A couple of weeks ago a reader named Nick commented in response to my post titled Pilot Marketability: Civilian Vs. Military Pilot Training. Like many people considering starting a career in aviation, he had visited the prospect of getting his helicopter flight training in the military. And like I had decided for my career path he found that the military was not the best route for him. With the military option crossed-out, he was left with sometimes daunting task of having to figure out how to get his training and the financing to make it possible.

Nick posed a few questions to me that I felt would be most appropriate to answer in a new post rather than with limited formatting options in the comments area. Here’s what he asked:

In your experience, is the process between getting from CFII with a few dozen hours of stick time to 1000hrs+ and the type of jobs you’re looking for (USFS fire crew transport and long line work in a Bell 206 based out of Oregon for me) as much of a crapshoot or grind as it seems like it must be?

I’d like to hear your perspective on that period of a commercial career. How long does it take between CFII and getting employable?

Is it a grind or are opportunities easier to come by than it sounds?

Captain Nick,

Thanks for your comments and great questions! Though the questions that you ask are often presented, it never gets much easier to answer them in brief, or in some cases, with an overwhelming amount of motivational encouragement. Nonetheless, I’ll try!

In response to your first question: It has been my experience that time building has been a lengthy and sometimes difficult yet all the while challenging and beneficial process. I started receiving flight training in late 2004, earned my private pilot certificate in spring 2005. Then the following year I received my commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating in the spring of 2006 followed by my CFI (certificated flight instructor) in November of that year. Though I expected to be a “shoe in” at the flight school I trained at, it took me until April 2007 before I started working as a flight instructor and almost July before I was in the air with students after “doing time” in the simulator for months. Even though the flight time came quickly for the next 6 months (300 hours of dual instruction given by the first week of December), that was the fastest rate at which I have ever gained flight experience since I started flying.

Partly in response to your second question: After parting ways with the now-defunct mega flight school that I was trained by and first worked at, you might say I had my introduction to the “real world” of being a flight instructor. In this new world, students around me were no longer backlogged and eagerly starving for training flights because they had a pre-paid flight training loan accruing interest faster than you can say Key Bank. To make things ever more difficult for both student and time-building flight instructor, while the world economy was already entering its infamous recession, when Goliath SSH fell on its ugly face it took down with it most of what was left in the pool of funds available to student pilots for financing their dreams. The post-Silver State Helicopters era has proven to be one in which students are having trouble getting loans, schools and instructors are hard pressed to find students and commercial operators’ minimum pilot experience requirements have been creeping upward as the availability of seasoned helicopter pilots has (in my opinion temporarily) swelled. Since I left Silver State Helicopters in Dec. 2007, I have only built about another 350 flight hours. Though the last 3 years has been the most exciting and rewarding of my still young flying career (mountain and high density altitude experience, introduction addiction to aerial firefighting and utility work in heavy and medium helicopters, law enforcement, agricultural work, almost 150 untimely turbine hours and gaining affiliation with some of the best people in our industry), I still have personally been able to average only just over 100 hours per year of flight time. And in terms of becoming card-able to fly with an interagency card, I’m still just over half way in pilot in command hours.

And in response to your third question: There is however a silver lining (or perhaps a few of them) to this hovering dark cloud!

Reasons why I think the gray skies are going to clear before long for us in the Helicopter Industry:

• Despite differing opinions on the issue, the economy won’t likely suck forever! And I guess if it does, then our worries about our glorious helicopter careers will be lower on our list of priorities.
• Experienced pilots are retiring in large numbers! The helicopter boom produced by Vietnam ended well over three decades ago and the youngest of those pilots are mostly in their young sixties now.
• Our present military debacle is producing veterans who have G.I. Bill funds that can be used for their vocational flight training.
• Helicopters still kick the most butt at many of the tasks they do today and demand for them worldwide seems to be growing not diminishing, even if funding to operate them is a little stunted right now.
• While many are having a hard time in our industry, I just now read via Facebook during a brief intermission that a a highly esteemed colleague and friend just traded in her already exciting position flying Astars in the Grand Canyon for one flying EC-130s in Hawaii! I’ve watched over the last couple years while this woman obliterated all of the groanings and complaints that my cohorts and I have been uttering in self pity with her amazing successes. I’m been inspired to believe that those who grab life and their careers by the horns, and never take no for an answer, still get the overflowing cup of destiny they were always bound for.

While trying not to get hyper-spiritual on you, I have to say with true conviction that I believe there are always opportunities when you’re on the path you should be on. I’ve seen this in my own life and career, I’ve watched it happen with the young woman noted above and I believe it to be true for anybody reading this.

Having said this, I think it’s critically important that an individual do extensive introspection, research and industry networking (as Mr. Nick you are doing now) prior to diving headlong into any industry that’s not particularly easy to get established in. And helicopter aviation is no exception to this. I’ve met plenty of people with ample dreams for flying helicopters and felt they were already on their way, but from my humble perspective may not have used the due honest and difficult discernment when they signed the student loan contract. I’ve had flight students that scared the crap out of me who didn’t seem to be taking very naturally to flying helicopters. Although I’ve taught a student who flew a helicopter on his first flight like Johnny B. Goode rang a bell. I have also recently watched as very talented fellow pilots have become discouraged by the present conditions and either walked away from our industry or emotionally given up on hope to fly again – in some cases having not flown since SSH collapsed in early 2008.

If I may boil it all down, here are some cardinal precepts to consider when entering the helicopter industry:

1. Networking means EVERYTHING; be good to everyone, an advocate to those around you and be liked by everyone that you can. Don’t $#!+ where you eat!
2. In aviation, ATTITUDE will set your course in more ways than one! Really, I mean CHARACTER. Your work ethic and overall ethics will make or break you. Without them, a pilot is just a guy filling a seat that an operator will replace as soon as someone qualified submits a resume. If you’re going to be indispensable, you’ll need to be a “good guy”.
3. “Fear is the mind killer” -Dune, by Frank Herbert If you let fear get a hold of you, it will rob you of everything you’re entitled to. So spit in its face, keep it at bay and make it your… dog. This especially includes fear of death AND of failure.
4. When flying helicopters is your passion: “If you’re not flyin’, you’re dyin’!” What choice do you really have?
5. Don’t listen to ANYBODY who says no! No is just a screen to filter out the losers. If you want it, either make it or take it – but always earn it!
6. Answer this question honestly for yourself: If you could not fail and money was no factor, what would you do with your life?

This has been a mouthful but I hope at least that it has answered some of your curiosities, Nick. If I’ve left anything unanswered, please feel free to contact me again at any time.