Originally Posted by
Paul Cantrell
I did notice in one of the quoted news articles that the pilot was a flight instructor, although it didn't say whether/how much instruction he had given. In the US, it's ridiculously easy to get a commercial helicopter certificate. The two main avenues to your first "real" pilot job is either flight instruction or tours. To think that someone with 150 hours can be out there flying with 3 blissfully ignorant (of the dangers) passengers just gives me shivers. And yet, when I had 150 hours I probably thought I was a pretty good stick. You look back on stuff like that and shake your head at how much you didn't know. And not only about flying! As a new pilot you're totally unprepared on how to deal with management. Few new pilots are prepared to push back on an owner who's taking risks and cutting corners. They don't have the experience to know where to draw the line. And lets face it, the passengers would probably be horrified to learn what a new pilot is willing to put up with to get that hours building job.
For what its worth, although yes, the commercial rating is ridiculously easy (basically a ppl with slightly tighter margins) a 150 hour pilot can't even get a job washing a helicopter here in the States. You'll need 200 hours to be an instructor in a Robinson, but even then, tour jobs in the 44 like this one in Hawaii, generally require at least 500 hours.
By the way, not all of us low timers don't know where to draw the line, or are willing to put up with these asshole operators and do "anything" to build hours!,...but yeah, we aren't taught much about noise.
,...and yes, there are tour companies out there that if someone I knew said they were going to take a ride with, I'd screem at them to avoid that place like the plague!