A Silly Question....

[gliderboy]

Hi All

Am currently an Airline pilot but missing me ol rotary days in the RAAF. Am just pondering these days whether it is possible to " get back to where I once belonged.." (paraphrasing the Beatles there!).

Am just wondering what you experienced helo drivers think? Is it realistic? What jobs are out there for me with my dusty CPL with Squirrel and Iroquois endorsements? I also have an instructing background (including a stint at CFS).

Any thoughts appreciated.

And for the record I am happy in who I am to start at the bottom of your food chain..just wondering what is out there.

Thanks

Gliderboy :)

[canterbury crusader]

Here are a few questions that once answered will help give you the answers your after.

Hour many hours Rotary dou you have?

How long since you stopped flying helicopters?

What is the minimum amount of money you would change for? Seriously!

How old are you? (the beatles comment is a hint)

Where do you live?

Are you willing to relocate or spend long periods away?

What work do you want to get into?

[gliderboy]

Here are a few questions that once answered will help give you the answers your after.

Hour many hours Rotary dou you have?

1000

How long since you stopped flying helicopters?

16 years ago

What is the minimum amount of money you would change for? Seriously!

good question. Am happy to pay for required ratings and then start at the bottom if need be. I assume (probably stupidly) that it would be the same if I went back and flew GA in OZ from this same position.

How old are you? (the beatles comment is a hint)

39 years young

Where do you live?

currently Asia but would like to come home to Oz.

Are you willing to relocate or spend long periods away?

Yes and yes. (As an airline pilot I already do spend long periods away from the family. I do accept that the living standards differ significantly though but do remember my grass roots).

What work do you want to get into?

I loved all aspects of Helo flying. Probably trying to get back to the more enjoyable aspects of flying. I did like Instructing and am willing to get involved in that if need be.


Thanks for your input

Gliderboy

[canterbury crusader]

Hi,

Instructing is probably the right option for you as a start as you have a few hours but not really enough to be much use to a commercial operator as most clients are asking for 1500 hr pilots.

Also the Instructor course (cant imagine anyone would pay for it) will get you going again as you have probably forgotten a fair bit.

The money wont be much and watch out for schools that offer you a job if you do your rating with them, not necessarily a bad thing but be careful.

On the plus side it shouldn't take to long to become employable outside of instructing should you choose to go that way later on and there is certainly a lot of work for experienced pilots in Aus and as you already have the turbine you'll be snapped up once you have the 1500.

You might even be able to go home every night.

Hope this helps a bit

Have Fun

[baffler15]

How long since you stopped flying helicopters?

16 years ago


Might be time to bite the bullet and make the switch to Army - surely the wounds of having battlefield helos "stolen" from the RAAF have healed by now?:ok:

[gliderboy]

Baffler

I was there to witness the handover to the Army. Hence the reason for my move to Fixed Wing. I miss the Huey, but I have many many Army mates and I know they are doing a good job with the Helo ops in the ADF.

Just on your point, (as I don't currently live in Oz), what's the story with the ADF Helo School. Is it Civvy run? If so what are the requirements there?

Thanks

Gliderboy

[baffler15]

Gliderboy,

Just a gentle dig about the helo transfer to RAAF thing!!!;)

As you probably know, the ADFHS (Canberra) has been disbanded for several years now, and all Army RW training is now done at the School of Army Aviation in Oakey. Several civilian instructors are employed there in non-tactical roles (helo conversion, type transition, loadmaster training etc) but, as you can imagine, all are ex-military anyway. Check out the ad that Boeing had in last Friday's aviation jobs in The Australian.

http://www.afap.org.au/

Hit the jobs link on the homepage. Hope that this helps.

The Baffler

[canterbury crusader]

The Army has been looking for pilots for a few years now and increased the entry age to 49. Must be desperate.

[sikhorsey]

Gliderboy,
Give me a PM and I'll give you all the info you want. We have recently trained a few ex RAAF/Airline guys back onto helos and I can put you in touch with them to get the good gouge as well.

Cheers.

[Arm out the window]

Hey big fella, the contractors at Oakey were looking for instructors / UMTPs / loadmaster training drivers a little while ago I believe, or you could wok around scaring tourists and marine creatures like me!
It's nice to get back into it after some time away, that's for sure, and after a couple of rides you'd be back into the swing of it like pulling on an old footy boot, but the pay will be a rude shock after what you're used to I think.
Still playing the guitar?

[gliderboy]

G'day Arm.....

Mate have caught up with DC on occasion up here and it has been great. Also caught up with Virg who is with QF when he transits and we have managed to sing a few songs at a bar in Lang Kwai Fong.

Am missing rotary terribly and am just wondering if it is realistic to expect that I could make the transition acfter such a long time. I know you did but how long was it for you?

Hope that you are doing fine and hope to cath up really soon.

say Hi to to the voice of Sonic Bloom for me

edited to say that it's not about the money..it's about job satisfaction

Gliderboy

[Arm out the window]

Good to hear you're still knocking out a few notes!
I was away from rotary for 7 years, basically, and when I went back to it, wasn't full time anyway, but the pleasant surprise was that after an initial half-hour or so feeling a bit weird in a Jet Ranger, all the old stuff started to wake itself up in the back of my brain and I was right.
The 206 is just like a little Iroquois in many ways, I'm sure you'll be feeling comfy pretty quick if you do an endorsement on that (3 hrs).
Because of our domestic / business situation now I can't do full time flying, but a day or so a week around the reef keeps me happy.
If you're able to live in an area where there are a few operators I would think you'd be able to break into the GA scene reasonably easily - tourist work, general charter, marine pilot transfer (your previous night / IF hours would be an advantage there), plus there's the ADF training contractors at Oakey, or maybe co-pilot out to the rigs at Sale for a while to work up some twin time -all depends on where you aim to live and what sort of progression you'd be after.

Now it pains me to say anything good about you, of course, :) but a bloke with a personality like yourself (ie generally positive and gets on well with people) shouldn't have too much trouble with the transition from mil / airline background to GA.

Drop us a pm if you like, and happy flying mate.