WHAT ARE THE MAJOR JOB TYPES IN THE GOM?

[OhhAndy]

I here the GOM everywhere I am looking, why is this area so popular for Heli work and what types of jobs are available there?

[doanut99]

1. Oil Rigs

2. Flying people and supplies to said rigs.

[ADRidge]

and during this time of year... evacuations from said oil rigs.

[OhhAndy]

and during this time of year... evacuations from said oil rigs.

So your basically a taxi service? Is this dangerous work, and what kind of hours a day or night are you working?

[Gomer Pylot]

Helicopter flying can be dangerous, but this isn't really much more dangerous than any other, and it's certainly not the most dangerous. The hours are 14 hours/day, 7 days/week. There is little night flying, only a handful of helicopters on standby at night. In general, for small ships, 206/407/etc, it's from sunup to sundown. The FAA limits duty time to 14 hours, so that's what you can expect. It's either 7 days on/7 days off, or 14/14, your choice in most cases, but you can't always get 14/14. If you're flying medium IFR aircraft, the sun doesn't matter, and you generally sign in at 5AM, to be ready for a 6AM takeoff, and you keep going until your 14 hours are up. If the customer by some miracle is finished with you early, you can leave earlier, after you take care of the paperwork and do the engine rinse. Then you go to the trailer which holds 5 or more pilots, fight over the TV, fix something to eat if the customer didn't give you anything, (there are no restaurants near many bases, or much of anything else for that matter, except boat docks) and go to bed. If you're lucky, there are no trucks running beside the trailer all night to and from the docks. If you're very lucky, the other pilots don't snore too loudly. Get up the next morning and repeat, ad nauseum.

[ADRidge]

So your basically a taxi service? Is this dangerous work, and what kind of hours a day or night are you working?

 

It's funny you say that. I just met my neighbor today (just moved to south louisiana) and told him I was training to become a heli pilot, wanted to fly in the gulf, etc. This guy worked offshore for a couple of years and mentioned "Well, it seems like a nice job but y'all helicopter pilots are just glorified taxis."

 

Only people that don't rely on helicopters for their daily bread are going to be impressed with what you do. I think 90% of what helicopters are used for could be classified as taxi work. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[OhhAndy]

It's funny you say that. I just met my neighbor today (just moved to south louisiana) and told him I was training to become a heli pilot, wanted to fly in the gulf, etc. This guy worked offshore for a couple of years and mentioned "Well, it seems like a nice job but y'all helicopter pilots are just glorified taxis."

 

Only people that don't rely on helicopters for their daily bread are going to be impressed with what you do. I think 90% of what helicopters are used for could be classified as taxi work. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Yeah I guess most of the work is taxi work isnt it.

[doanut99]

yeah, except your in a badass helo and not a crappy yellow car.....

[Wally]

yeah, except your in a badass helo and not a crappy yellow car.....

 

Man, are you in for a shock.

[Gerhardt]

I spit my coffee and a bite of chewed donut through my nose when reading the last couple of posts.

[Gomer Pylot]

Fortunately, I wasn't eating or drinking when I read them. Wally nailed it, though.

[ADRidge]

Not to rehash the whole GOM lifestyle thing that pops up alot, but in what way? Are you talking about the lack "awe and recognition" some people feel they're due?

[Gomer Pylot]

I'm not sure just what you're asking. As for the 'bad-assed helicopter instead of a yellow car', a lot of the helicopters are yellow, and just about as 'bad-assed' as a yellow taxi. Many of them are older than most posters on this forum.

[doanut99]

First of all, whats with all the negativity? I would kill to be flying ANYTHING in the GOM right now, I don't care how old or yellow it is. You cannot even tell me that a helicopter, no matter what it looks like, is worse than a cab....

[Gomer Pylot]

Not worse, but not that much better.

[ARMYAV8R]

I'm not sure just what you're asking. As for the 'bad-assed helicopter instead of a yellow car', a lot of the helicopters are yellow, and just about as 'bad-assed' as a yellow taxi. Many of them are older than most posters on this forum.

 

 

YELLOW HELICOPTERS, CLICK HERE

 

wuhhh, that yellow is death on the eyes...

[clay]

i agree with GOMER, i've seen alot of helo's in the gulf working for a SMALL GOM operator, and they were nothing fancy. . AT ALL

[Gomer Pylot]

Putting a fancy helicopter in the GOM is senseless. The hands will have it trashed in about a week. You can't use cloth seats at all - plastic is the way to go, so the grease and crud can be easily washed off. Helicopters live a hard life out there, because the customers don't care at all about them and treat them just as they would a dump truck. If they break one, they can always get another sent out. And the pilot is just a truck driver, to be run off if he makes anyone unhappy.

[jsmith13]

I'm not sure just what you're asking. As for the 'bad-assed helicopter instead of a yellow car', a lot of the helicopters are yellow, and just about as 'bad-assed' as a yellow taxi. Many of them are older than most posters on this forum.

 

I am a bit tired of the negativity as well. You have over 600 posts and it seems to me that if you are this burned out, then why spend your spare time on Vertical Reference spilling the negativity? There are some folks on here that know not every job is going to be all good including flying.

[klmmarine]

The same thing happens to the boats and boat crews....

 

Unfortunately the hands that work in the GOM are typically not the sharpest knives in the drawer, and could really care less about anything that doesn't belong to them. They assume (for the most part) that you are there to serve them and that they have absolutely no need to be concerned about you, your equipment, or your job. As long as they get what they want they could care less about the rest. As a result, like Gomer mentioned, the equipment gets trashed and eventually the operators just get jaded about the Glamour of their job.

 

I'll bet they would feel a lot different about the importance of pilots and boat drivers, if we decided to just not serve them anymore. Especially when crewchange day comes around. (I know pipe dream, there is always someone who will come behind you and do the job if you won't)

[clay]

I am a bit tired of the negativity as well. You have over 600 posts and it seems to me that if you are this burned out, then why spend your spare time on Vertical Reference spilling the negativity? There are some folks on here that know not every job is going to be all good including flying.

 

 

I dont see him as being all that negative, I would take it more as honesty. i've flown GOM helicopters, and they are by no means fancy.. that doesnt make what i just said negative, it makes it TRUE!

[Gomer Pylot]

Jsmith, the truth is the truth, negative or not. If you don't want to hear the truth, then don't read my posts. I refuse to glamorize something that isn't glamorous, or to sugar-coat the way things are. Helicopter pilots aren't heroes, for the most part, aren't well-paid, and work under less than ideal conditions. That's the truth. Things aren't how you want them to be, they're the way they are. If you still want to work in the industry under these conditions, fine, that's your choice, but I think you have the right to know how things really are before you spend your life savings getting into it. If you want to call me negative, I don't really care. I intend to be truthful, about the positive and the negative, but the only real positive is flying, and that's not always the case. No job is always fun and games, with lots of money.

[doanut99]

Your all missing the point. The only thing I was trying to say was that flying whatever kind of helicopter is better than driving a cab. Any day of the week. End of story.

 

Im sorry this thread go so off topic.

[Tenacious T]

How do you GOMers feel about offshore contracts, sleeping on the rigs. I know one pilot who does it and he seems pretty positive about it but I'm sure there are some negatives.

[Gomer Pylot]

I did it for about 7 years. It varies from not bad to terrible, depending on who you're flying for. Some platforms have rather nice quarters, some have a very small Elder building with everyone in one room. Every situation is different. The pros are that you don't have to spend any money during your hitch. The food is free, and it varies from a hired cook preparing all the meals to stuff in the pantry which you or one of the hands cooks as time allows, depending on the rig. If you can, fly for a large oil company. The worst conditions are always on platforms operated by a contract production company for a small oil company, and both companies are primarily interested in cutting corners to operate the cheapest way possible. If you're flying for a contract production company, it won't be pleasant.