only seems to be in HEMS? No one else ever posts such mass openings, so I'm lead to believe that the rest of the industry is doing just fine.

 

Maybe no one really likes flying HEMS?

By and large if you like flying, you don't like flying HEMS.

If you like not flying, you like flying HEMS.

[avbug]

I'm not presently flying aeromedical. I've done it several times over the past few decades, and enjoyed it each time.

 

Generally speaking, if you ask what my favorite job is at any given time, it's the one I'm doing now. If you ask what my favorite aircraft is at any given time, it's the one I'm flying now.

 

Approach your career this way, and you'll be happy where you are at all times, where ever that may be, not pining away to be somewhere else.

 

Those who whine about their job, who are constantly badmouthing what they do and where they've been, are in for a long life of unhappiness.

 

Life is about learning to want what you've got, not what you haven't.

[r22butters]

 

 

 

The point is and was that time ticks on. At one time 75% of the pilots I worked with were Vietnam vets, now less than half are even Vietnam era. They are not making any more and those of us left will be leaving soon. The Army is making fewer ad keeping a higher percentage these days (except 58 drivers, which will be a force to contend with in the years t come).

There is no hard limit I can cite, bu I can count on my fingers the number of 70+ year old pilots I've worked with in 46 years. That's pretty much all the Vietnam guys and contemporaries in the next 4-5 years. It is happening.

 

 

I know they're leaving, just don't think the Vietnam guys leaving is going to make that big an impact on the industry,...I could be wrong?

 

For years they promissed a pilot shortage (and still do). It was as if all those Vietnam guys would suddenly leave on Monday, then places like Papillon would go under on Wednesday because on Tuesday all their pilots left to replace the sudden mass exodus of the Vietnam guys, and so there's no one left to fly the ditch other than 300-500 hour cfis!

 

Like with any other industry. The old guys leave gradually over time and are replaced as they go,...but you can't sell that at a flight school!

 

I really have no idea why I've ALWAYS seen mass openings for HEMS? Even at the height of the Great Recession, HEMS still had a butt-load of job posts!

[avbug]

The "pilot shortage" has always been a myth, devised to sell flight training and flight training services. Anyone that believes it, enough to dictate how they spend their money, is a fool.

 

When the economy goes south, people don't spend the discretionary money they don't have on luxuries like tours.

 

Emergency medevac is an ongoing necessity, regardless of the economy.

 

Corporations may shut their flight department doors; corporate aviation is a leading economic indicator, operating a razor thin margin most of the time, and it's usually one of the first things to go.

 

Medevac is not.

 

When budgets grow tight, government use of 135 contractors decreases, as does their internal flight hours.

 

Medevac flies when there's a need, regardless of what charter operators, corporate flight departments, sheep counters, news gatherers, or anyone else happen to be doing.

 

Farmers often turn to ground rigs or chemigation for treatment of crops, rather than aircraft; with lean years, aerial application tends to decrease.

 

Medevac does not.

 

Medevac continues to grow, continues to expand, mergers continue.

[RagMan]

I happened to be one of those very select few who got the opportunity to pick up a small commercial gig out of completion of flight school.

 

It came after many resumes were sent out, many phone calls where made, many follow up phone calls were made, and several follow up emails were written.

 

Just a lovely little Part 91 tour operation out here in Florida called me up because I had a resume on their desk but more importantly I had all the qualifications and then some the Owner was looking for; at least a Commercial ticket (with preference given to a CFI), at least 25 hours in the R44, and 200 total time.

 

I had just over 300 total time with 100 in the R44, my Instr and CFII, Robinson Course, and both my SFAR instruction signoffs for the R22 and R44. Needless to say, I over-met his qualifications and he didn't see a reason to call any of the other applicants on his desk (not that he had very many to begin with.)

 

It's small time building (especially right now because of the stagnant tour season) but it's bound to get better come late winter / very early spring. I like the fact that I have a small commercial gig outside of the instruction world and while it is small time building, I enjoy the experience and have already learned from some mistakes I've made flying. Its not difficult flying by any means though.

 

One thing that I am missing out by not instructing is all the night, x-country and simulated instrument time that will take me awhile to build down the road. It will put me behind as far as pursuing my ATP, but I'm not sweating over it too much. I'm fortunate for the flying job that I have (except for the peanut pay), and it's building me time to the next better thing. In the mean time, the tips are decent, the women that come by are beautiful, and I get to fly over the beach every day.

 

Not too shabby

[Wally]

r22butters posted:

I really have no idea why I've ALWAYS seen mass openings for HEMS? Even at the height of the Great Recession, HEMS still had a butt-load of job posts!

 

I can only guess why HEMS would have a lot of job openings... So I will. Hey! This is the internet, right?

 

Like Avbug said, this phase of the industry operates on a different business cycle, related to public service, which is controlled in various capitols.

 

I took this seat because it was in my wife's hometown, period. I carefully calculated commute costs to my previous employment and compensation here and took the HEMS seat. But bases move and shutdown. My employer doesn't routinely offer off-duty accommodation, so if and when this base moves I will be responsible for the commute. If the base closes, I will have to bid a new position which will probably require that I arrange a crash pad. Only one of the 11 bases in the state is at the same location it had 14 years ago. Defeats the entire purpose of taking a job to be home every night, although lots of guys continue after base closures and moves and merges.

 

Take a look at http://www.helicoptersalaries.com/ and you'll see that the industry remains what management terms "competitive" in compensation. That word means that pay will draw enough "qualified" applicants to keep the seats filled, period. "Qualified" applicants is a tenuous term, pilots with less than a year in HEMS are over represented in incidents/accidents. Pilots stay in HEMS because they like the job and being home every night, see previous paragraph.

 

The industry is infamous for various forms of interference with the pilot doing the job. I have eleventy-eight bosses at work, from the absolutely aviation unqualified medical staff in the back who holds veto power to business types who owe somebody a favor Not to mention that lower management, the people I interface with, change every couple years, and not every lotto ticket is a winner. Sometimes the voices in a new manager's head are just too loud. If you can't tell somebody to sod off and make it sound like a compliment, this industry can be challenging.

 

Micromanagement? Yes, we have some, as well. A couple years after every HEMS accident (sooner if it's flagrant) a new procedure and documentation of it will be required. Everybody gets to play when this happens except the pilots. You know, genius stuff like know how high stuff is and don't fly into it, which is prevented by having 3 or 4 PFM numbers together on a piece of paper before you definitely know where you're going. Management and the FAA have increased safety, right? Here's a piece of paper that says so. All this scares the back-seaters, who have veto power, remember?

 

If you get a happy, convenient base and good support, it's a decent job.

That's the view from inside the biggest Part 135 operator in the country, 40-50 open seats at time.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Wally

[Spike]

I happened to be one of those very select few who got the opportunity to pick up a small commercial gig out of completion of flight school.

 

It came after many resumes were sent out, many phone calls where made, many follow up phone calls were made, and several follow up emails were written.

 

Just a lovely little Part 91 tour operation out here in Florida called me up because I had a resume on their desk but more importantly I had all the qualifications and then some the Owner was looking for; at least a Commercial ticket (with preference given to a CFI), at least 25 hours in the R44, and 200 total time.

 

I had just over 300 total time with 100 in the R44, my Instr and CFII, Robinson Course, and both my SFAR instruction signoffs for the R22 and R44. Needless to say, I over-met his qualifications and he didn't see a reason to call any of the other applicants on his desk (not that he had very many to begin with.)

 

It's small time building (especially right now because of the stagnant tour season) but it's bound to get better come late winter / very early spring. I like the fact that I have a small commercial gig outside of the instruction world and while it is small time building, I enjoy the experience and have already learned from some mistakes I've made flying. Its not difficult flying by any means though.

 

One thing that I am missing out by not instructing is all the night, x-country and simulated instrument time that will take me awhile to build down the road. It will put me behind as far as pursuing my ATP, but I'm not sweating over it too much. I'm fortunate for the flying job that I have (except for the peanut pay), and it's building me time to the next better thing. In the mean time, the tips are decent, the women that come by are beautiful, and I get to fly over the beach every day.

 

Not too shabby

Count your blessings as you are very fortunate to get the job you have. Nice work! However, I wouldn’t stop looking for a CFI gig either……. That is, CFI’s who’ve actually taught for hundreds of hours will ALWAYS have an advantage over those who haven’t, even with equal time…… Yes, not too shabby, but not optimum either….

Edited November 16, 2014 by Spike

[r22butters]

(with preference given to a CFI),

 

 

 

CFI Prefered

 

I've been thinking of painting that on the side of the truck,...or perhaps tattooed backwards on my forehead! ,...

 

 

p.s. I too am working towards an ATP (albiet at a much slower pace). I guess one good thing about flying recreationally is that I can fly night xc, or simulated IFR whenever I want.

Edited November 16, 2014 by r22butters

[avbug]

The ATP is only part of the picture. It's little more than a glorified commercial (but now, a lot harder to get).

 

When you arrive at the ATP and hand a resume to an employer, they'll ask where you've been vetted before, how you got your experience. If it's all time you bought on your own, you haven't been evaluated, and you haven't performed in a revenue environment. That puts you at the entry level, where your competition comes to the table as experienced, working pilots.

 

Think about that.

[r22butters]

At my current rate it will take another 10 years to get the total time needed for it, at which point its not going to be about making myself more qualified in the hopes of finally landing a job, but rather for the same reason a 70 year old goes back to finally finish college.

 

...just another line on the tombstone!

[avbug]

In that case, good luck. I guess I didn't understand that this was intended to be your hobby.