Airline or Chopper?

[glimmerman_alpha]

Being in the industry for many years and being faced with a lot of questions from students, the most common of them all being:

Which is the better job on the long term- Airline pilot flying pax i.e. 737/747 etc or an offshore( or any type) helicopter pilot????

Being an ATP on both I can give the pro's and con's for ages but I decided to put the question in the open.

Help me out here to give a solid answer next time round!

[HOGE]

How many helicopter pilots do you know that fly for the airlines in their spare time?...

Contrast this this the long haul jockeys who do helicopter charter work on their days off, or fly their own stunt planes.

How many airline pilots do you know that wear a lifejacket and a goon suit while at 35000 feet?

Horses for courses. I started down the route of going fixed wing, and decided that it wasn't for me. (I think it was the thought of having to spend dead money hours building, and the exams put me off as well, I did all that stuff for my CPL(H) in the eighties). I enjoy my job very much, but I can see the attraction of getting twice as much money for working half the time, and getting tea and biscuits in the cruise/free upgrades/interline discounts etc etc.

I can also see the attraction of winning the lottery and not working at all, but that is a discussion for another time!

[PENNINE BOY]

FIXED WING for sure!!!!!!!!!!
The fixed wing job market is currently on fire at the moment. You could easilly be earning £40.000 + straight out of Oxford/Cabair/Jerez flight schools.
3 years later upwards of £60.000 when you get in the left seat,boring or not its a great job that will give you the disposable income to fly Rotary and proceed with CPL/ hours building to FIC.

How many Rotary schools in the UK have guys instructing full time or CPLs hours building to get the neccesary hours to start a FIC course? What jobs are they chasing? S.F.A. As most private companies seem to take ex Military guys.

Before anybody starts jumping down my throat I am making judgements obtained whilst obtaining my Rotary licence. Most schools dont even own a Helicopter to use but rely on using owners helis to hire.

Hey guys Rotary flying is the Boll---S


Good luck with what ever way you go!!!!!!!

P.B.

[B Sousa]

Easy answer, you want a Home or a Mobile Home. As bad as the Airlines are today they are in a much better world than being a Helicopter Driver. Corporate Jets look good also as many are not happy with TSA in their travels.

[SARowl]

I have been in the rotary wing industry for nearly 25 years, so here's my humble opinion. If you're young go fixed wing, with luck and determination you'll end up flying a 747-400 with all the money and street cred that involves. Go rotary wing and the best money you can expect is grinding out a living on the North Sea from Aberdeen. Before I hear howls claiming that money is not everything, try paying a mortgage without it.

[glimmerman_alpha]

Thanks for the replies. I also prefer the fixed wing side when it comes to money but nothings beats flying 500ft at 130kt on the coast!

[blade771]

Its not all about the money you know guys! Yeah okay you high flying big boys are earning big bucks but you can earn a relatively decent living from flying the rotary side of things and if you ask my humble opinion as was stated in the last post flying at (500ft I thought was a little high!!) 200ft at 130kts with a cameraman in the back demanding his shot, is pretty challenging and at times bloody great fun.

So I guess what I am saying is it depends whether you are money driven or simply enjoy the job you do and the money (whist is important) isn't everything.

All in all any kind of flying is good fun.

[wobble2plank]

20 years in the helo world and the mortgage, family, quality of life etc... have pushed me into the airline world.

Best decision I ever made!!!!

Not flying anymore but the pay packet makes up for it and I don't have to hover around over boats and yachts and things on s$%^&y nights :}

[Freebird17]

A CPL(H) with minimum hours is enough for commercial operations

A CPL(A) with minimum hours is barely worth the paper it's written on.

In other words, you can start to work and earn money with a CPL(H) but a CPL(A) doesn't become useful for commercial ops until you've added a MEP Rating, MEIR and MCC Certificate.

[dawn raider]

ATPL A + H. 2500 heli and 8000 airline jet. 35 years old.

have nice house. good money and thats taking a 50% pay cut from my last job so that i could be closer to home every night.

I get to fly maybe 500 people a day and and fed and watered on demand .............and I got layed senseless when I was younger by really beautiful women that would have never looked at me twice had I been outside the airlines........ on the down side I have to dress like an extra in a wham video and every single flight I do is prescribed to the second. very very little room to do anything on impulse. so much so the thought of a VFR cross country in a heli scares me !!!

however I'm in the process of trying to renew my ATPL H because as far as I'm concerned i've not flown since I converted to jet planks.

be a plank pilot and make some money if you're lucky. but don't come for the flying or the home life.

[rotorboy]

Plank driver:
Stay in the nicest hotel around the world in interesting palces with beautiful flight attendants. Make real money, time off, have real life

Helo driver:
Stay in tent camps, ATCO trailers, condemed building, single wides, deal with ****ty wx, pushy customers, cheap companys, fight for pay and time off. Oh yeah try staying ina realtionship ....

you decide

For me its been ok, I can pay my morgtage (though I am ralrely home), and have the means to do anything I really want. It has also allowed me to see some amazing places around the world.

There are days I think long and hard about where I am. 14 bucks an hour with benififts at Home Depot can look tempting at times.

RB

[Plank Cap]

You pays your money and takes your choice............. and what a load of money it is too! If only the rewards seemed as extreme as the outlay.

After 6000 hours rotary and 4500 hours airline you've gotta wonder if the green grass syndrome ever goes away. Kind of ironic, but it seems the "higher" up the ladder you get the easier it all becomes. Compared to rotary, airline life is a doss, with someone else laying it all on for you. Rarely does a difficult decision have to be taken. Rarely does a lateral thought have to be processed. Just walk on board, strap in and head off in a straight line for the next 8-14 hours. Eat the food, chat to the girls and look out the window. Winge about the mangement, the ever eroding terms and conditions and the crappy layovers that are too short now to recover from the flight before. Don't fall for the big shiny 200 million dollar megajet carrying 400 people bollox, it's all just the same. A command is a command, five human lives in the back just as important.

Getting the picture? Rotary life was hard, challenging, not well paid enough, but it sure was real flying with great professional satisfaction. It was hands on in a life of excess automation and even the longest sectors were'nt that long. And you know what, on the whole the people were better. Broad statement I know, but just personal experience.

Often I'm asked what is the perfect flying job? Anyone who's been in the industry more than ten minutes and 1000 hours knows it doesn't exist.... it's a fallacy to think otherwise. But if I could ever design it for me it would involve a healthy mix of rotary and fixed wing flying, provide a huge salary and pension, with at least 14 days off a month, six weeks leave a year, and a friendly understanding management. Like I said, it doesn't exist.
If anyone can prove otherwise, my CV's in the post.

And the other thing we often forget, is that it means different things to different folks. Where you are in your career and life can alter the answers and outlook you have. As a young F/O starting his or her career, almost any sacrifice seems acceptable. But the progress of time brings other needs. Listen to all the info and advice you can, don't be too harsh in judgement of others, and take decisions that seem right for you. Be prepared to make mistakes, for it's okay to do so. Be prepared to learn from those mistakes, for not doing so is less okay.......

Good luck to one and all.
You pays your money and takes your choice........

[glimmerman_alpha]

Plank Cap:

Good reply.That puts it nicely in perspective for upcoming heli/plank students. I guess in this industry everyone will keep on striving to get the "perfect" job.

[Thomas coupling]

Plank Cap: on the button!:ok:

[N Arslow]

Aren't a lot of helicopter pilots asking the question stay rotary or switch to plank? Nice thing about being a helicopter pilot is that it is relatively easy to make the change. Less so the other way round I would say.
So is it time to give up the fun of being a professional helicopter pilot for the different benefits that greater income can bring? I am not sure, so would not move until being certain. I know a few plank drivers who say they wouldn't mind being back in rotary - in an interesting job of course. But the drop in pay once you have budgeted for the airline salary makes it a hard choice to make.
I guess what I am saying is, it is nice to have the choice. And with luck, once rotary, it is easier to switch.
Either way, it is hardly a bad choice to have to make is it? Do I want to sell insurance or work in industry... phew!
Talking to a good friend with Delta this weekend; I think in the US right now - he would prefer to be rotary.
Good luck to all I say - and let's not forget that both our fields do have some grass, however trodden on!
Plank Cap - I hope I sound half as balanced as you:ok:

[NickLappos]

Plank Cap has my vote. Helo driving is more fun, more challenging and more varied, and for this less well paid and less certain. Life isn't fair, sometimes!