Highest rating required

[birddog]

Greetings to all,

 

I am curious to hear about your policy and procudure as it relates to working in the aviation unit for your agency, what is the highest rating that your agency requires you to have before you can serve as a pilot.

 

How long do you work the street before you can apply for an aviation slot?

 

Does your agency accept "lateral" police/aviation positions?

 

Thanks!!

[Robbie Driver]

birddog,

 I am not a police pilot but we have trained a bunch at my school including state police and FBI.  All of the pilots have been street officers for over four years and their programs require a private rotorcraft to get on the with aviation unit.  After they get in, they then get their instrument and commercial ratings.  I am sure alot of departments are different, but thats what the norm was for the people we taught.

 

RD

[EAGLE1]

Every Dept. is different and I have found they vary greatly on how they obtain pilots.  The biggest factors are probably what part of the country you are talking about, the size of the agency, and how long have they had an aviation unit.  Generally the larger Depts. and ones with long standing aviation units train from within.  Smaller Depts. or new units often hire civilian pilots or laterals with police pilot experience.

 

My agency trains from within.  You need to be a street officer for 5 years prior to being considered for the air unit.  You start as a flight officer and have to pass the flight officer training program.  If you pass that phase you are a flight officer for a minimum of one year.  Then you are considered for flight training.  You are sent out to a private vendor and come back with your commercial ticket.(R-22)  Then you fly with the Chief Pilot and the CFI's for approx 20-40 hours and we give you a transition into turbines. (EC120B)  Then it is off to Eurocopter for the factory school.  When you get back you fly with the CFI's and get transitioned into police flying.  When you get to 300 hours you can fly with other pilots.  At 500 hours you get a final flight check and then you are a fully certified line pilot.  At 1500 hours you get long line and bambi bucket certification.

 

Hope this helped.

[birddog]

Great thanks!

[helopilot2be]

My agency trains from within.

 What agency do you work for?  You can e-mail me if you don't want it to be public.

 You are sent out to a private vendor and come back with your commercial ticket.(R-22)

 Who do they train with?

(EC120B)

 Cool bird.

At 500 hours you get a final flight check and then you are a fully certified line pilot.  That's the round number my agency uses also.

Chris

see below

[Heloplt]

My agency (Tampa Florida) requires a minimum of one year on the street and the officer must get his/her fixed wing instrument and commercial ratings. Once the officer has acquired the fixed wing requirements he/she will be trained in house in one of our OH-6's. The officer will get a commercial helicopter add-on rating and will not be eligible for promotion to pilot until flying a minimum of 250 hours in helicopters. After completing the training the officer is sent to the Bell helicopter training facility for Bell 407 transition training. The pilots will not receive bambi bucket, life net, rappel, or diver insertion training until they have at least 1000 hours in helicopters.