advice
Hi, I'm after some advice about doing a CPL(H) here in the UK. To start with I'll give you my background - 21 years old, PPL(A) with 60 odd hours fixed wing, PPL(H) with around 95 hours heli time (including 25 jetranger), currently doing JAA ATPL(H) groundschool in Bournemouth with 10 out of the 13 passed. I sit the last exams in January so from then on it's going to be hour building and then the CPL(H).
Problem I'm having is deciding where to do the rest of my flying and for what licenses.
Current options:
1. Stay in the UK, hour build, do CPL, and hopefully find a job without an FIC or IR. Or get a job with someone like CHC in which case I could probably get loans out to cover an IR as long as the job was pretty much certain. Which all comes down to job prospects for a low hour rotary pilot in the UK.
2. Go to the US and get the JAA and FAA CPLs with HAI - then either come back looking for employment, or stay there on a J1 visa and try to find work for 2 years, after maybe doing an FAA IR, CFI and CFII. Which comes down to job prospects in the US...
3. Train and look for work in South Africa - though I want to get the JAA license since I've done the groundschool, and since I don't know of any places in SA that do the JAA CPL, that would still mean doing exams elsewhere
4. Any other option - or a combination of all of them. eg hour building in the states and JAA CPL here.
Any experiences or information that would be useful from anyone? What are the chances of getting work with CHC or perhaps Bristows for a low hour guy if perhaps I could pay for an IR? Especially if I was willing to be bonded to them for a few years?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Ioan