Rickster....
I waited for the end before posting....and in light of all that I have read...and knowing of a personal on-going struggle with the FAA bureaucracy....I suggest you get on the band wagon and criticize the FAA every single chance you get....lest they morph into what we are discussing here. Overall, our guys do pretty good...but it is a young bureaucracy and given time to mature...."Watch Out!"!
Go to the Inspector's handbook...and read the part about obtaining a Management Waiver for a 135 operation. The part I enjoyed was where it said something to the effect that all PIC time spent in Longlining, external load work, rappelling, spraying, and fertilizing...did not count towards the experience needed to be a Chief Pilot or Director of Operations for a Part 135 Helicopter Operation.
Now I ask you....just how many helicopter operations in this country....do only passenger hauls to the complete and utter exclusion of all other helicopter work? That defies the definition of "Utility Helicopter Company" in my mind. And....the last time I checked....most helicopter companies have but one Chief Pilot and one Director of Operations....which oversee the myriad of tasks their operations perform.
No...Rickster....get yer catapault out and keep those stones flying!
Reference: FAA 8400.10 CHG 25 Page 3-42 Paragraph D.2.iii
"All acceptable, comparable experiences added together must equal the required 3 years. However, experience as a military fighter pilot flying in combat scenarios, a flight instructor, a crop duster, or a helicopter external load operator, would not be considered comparable experience. A college education or educational experience in aviation or writing manuals does not substitute for actual work experience."
But then what do I know about the helicopter business, right? 37 years and counting...oops...the Army time does not count....errrr.....33 accident/incident free years and counting.