What is the life of an ALE Pilot?

Captmatt · August 15, 2005

Hi all,

I am working on my instrument right now and going for the whole sh-bang. Im not sure what I want to do as far as a career in helos. It seems the ALE is a special job all its own since it is Lawr Enforcment.

What is a day(or night) in the life of an ALE pilot like? Do you work 8 hours shifts? Are you on call? Is it 7 on 7 off or 14 on 14 off. Is it conducive to family life? Is there extra pay (flight pay) as an ALE or is that dependent on the Dept for any given city? ???

klas · August 15, 2005

Hi all,
I am working on my instrument right now and going for the whole sh-bang. Im not sure what I want to do as far as a career in helos. It seems the ALE is a special job all its own since it is Lawr Enforcment.
What is a day(or night) in the life of an ALE pilot like? Do you work 8 hours shifts? Are you on call? Is it 7 on 7 off or 14 on 14 off. Is it conducive to family life? Is there extra pay (flight pay) as an ALE or is that dependent on the Dept for any given city? ???

http://www.justhelicopters.com/Articles/de...hannel=Articles

EAGLE1 · August 15, 2005

Try here. The last few should give you an idea of a typical or not so typical day.

http://www.verticalreference.com/VertRef....4;st=10

Heloplt · August 15, 2005

There is almost always more pay involved than regular patrol officers. Get used to swing shifts, changing hours, possible on-call status with some frequency, and a whole lot of political footballs to carry in order to get there (translated--its who you know that may get you out there). Each agency is different and what I go through probably is not not the same as someone working for another agency. The flying is close, but everything else varies from agency to agency. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and would not trade it for anything. But you might just take a trip out to the local unit and talk to some of the crews out there, they can give you specifics on the local requirements and help you with specific questions. Each state has different requirements to become a licensed police officer, and most agencies require you to jump through that hoop before you will even be considered for a pilot's slot (my agency included).

My agency works four on four off 11.5 hour shifts and there is not much changing of work hours, so it is great in that respect. Police work in general is not very good for marriage longevity, but that is another story...

If you have any specific questions that I might answer please PM me and I will try to help answer questions you have.

Good Luck, in my opinion you can't go wrong getting a law enforcement job, the pay may not be the best in the business, but the job security is great and the pension is going to be there when you get done.