how did u get your first job?? other than instructing

[verticalairborne]

Would be interesting if there are some other chances/opportunities to get the very important first job?

How did u get your first job as a helicopter pilot?
and
What was your first job?
Is it possible to get your helitime without being an instructor??

Would be great to get any response from the older and experienced pilots!

thanks to all

[Swamp76]

military...

...and like many who left without a pension, after release...

...whatever little job gave me time. The first one was...

...instructing.

Go figure.

[AvEnthusiast]

Why do you want to limit this to Heli? Not bad to know about Fixed wing flyers first job.

[Senior Pilot]

Why do you want to limit this to Heli?

Because this forum is called Rotorheads :hmm:

[AvEnthusiast]

Sorry, didn't notice that. I take back my comments.

[jote]

My school promised me commercial work if I completed training with them, I recall it was an air taxi from Coombe Abbey to the Lake District. Interestingly it was also my last. My salary was I recall twenty quid, so only another £49,980 to go.....what was that about TV presenters wanted........

[IntheTin]

My school promised me commercial work if I completed training with them

That sounds so like the Silver State ad. :uhoh:

[Unhinged]

In this part of the world, you need 400 hours rotary to become an instructor, so that's not a path to build initial hours.

I hunted around and found the operators who had taken low time pilots in the past. Then phoned the only one within 1000km and introduced myself. The CP was polite and helpful and said to stay in touch.

I think he expected to hear from me in a month or two, but I sent him two or three texts a week for months, until he finally gave in and gave me something to shut me up :-)

It was a constant balancing act - Being very persistent but also being polite; keeping it humourous and not crossing the line to being downright annoying. I'm sure he got sick of the texts, but I made sure that he got a good laugh out of them as well.

[topendtorque]

Hmmm,
first knock back was the military, then a couple of years later the local aviation eyesight medical confirmed it, "you'll never be a commercial pilot."
absolutely shattered.

sitting in a motorcar one day, some years later with the bigboss number 1, that's the big cheese of this outfit himself. We were watching another '47 with capn flaps as the driver, trying rather laborously to outwit a couple of mooees in the drizzling rain.

courage, deep breath, "do you think you might be able to see your way clear to allowing me to be trained with your company sir."

silence. heart is pounding, more silence.


"Yeees weeellll." (north shore plum accent here with well rouounded vooowels), Youuu knoow we don't normally emploooy pilots with less than a Thououousand houours."

'YES SIR.'

"of courrrse, if we employ you, willll have to stayyy for at least two yeearrrs"

Think quick here boy, i say to myself, I'll do this standin on me f*n 'ed,
'Yessir'.

"Goooood, welll talk to our manager at Maascot, Mister Mattthews."

'yeser'

mr. Mathews was more considerably more condescendingly obtuse, the rest is history.

Oh the medical? that was a big gamble, came home properly broke after I did the commercial in the states with their slightly lower standard eyesight test, and having put up a good story to the doc, then five years later back in oZ front up to the same rigorous specialist test, big story, allowed through.

then they abolished the eye test until one turns sixty, grrrr, nother test, nother story. as a mate of mine once said, "how much did yer medical cost? ,mine cost a pocket full of tenners."

as they say, 'be bold, fortune favors the bold'.
not always I say, but try it.

[Canuck Guy]

Found a company looking for ground crew, so I pestered the crew boss for a month straight till he hired me so I'd leave him alone.

Spent a year doing the ground crew thing, nearly got killed twice, learned a ton and had some fun.

Seeing as I wasn't quite in enough debt, I got another loan and proceeded with getting my Night and IFR ratings. My employer had a spot for me asap when I finished the IFR training. Sure enough the day after the IFR check-ride, I was co-pilot in an S76 flying in the soup.

A week after I started flying as co-pilot, a string of storms hit the area. Worst wind storms people had seen in 50 years. Lucky me got to fly in it every day, in the cloud, crapping my pants all the way haha. Remember getting home one night to find bruises on my shoulders and hips from the seat belt harness.

Fun times!:ok:

[inmate]

A little background for all. The abridged version.

Worked at BAC on the " White Elephant" (Concorde) and got the old PPL cheaply at Bristol. (9 pounds an hour, BAC had a deal with Bristol and Wessex Flying Club)
Gathered all my money (350 pounds) and headed west to California. At the end of Plank training a certain Jack Brennan convinced me to get a Helicopter licence and his company would welcome me back on the old sod with riches beyond my wildest dreams.
Sooooo I learned to hover, not gracefully but stayed in the field designated just for me.
Returned to the old sod broke but cap in hand and ready to make my fortune at the big "B".

Ah but wait their is more.

Didn't we tell you you need a British CPL before we can hire you?
We didn't oh sorry, well run along and do that for us old chap.

I returned to Bristol and as usual every Thursday morning I went to the store, scanned the want ads in Flight International (didn't buy it).

I looked at the sponsor section and thought these people want someone to pay for their training, I already have mine maybe this would put me ahead of the game.

So with my last 7 pounds 50p I placed an ad looking for a sponsor.

It came out the following Thursday and on the Friday I had a call. The company hired me, got a validation on my FAA licence and after a hairaising week flying with a gentleman who's last name is linked to the captain of the Bounty (of Mutiny fame) and who was also having a bad case of gout at the time sent me off to learn the hard way.

That was more than 35 years ago but not much has changed, well maybe its a little more than 9 pounds an hour now but everything is relevent.

Luck played a huge part in my start but for those who may be wondering if its all worth it and keep getting rejected just keep bashing away and don't give up. Your turn will come.

Oh and after all these years guess who I work for (well the group anyway)

Fly safe mate.