lfried Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 so ive kind of introduced myself in the "5 mins new" thread! basically a tell all i am indeed new! ill be starting my commercial heli pilots license in jan, extremely excited! here the question, after receiving my commercial pilots license where do i go? can i now walk straight into the workforce as a pilot and be happy with the hours i will now accumulate? or do i work for a while and eventually save up to get my IFR? no idea as to what an IFR does for me once i have it? along with that, sorry, what is the best way to get ahead in the meteorology section of ground school? yes i know i have 7 months(ish) until i start my training, but i want to be as full of knowledge for the course as i can be! any help here would be great and i want to say thanks to everyone for being so helpful! i really like this forum and will hear out any of you, your all living my future dream! thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalHeliKid Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 so ive kind of introduced myself in the "5 mins new" thread! basically a tell all i am indeed new! ill be starting my commercial heli pilots license in jan, extremely excited! here the question, after receiving my commercial pilots license where do i go? can i now walk straight into the workforce as a pilot and be happy with the hours i will now accumulate? or do i work for a while and eventually save up to get my IFR? no idea as to what an IFR does for me once i have it? along with that, sorry, what is the best way to get ahead in the meteorology section of ground school? yes i know i have 7 months(ish) until i start my training, but i want to be as full of knowledge for the course as i can be! any help here would be great and i want to say thanks to everyone for being so helpful! i really like this forum and will hear out any of you, your all living my future dream! thanks I dont know how you can possibly know when you will be starting your Commercial training but when you are done you will more than likely start your CFI training. Unless you have something up both sleeves you will have to log hours as a CFI. This is what happens to the majority of students regardless of whether you want to teach or are good at it. The magic number for getting a job that pays well and flies big helicopters is 1000. Once you have a thousand hours....well....do some more research .....the search function is a great tool....you will learn alot in a short amount of time. Flight training is a long hard road but it can be done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfried Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 thanks NorCalHeliKid! as for when i know when ill be starting my commercial training, ive enrolled in a helicopter flight school just outside of my city for january. the course i will be taking is the commercial helicopters pilot license! from there its likely to a tour company or northern alberta for some oil company! in the future i will use the search to hopefully narrow down my questions! thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick1537 Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) You may want to do a little bit more research before you dedicate your money to this. The standard path to start with your private pilot certificate. Then get your instrument rating, then get your commercial pilot certificate. After that you will want to get your certified flight instructor rating, and also your certified instrument instructor rating. You are legally able to fly for hire once you have your commercial, however it is VERY unlikely that you will get any type of commercial flying job (beside CFI) with only 100-200 hours. Most entry level jobs will require around 1000 hours. This is the reason to become a flight instructor. You are able to work from 200 hours to 1000. I was a little confused about instrument training before I started it. It is basically a currency for the clouds. If you have ever driven your car at night in very dense fog you know it can be very hard to follow the lines. Well now imagine being in a helicopter that can travel in all directions, and not being able to see anything outside. Instrument training teaches you how to rely on an assortment of instruments that allow stay in control even though you cant see outside. It also gives you more experience talking to air traffic control, as they act as an extra set of eyes for you. In my opinion it also teaches you much more precise control of the aircraft, even when flying visually. Edited June 18, 2008 by slick1537 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heligirl03 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 I'm pretty sure lfried is training in Canada, which (as far as I've heard) has a slightly different progression from what we're used to here in the US. He is probably doing a "Professional Pilot" program, hence his liberal use of the term "commercial". And I think utility work in the Arctic is the norm for new commercial pilots north of the border, with CFI work being a desirable home-every-night job for higher time drivers... lfried, where exactly are you signed up to train? ~HG03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDHelicopterPilot Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 I agree, I am 99% sure he is training in Canada(he did talk about Alberta) In that case the career path tends to be different. I do not know how it is up there or what the market is like. I am pretty sure though that after you get your commerical you can be hired on for tours and oil support. Any other Canadian Pilots here who may be able to help him out? Side note: GET YOUR INSTRUMENT RATING!! If it isn't included it should be, but if it isn't, get it anyway. JD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfried Posted June 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 i will be training in alberta, canada. it is possible to work my way through training by doing my PPL then moving to the instrument rating. The school ill be going to offers a commercial pilots license program that covers all that and more. at the end I'll have 110hrs of flight time divided between the r22 (lots of hrs), r44 (some), and the jetranger (some)(more of a introduction to turbine) and still get to solo in all 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfried Posted June 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 sorry it took me so long to post back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDHelicopterPilot Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 sorry it took me so long to post back Sounds interesting how the program works. I don't know anything of the Canadian system or how the jobs work so I can't offer much. What I can offer I have already, just make sure you get the instrument rating along with everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfried Posted June 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 oh without doubt, well i guess its just matter of time, like i said before, its a commercial pilots license program im enrolled in! 110hrs total of flight time and 5 in simulator! but ill call the school and ask if the instrument rating goes along with the canadian commercial license! by the way, i envy the US and all the schools and possible jobs you have, i have to say im proud the worlds most powerful country is our big brother! life in Canada if good, i wont lie, but yet i look at the US, and god i wake up feeling safe that we have the worlds most talented, powerful, and smart country just south of us! thanks to everyone for inventing everything that makes us Canadians feel safe and makes our lives possible! thanks for the R22 and basically almost every helicopter il ever fly on! anything anyone has to ask about my school please ask! north america is seriously the greatest place to live, thanks US for what you give us canadians and make possible through your kindness to us up north! though its just a rant i guess, i feel as though some of you need to know how happy we are that your so close! thanks again Lfried Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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