OK, here goes for what it is worth! A very small amount of inside knowledge and an awful lot of my opinion, so no guarantees.
If you are selected for this scheme, I suspect that you already know that you will be expected to put in an absolute minimum of 100% effort during initial training. On completion of the basic training in the USA, I believe you will be doing an EC135 conversion and IR with Bond Air Services at Staverton. This is a huge leap in technology and workload, if you work your socks off and are a reasonably switched on cookie, there will just be sufficient time to get up to the standard for the IR! Feeling tired yet?
OK, quick breather then start next conversion onto another machine. Obvious choice is the 332 for offshore work, but who knows what the next couple of years will bring! Up to this point it will be important to smile, be keen, perform well, keep cheerful – reports from your instructors will almost certainly have some affect on your future career path.
Now, settle down to a few years of work as a co-pilot and learn the trade. Don’t upset anyone, you will meet some people that will wind you up beyond belief, it happens wherever you go – just smile and get on with the job. Take every opportunity to volunteer for work that is out of the ordinary. North Sea Operations do not lend themselves to variety so when a chance comes up grab it. In the days of ‘Old Bond,’ pilots tended to move from ‘BAD’ (the big helicopter division) to ‘SAD’ (the small helicopter division) once they had proved that they could cope without a home life, stay happily in a dubious hotel without throwing a tantrum, and function out of site of management for a couple of weeks without screwing up!!
At some stage, I suspect that future options will be discussed. Some may stay as a co-pilot for a bit longer, some may progress to North Sea command (and a hefty pay rise) and some may get the option to transfer to BAS to work HEMS/Police/Lighthouses and whatever else we are doing. The transfer to BAS would not produce much of a pay rise I suspect, but this is the best time to make the move so that you do not get used to the Stratospheric North Sea Captain’s pay scales! These choices will be very much decided by your aspirations and your performance/attitude over the next few years, so make sure you start off committed and keep going. Oh, by the way, you can enjoy it too!
I look forward to seeing you in the crew room sometime.
Good luck.
TeeS