So all you high timers why don't you tell us low/no timers what its like.

[Viking445]

I'm just curious what a day in the life of a helicopter pilot is like. Please tell us what you fly and where from.

 

And Fry yes i saw your post in training so don't cut and a paste it into here please.

 

Thanx guys.

[rotorwish]

GOM

Wake up 5:20

Eat something

Pre-flight 5:30

Round up passengers

Take-off sunrise

Move people to from and around GOM

Land sunset

 

Repeat 7 to 14 times

 

Do nothing 7 to 14 days - The reward for previous 7 to 14

 

Not sure exactly what you want to know. Flying is still fun. The GOM is a relatively straightforward good paycheck job. The Glamour is gone but I can't imagine doing anything else for a living.

 

Thank you for the pre-emptive comments for Fry - I want that guy to come out just once with his aviation credentials

[Viking445]

Thanx Rotorwash didn't think i'd be able to read a response before leaving for the windtunnel.

 

Could you tell us How many hours you had when you got your job, how you got them, how many you have now and how many hours (about) you fly a year on your GOM job? GOM is oil rigs right? Oh ya what kind of challeges do you face in your job? any exciting or cool stories.

[james28]

finally someone who agrees with me about fry. anyways. good topic viking, been wondering about this more and more lately. hopefully gommer and eagle1 and delorean and all the others will post.

[KMWK]

It was all good for a little over 2500 hours, then grounded. Hopefully temporary.

 

Low and fast was the best, but that was a long time ago in an Army far far away.

[permison]

Low and fast was the best, but that was a long time ago in an Army far far away.

 

Amen!! Hope you get your wings back soon!

[ParagonAZ]

Good question Viking... I'd also like to hear the career tracks people took out there. i.e. strated in GOM, did an Alaska stint, did the duty xxxx to get xxxx hrs and move to the next level, etc...

[KMWK]

Paragon,

 

I joined the Army when I was 17, worked on Chinooks, Hueys, and 58's. Had 4700 plus crewman hours before I applied for flight school. Flew Hueys in flight school then stayed after graduation for the Cobra course. Had around 700 hours pilot time when I got put out during the reduction in force back in 92.

 

Moved to Atlanta in 93 and a friend of mine had a Robbie and a restored OH-6 (500). We did some contract work for the cell phone companies locating good spots for towers. I owned a successful business so another friend and I bought 2 Bell 47's at an estate auction in Richmond. He was a lead mechanic at US Airways and just wanted to work on them. So I flew my own from 94 to 99, pleasure and business. We sold both to the grandson of the gentleman of the estate we originally bought them from. Pretty cool....made him happy.

 

Moved to Mayberry (Mount Airy, NC) in 99 and didn't fly much commercial at all. Had several experimental gyrocopters and one heli. Dabbled in powered parachutes for a year. Got back into it full time in 04 flying the SAW.................. Looked at EMS and all the other options. Found the right place for me in September last year in the gulf. Was with them until Jan 1 when I had to ground myself.

 

That's my story..................................Next!

[Heloplt]

We work 11.5 hour shifts, with the start times varying between the crews, so the actual times are different. We usually come in, preflight and then take care of our administrative tasks. Our flight hours also vary depending upon aircraft maintenance schedules. Usually we fly 3-5 hours per shift on routine patrol. We are then on call the remainder of the shift and may fly another hour or two over that. Bar closing time is a favorite as there are more incidents around that time. Each shift can have calls that run the gamut, from the routine to the pulse quickening. We may be looking for the elderly alzheimers patient, or calling a vehicle pursuit. A boater in distress in the Bay? Call air service. Someone ran out the back of a building being burglarized? Call air service. Need to follow that drug dealer on his way to make that multi-kilo deal? Call air service (and they can give you a tape of the entire event afterward that works smashing in court). Got a brush fire next to that brand new subdivision full of million dollar homes that look so fabulous in amongst the trees? Call air service. The mayor needs to get to the capitol for a meeting? A detective needs to go to the state prison to interview a suspect in a homicide? Thats right, where's air service? Its what we like to call job security. It makes the job fun. We were all street cops before we came out to air service, so we love to assist in putting some miscreant back in prison. There is nothing more satisfying than locating a suspect hiding in a dark hole and directing the K9 unit right up to the suspect. Another person who will not be on the street dragging the little old lady across the parking lot while he's trying to steal her purse.

 

We do all that for 4 days and then they give us 4 days off. I have been doing this for more than 5,000 hours and wouldn't trade it for the world. Does it get routine? Sure it does, but at the end of the day they are still paying me good money to fly a helicopter. When I think about it I still have to wipe the stupid grin off of my face.

 

Jeff

[coanda]

Thanks KMWK, Heloplt... Its always good to hear a day in the life to get you focused on your goal. Studying, studying, studying, can have your brain doing backflips, it's good to hear it will pay off one day.

[ParagonAZ]

.... they are still paying me good money to fly a helicopter. When I think about it I still have to wipe the stupid grin off of my face.

 

Jeff

 

 

HeloPlt: Please define "good money" :-)

[KMWK]

HeloPlt: Please define "good money" :-)

 

Judging by his post, I'm guessing he is in Law Enforcement aviation division somewhere. From what I have seen they can make anywhere from 60 to 90K. The gulf jobs start out around 49K at 1000 hours, but you could do 60 or above with workovers and bonuses.

 

Just from my experience, I have cleared anywhere from 40 to 75K depending on the job and/or contract.

[Linc]

What is a high time guy? Some jobs fly more than others. So time builds faster. Me? I have to go to war to see the logbook fill up the pages quicker. Nobody needs a scout 24/7 unless there is danger afoot. Until then I try to average 1 to 2 flights a week. Easier in my new job because I can farm myself out to three flight troops instead of just one. Still, there are times when weeks go by without flying because the paperwork needs to be done.

 

I know I should've been an Instructor Pilot, but time and circumstances conspired against me. Maybe in the next life? I dunno. So, I do what I can to keep that flight hour meter turning in the forward direction. Anyways, I joined the Army because I'm cheap and it was easier to give away years of my life than go into hock and maybe have to work a 9 to 5 to pay it off and not get to fly as much as I hoped or wanted...I ain't a rich man.

[67november]

I joined the Army because I'm cheap and it was easier to give away years of my life than go into hock and maybe have to work a 9 to 5 to pay it off and not get to fly as much as I hoped or wanted...I ain't a rich man.

 

no of us are rich, it's the passion that drives us

[james28]

the guy with the 134 foot yacht was probably rich. just a guess. but you're right, we all share a passion.

[Heloplt]

ParagonAZ,

 

KMWK would be correct, the money is just about right as well.

 

Jeff

[delorean]

My EMS day shift.....

 

0700 - Arrive, crew change form, check engineering log, ADDS, WX, NOTAMS

0715 - Preflight, get the cockpit setup

0730 - Make breakfast for the crew

0800 - News & eat

0900 - Surf the net and Grand Theft Auto

1100 - Price is Right

1200 - Make lunch for crew & watch COPS

1300 - Cooking shows on PBS

1400 - More Grand Theft Auto or Travel Channel time

1430ish - Doze off in the recliner

1700 - Ground Standby to a scene in rush hour traffic

1710 - Cancelled off GSB, time for evening News

1800 - Another GSB, CXL'D, and time for The Simpsons

1900 - Go home

 

Night shift

 

1900 - Arrive, crew change form, check engineering log, ADDS, WX, NOTAMS

1915 - Preflight, get the cockpit setup

1930 - Start cooking dinner

2100 - Eat, clean up, play on the internet a little

2200 - GSB for a scene for the first round of drunks

2215 - CXL'd, bedtime

2345 - Wake up for a second GSB (2nd wave of drunks)

0000 - CXL'd, back to bed.

0700 - Go home and goof off all day

 

Occasionally there will be an actual flight in there somewhere.....especially in the summer. Not lately though. And those of you who have stopped by to visit know how true this schedule really is.

[EAGLE1]

To try to answer the question of what is a typical day like… well that is impossible. That is what is so great about law enforcement flying. Everyday is truly different in its own respect and you never know what is going to happen next. You might be droning around town in circles trying to scare up some action all to no avail. Oh yeah, I forgot though, we saw a group of Grey Whales scraping barnacles off their backs in Newport and the snow capped San Gabriel mountains were clearly visible to the north. The next flight is call to call, gang fights, a shooting, caught two residential burglars coming out the back window, and a short pursuit with a foot chase to top it off. Wow, all that in 2 hours of flight time. Next flight a call of someone caught in the rip currents of Newport Beach. Some knucklehead from out of town though it would be a good idea to go body surfing during a winter storm. Land at the beach and pick up a lifeguard to go rescue the victim. If we find him the lifeguard deploys (fancy term for jumps) from the helicopter in a 5 foot hover and swims to the victim. Unfortunately we are too late and the body washes ashore a few days later. After dark some ladies who went mountain biking off the Ortega are over due. Put on the NVG’s and head out to look for them. After about a half hour we find them still way up the trail in the pitch dark but the goggles do their job. We direct the units to the trail head and provide light with the night sun until the two group’s link up. They were in spandex biking attire suitable for being out during the day. The low that night was 42 degrees; they were going to be very cold if we had not found them.

 

Did all this really happen in one day… well not exactly but I have had days that were even busier than this. These are some recent things that come to mind as I sit here and type it out. You never have time to write it all down when it is happening at the time. I have seen spectacular crashes, people being shot, people shooting at us, cars driving the wrong way down the freeway at 100mph during rush hour, dumb criminals, unlucky criminals, plane crashes…..and on and on. Well this has probably gone on long enough, if you can dream it up, I have probably seen it or something close. The great thing is, tomorrow I stand a good chance of seeing or doing something completely new. This is only scratches the surface of what goes on everyday, but this is already way to long a post.

 

Do I still love my job? What job, I get paid to do something I love! And that is what makes me truly blessed. How did I get here? Well, that can be for another post.

[Viking445]

wow! do you think you could post up what was required to get your job? Did you have to be a police oficer before getting hired? If not did they put you through the academy after hire? So everyday you work you fly two hours? Thanx again eagle that post is exactly what i was looking for.

 

Keep it up guys!!

[Eric Hunt]

Well, some of these descriptions are up to 38 years out of date, but here we go:

Military student:

0730 Morning parade

0800 Ground school

1200 lunch break

1300 report to instructor for briefing, fly 1.3 hr sortie

Maybe do a solo after that

 

Military line helo pilot:

0750 Morning briefing for weather , ops.

0830 first flight for 1.5 hrs

1000-1200 Secondary duties and paperwork

12-1300 lunch break

1330 second flight for 1.5 hrs

1500-1700 find a way to avoid being seen by senior officers

1700 go home

 

Military instructor

0750 morning brief

0800 first student brings first coffee, brief up

0830 fly stud 1 for 1.3 hrs

debrief Stud 1

1000 repeat for stud 2

1200 maybe some lunch

1300 repeat for stud 3

1500 repeat for stud 4

1700+ go home

 

Police pilot:

0800 preflight and ops brief

0830 first flight, 2 hrs, hand over acft to next crew

1030 write up trip sheet, relax in crew room, have lunch

1230 resume control of acft, go and turn jet fuel into noise for another 2 hrs

1430 paperwork, duck and weave till1700

 

Civil instructor:

0800 preflight and wx brief

0830 brief first student

0900 fly first student for 1.3 hrs

1030 debrief stud 1, fill in trip sheet and admin

1100 repeat for stud 2

1300 repeat for stud 3

1600 If stud 4 exists, do it again, otherwise put them all to bed and go home at 1730

 

Chief pilot of charter company:

0715 open up, look at faxes and emails. Get weather brief onto paper

0800 others wander in. First flights of day are organised

 

Deal with inbound customers, amuse them until their pilot collects them and flies off

Answer phone enquiries and emails

Try to get lunch

Maybe fly a sortie or two

1700 most of the others go home

1830 lock up, go home to find that my dinner is in the dog.

 

Corporate pilot:

0630 wave goodbye to wife as she goes to work

0800 watch news in bed

0900 On computer, check weather, surf the forums

1000 must be coffee time

1030 wife is home for lunch

1130 wave goodbye to wife again

1200 still nothing new on the forums

1400 oh goody, Linc has written something controversial I can correct him about

1530 wife is back from work

1700 Looks like I won't get a callout today, must be time for a beer

Edited January 26, 2007 by Eric Hunt

[Viking445]

I'm sorry Eric did you say something? I was watching your avatar for about an hour

[67november]

Eric it looks like that corporate pilot life must really suck

[apiaguy]

Life of the private owner (Hughes 300)

 

Tuesday thru Thursday

Get up 6:40

Work 8-6 with hour lunch to pay for hobbies

 

Friday thru Monday

Get up 9

get out to airport around 11

Check weather by looking up in sky

If good.... pull out helicopter

If bad... decide what project to work on

Fly around til bored.... 1 hour

put helicopter away... kiss... wash... buff

Eat lunch

Talk to all other airport bums for way too long... 2 hrs.

See if someone wants to go for helicopter ride

Check weather again on weather rock

Go fly... try to impress passenger with smooth skills 1 hr.

Land put away helicopter ....fuel...kiss...wash...buff

Push dust around hangar looking at projects deciding what to work on...

Disassemble something or assemble something

Go home

play with kids

play with wife

Go to bed

[EAGLE1]

We actually 5 hours a day out of a nine hour shift. That was just one flight. If you work a double because someone is on vacation then you fly for 10. Normally if you pull a double you let the other guy fly the second shift and you act as the TFO. Still your butt is in the air for 10 hours. I average 600 hours of PIC time and another 600 as TFO every year. I will post my background in another post.

[EAGLE1]

I grew up in Lakewood, Ca where one of the first airborne law enforcement units in the country flew every day. The SkyKnight program pioneered the concept of law enforcement helicopters on patrol. When I was in the 4th grade I decided I was going to be a police helicopter pilot. I drew pictures and made models and dreamed! My parents took me to the Cerritos mall where I got my first helicopter ride in a Bell 47. It was about a 5 minute flight around the mall and I was hooked. My senior year in High School I took all the ASVAB tests etc and I had Army recruiters pounding on my door for the Warrant Officer program (that’s what they promised anyway). My Dad had been in the Army during Vietnam and he bribed me not to join up. He paid for a fixed wing license and college in exchange for me remaining a civilian. At 19 I got my fixed wing private. By 20 ½ I had an AA in Criminal Justice and I applied to Long Beach PD and Santa Ana PD. Everyone said I would not get hired for several years but that I should take the tests for “experience”. 4 months later I am in the police academy for Santa Ana PD. I hit the streets at 21 and work the streets for a few years before becoming an auto theft detective. With a total of 5 years on I get assigned to air support. Oh I forgot to mention, SAPD does not own a helicopter. We contracted for helicopter service with Costa Mesa PD and provided an observer. After 3 years observing Costa Mesa and Newport Beach formed a Joint Powers Authority and combined their air units. Another 3 ½ years go by and I am still the only guy in the unit who is not a pilot because I am a contract member, not an owner in the program. Thankfully, the guys taught me how to fly anyway and the running joke was I was the highest time, non-rated MD500 pilot in the world (about 500-600 hours). Finally my boss had mercy on me and wrote the contract so they had to make me a pilot. I did my flight training at Helistream and went straight through to commercial. I started Oct. 7th and earned my commercial on December 14th. That was 1999. As a side note the Dept. paid for all the training, I say that not to rub it in but iy is a frequently asked question. A couple years later they make me a CFI, and last month I was promoted to unit supervisor and I get to stay in the unit instead of going back to patrol. Total helicopter time to date is around 4,200 hours (not including the 500 hrs not logged). This is mostly R22, MD 500E, NOTAR, A-Star and EC120B. A bunch of other stuff as well but only demo flights etc. I have flown in10,000 foot mountains, I have made several cross countries from Dallas to Orange County, I fly Bambi Buckets for fire fighting and all manner of law enforcement missions. I currently have about 150 hours of NVG time and every day is different. One of the most memorable flights was locating and following OJ from the OC into LA County. Scariest thing I have done in a helicopter I must say (think 21 aircraft following one car, after the 3rd near midair we called it quits). I have been involved in and seen the wildest things in my last 14 years in air support. Every time you think you have seen everything possible, something new pops up that you never even dreamed of. Some of the other memorable flights have nothing to do with law enforcement. Like the time we took this terminally ill kid for a ride for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The expression on his face and gratitude he showed us is making me tear up even today 10 years later. I have seen things that make you look at your partner and say “did that really just happen”? Then you shake you head and wonder what is next. Well once again this is way to long, but I hope you find it interesting.