mrpresident Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 For a helo pilot, which is the best place to work a tour, Grand Canyon, Alaska or Hawaii? Based on pay, companies available, location (cost of living and living standards) and hours? And which one tends to be more low-time pilot employment friendly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rookie101 Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 All depends on where the pilot really wants to fly. I wanna go fly up in Alaska, while the CFI I know would love to go fly in Hawaii. Personally I wouldn't want to fly in the Ditch cause it would be way to hot and miserable in that a/c, but if they offered and I really needed it I would go in a heartbeat. It's fairly obvious that living here in the contiguous(sp?) U.S. cost of living is going to be cheap compared to the other two and Alaska is the cheapest when compared to Hawaii. Pay will probably be same no matter where you go because 1,000 hrs. in all piston and little to no turbine time will get you the same low pay in the three locations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FauxZ Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 The wife would kill me if we moved to AL (even though it's absolutely beautiful) Cost of living would kill me in HA I live 5 hours from the GC right now. If i fly tours, my choice is already made. And I was really hoping to get out of this heat. =( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROOK Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Pay in these places is not the same even at 1000 hrs. I know guys up in AK that work for different companys one makes 1500 per month the other makes 2800 per month. So make sure you do your reseach and pick a location and a company that makes the most sense for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Pay in these places is not the same even at 1000 hrs. I know guys up in AK that work for different companys one makes 1500 per month the other makes 2800 per month. So make sure you do your reseach and pick a location and a company that makes the most sense for you. I know who is $1500.... who is $2800? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vertrefadmin Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 I know who is $1500.... who is $2800? Probably the yellow or the blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heli-Ops Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Rey - Would that be Coastal and Northstar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vertrefadmin Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Rey - Would that be Coastal and Northstar. Yes. I think Northstar is paying higher than that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cctk2 Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Yes. I think Northstar is paying higher than that though. Does the yellow and/or the blue give a $450/mo food perdiem? (in which case $1500/mo = $1950) Yeah, I know, I spitting hares here (typo intended) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROOK Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Sorry didn't mean to start an argument just trying to make the point that not all 1000hr jobs pay the same! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vertrefadmin Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 Does the yellow and/or the blue give a $450/mo food perdiem? (in which case $1500/mo = $1950) Yeah, I know, I spitting hares here (typo intended) Money isn't everything you know, although I agree with you Master Jedi (cctk2). I work for the company I work for because they treat me good (they don't push the weather) and I don't worry about maintenance. If you find something wrong they fix it. If that can't fix it they replace it. As a low time pilot I would look at that in addition to the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
as350b3 Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Hey Chip-light, great seeing you on here.It has been a long time since I flew up in AK, but Rey summed it up pretty good. It sounds like things haven't changed much from company to company in the last 5 years or soEvery pilot that is looking at flying tours up there needs to figure out what is important to them. Is it purely money, is it safety, is it maintenance, is it flying the same routes all the time or different routes/landing sites, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowball-in-hell Posted November 5, 2006 Report Share Posted November 5, 2006 Hey!Hawaii is a great place to live, weather is great and well....weather is great.... Biggest problem is living expenses, where I'm living you'll get a room excl electricity etc for $1000 a month, then you need transportation to and from the airport and cars are expensive here. Getting by without a significant other who has a job can be tricky. On the bright side getting our significant other to come with you is easier if you're going to Hawaii.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cctk2 Posted November 5, 2006 Report Share Posted November 5, 2006 I work for the company I work for because they treat me good (they don't push the weather) and I don't worry about maintenance. If you find something wrong they fix it. If that can't fix it they replace it. As a low time pilot I would look at that in addition to the money. Boy, right on the nickle. I work for the same outfit, and have been for coming up on a decade now. This place is the opposite end of the spectrum from where I used to fly for 14 years which was Part 91 FW/RW. Try these quotes from a past employer:+ "You dont need those assessories to fly this mission."+"Just get there, THEN wait for the weather to improve"And my all time favorate:+"Ill authorize more maintenence when some of our clients pay their bills. If YOU dont feel safe in the airplane, just give me the keys, I fly the [GD] project!" (Needless to say, I handed him the keys and gave notice shortly thereafter. With these guys, I know the whole staff, and I know the company philosophy. Now, Im going to stick my neck way out and state a personal opinion here, just mine, and its just a one line terminal statement. Aviation as an industry/career sucks. BUT having said that, I very much enjoy where I work, who I work for, and the the specific work I do with the latitude I get to exersize. I sleep real well at night there. As bad as I said the industry is? Ive taken it on ITS terms, and Ive made it work to my satisfaction. There are several reasons Mr VR and myself continue to fly for this one organization in SE Alaska. We know all the rest, now we fly with the best. Pretty ballsie, huh?Chip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.