helicopters?

August 31, 2005 10:04 AM

I want to fly helicopters and actually do something useful while doing them. I don't really want to fly them fulltime. I don't want to fly helicopters in combat. News and tours are unappealing to me. Coastguard seems like the best bet, but many people have cautioned me that once you're in any military branch, you pretty much lose control over what you actually get to do or not. Other than that, I'm not sure where to look, in terms of training and then doing something with that training. Any advice on... any of that?
posted by devilsbrigade to sports, hobbies, & recreation (20 comments total)

My brother works with helicopter logging in BC Canada. -Very- good pay, but I don't know if that matters to you.

However, you've outlined a lot of "I don't wanna" statements. What do you -want- to do?
posted by Kickstart70 at 10:11 AM on August 31, 2005

Emergency flight heli pilot? Helicopter instructor pilot?

I can't think of any other application other than the ones you mentioned.
posted by agregoli at 10:20 AM on August 31, 2005

Helicopter Tours for Tourists?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:21 AM on August 31, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

what about hospitals, or fire departments? What would it take to get a job flying a hospital's helicopter, anyway? That sounds pretty sweet...
posted by hototogisu at 10:24 AM on August 31, 2005

Yeah, like agregoli said, a hospital Life Flight pilot would work for you. I knew one who was a charter pilot for a local airline and worked weekends for the hospital.
posted by dual_action at 10:27 AM on August 31, 2005

Do you have a friend who is a private investigator in Hawaii?
posted by Hildago at 10:32 AM on August 31, 2005

Also, forest fire fighting...there's always a dire need for pilots there.
posted by Kickstart70 at 10:34 AM on August 31, 2005

As for training, you may already be aware of Avia Aviation there in Corvallis.
In terms of career, I know of people who do very well as corporate charter fliers between here in Baltimore and D.C. On the high end of the scale are the combination helo pilots/state troopers/EMTs who fly for the Shock Trauma Centers.
posted by Heatwole at 10:37 AM on August 31, 2005

My father, a volcanologist, is forever riding in helicopters. The pilots are contracted by the USGS -- they don't actually work for the government. They get to fly to eruption sites, remote islands, the Alaskan backcountry...all in the name of science and the public good.

But those are all local pilots with their own businesses. I'm guessing you'd have to actually buy a helicopter and move somewhere scientifically interesting in order to pull it off.
posted by climalene at 10:41 AM on August 31, 2005

Check at your local airport (especially the small one - the "municipal" airport rather than the "international" one) for flight training schools. The costs are not that high for private pilot licensing (you'll kill only yourself if you fail) but get higher for the commercial licenses (where you'll kill other people too).

One thing to check: see if the local flight school has any sort of "introductory flight", where you and an instructor go up for a short flight in a training aircraft (the instructor does the tricky parts, but may let you fly straight and level - I don't know how that works with a chopper though). For around $100 or so, you can get a good idea of whether you want to continue on this path or not.
posted by jellicle at 10:49 AM on August 31, 2005

Some more information on learning to fly helicopters (and the costs involved).
posted by lowlife at 11:02 AM on August 31, 2005

Letters from Elizabeth Miller's Dad, Who Fights Fires While Flying A Helicopter
posted by clockwork at 11:16 AM on August 31, 2005

You could probably be Donald Trump's (or some other high-roller's) personal chauffeur.
posted by spilon at 11:23 AM on August 31, 2005

Unless you get, say, the military to train you (which seems difficult to arrange), you're probably going to be paying for your first 500 or 1,000 hours.
posted by MarkAnd at 11:56 AM on August 31, 2005

There's always ferrying guys that work on live main electrical lines [14MB Quicktime video].
posted by letitrain at 3:30 PM on August 31, 2005

once you're in any military branch, you pretty much lose control over what you actually get to do or not

You might want to talk to a recruiter; you're only risking your time. For example, it's possible that to be a pilot you have to be an commissioned or warrant officer first (as is the case in the Air Force and Army, I believe); that would means that you can't simply join and go to helicopter school immediately.

In general: nothing a recruiter says is worth anything - it's what is in writing that counts. If the paperwork you sign says you'll go to helicopter training school, then you have a reasonable assurance that you will. Do watch out for conditional clauses - for example, if you have to get a fairly high score on some test that you won't take until after you're in the Coast Guard, then you may end up doing something else if your score is low.

Any training you have from private lessons will definitely be an advantage when negotiating with the Coast Guard (recruiter), if in fact they offer what you're looking for.
posted by WestCoaster at 4:29 PM on August 31, 2005

I used to work for a hospital based emergency helicopter program (as an RN). The pilots and helicopters were contracted from OmniFlight out of Wisconsin. They were required to have a minimum of two thousand hours experience in rotor wing aircraft to fly EMS craft. Most had military backgrounds. PHI (Petroleum Helicopters Incorporated) is another company with hundreds of EMS contracts. I believe they're based in Arizona.
posted by dkippe at 11:16 PM on August 31, 2005

My dad took a training program with a helicopter company and eventually got his license and flew helicopters for 17 years. Mostly they sent him up to the Arctic and once to the White Nile in Africa to fly scientists around to collect samples and stuff for their research. He'd be gone for 3 - 4 months at a time but he always brought the coolest stuff back. He was going to go to Madagascar for something else but then we moved and he quit. I'd say join a helicopter company that is doing work that you like, pay for the training and they'll eventually send you out on jobs.
posted by KathyK at 6:25 AM on September 3, 2005

don't do the military option as they will not tell you what you get to do until you are way in the program.

you can get your CHPL (commercial helicopters pilots license) privately but you will have to work as a flight instructor or something like it for a few years after it. nobody will want to hire or even insure you as a commercial pilot until you have at least 400 hours of pilot in command time.

talk to a flight school, take an introductory lesson in an R22. that should run you no more than us $100. they usually can help you get a decent idea for what the job market is like and help placing you.

flying helicopters is fun.

check out this fabulous blog the adventures of chopper chick and email me if you want to chat a bit more. I have a few hours myself, though not a license yet.
posted by krautland at 10:53 PM on August 28, 2006

oh yeah, the LAPD has an interesting program. become a cop, work for them for 5 years and you can transfer to the air support division and fly their cool AS350 in the busiest airspace of the united states. very cool. they do not promise you that you will get into that division but I figure that if you already have a license and only need a turbine transition, you have an insane advantage.
posted by krautland at 10:55 PM on August 28, 2006