PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Becoming an Air Ambulance pilot - am I dreaming?
Old 3rd Jan 2011, 21:05
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Gomer Pylot
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
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You're on the other side of the pond, but some things should be the same. EMS is not a young man's game, nor is it a game for the inexperienced of any age. There isn't much flying involved, so it's difficult to maintain proficiency. You may go a month without flying, at least here, and then get a flight in the middle of the night which requires absolutely disciplined, precise flying. If you don't have many years of experience to fall back on, you're putting yourself, the med crew, and the patient at peril. IMO, what most companies require for a minimum is still far too low, but they have to take what they can get.

Becoming a helicopter pilot sounds romantic, but the reality is that it's not romantic at all, it's just a job, and while it beats doing manual labor for a living, it doesn't pay much more, for most pilots. There are far too many low-timers willing to work for peanuts or less for the pay to ever be decent. You need to understand all that going in.
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