Work in Brazil

[jimvegan]

Thinking about a move to work in Brazil. Does anyone have any advice regarding the licence requirements and work opportunities for a JAA CPL (H) instructor with around 3000 hours?

[Wrenchturner]

if there are any brasilians here, i am living in brasil, not brasilian, i am getting my permenant visa and RNE currently, what is required to obtain a maintenance engineer license? Is it possible to have a ANAC license with my visa and RNE?

[twisted wrench]

Wrench turner: How is your portuguese? If you are accepted you will need to at least write air regs in portuguese.

[unstable load]

I stand to be corrected here, but it is my understanding that the Brazilian sector is a pretty closed shop to foreigners. CHC/BHS have foreigners there but only in supervisory slots and strictly hands off.
It will be interesting to follow this through to the end and see whether you get it right.

Good luck, mate!

:ugh:awaits you, methinks.

[Outwest]

Not sure about engineers.
For pilots, unless you are a Brazilian or Portuguese citizen you can forget about flying the line in Brazil.

[Messerschmitt]

Hi there,

Could anyone point out where I can find information regarding brazil licencing and any relevant information to fly in Brazil airspace as a commercial helicopter pilot?

Also anyone has info regarding Australia?

Thanks

[Outwest]

Forget working as a pilot in Brazil. Unless you are a Brazilian or Portuguese citizen it is a closed shop :ugh:

[blind pue]

a few years ago I worked in Rio flying a Brazilian registered airship under an FAA licence, the authorities don't seem to be too bothered if you are working for them.

I did notice a couple of N reg helicopters around so if you have the licence of the machine you are to fly it is not a problem.

Flying around can be difficult as they only speak English at the international airport I needed an interpretor for the regionals.

As outwest pointed out if you aren't Brazilian or Speak portuguese they can make it very uncomfortable.:rolleyes:

[heliporto]

Hi there
I´m an European citizen holder of an Brasilian CPL(H), now convverting to JAA ATPL(H).

Brasil is very good for helicopter training. Price is now less than 200€ p/ hour because of a low exchange rate. They are very professional, and it exists a huge market for helicopter pilots (snd biggest fleet in the world).

In fact the language might be an issue, but if you train ina controlled airport, that should not be a problem has they speak good english.

If you want any contacts about where to train send me a PM.

[Messerschmitt]

Well personally I am looking to do the difference in hours as I already have a Canadian CPL(H) (105 hrs tho), and I seen on Daily planet how Sao Paolo skyscraper have hundreds of helipads.
Since I have yet to find any opportunity in Canada, and a JAA IR rating costs more than what my CPL costed, I am now looking to see if there is any opportunities overseas.

Heliporto, a PM is incoming, thanks mate :ok:

[CapBar_Brazil]

Hi,

I'm a retired helicopter pilot and would like you to check the ABRAPHE (Brazilian Helicopter Pilots' Association) link:

ABRAPHE - Associação Brasileira de Pilotos De Helicóptero (http://www.abraphe.org.br/)

As said above, the radio comms are in portuguese language, but all the major and intl airports have english spoken controllers.

For you to fly in Brazil with a brazilian regitration aircraft, you must get the Resident Permit and the brazilian ICAO license or a temporary permition if a non-brazilian registration aircraft is available.

The "N" registrations flying in Brazil are temporary converting to brazilian registration awaiting paperwork or leaving the country in some months.

The Helicopter market was really heatting up till this world financial crisis hit... Only AGUSTA sales for 2009 were reaching 100 helos, but now nothing is cretain anymore.

Good luck.

:ok:

[HFM]

Hello fellow aviators.

I would like to work in Brazil. I do hold the Brazilian nationality and all the qualifications that are required.
However I don't know what the therms and conditions and salary are If you start as an junior first officer with CHC(BHS) or with Lider(bristow).

I think it is not decently to contact them and ask the therms, conditions and salary. I think it will set of a bad impression.

Is there anybody that knows what the therms and conditions and salary are for an junior first officer?

Feel free to send me a PM.

Already thanks,

HFM

[flyhelico]

is it true it 's easy to get a job in Brazil, even with minimum hours?.

some people say there are lot of companies desperate for heli pilots?.

I don't believe so!

[luisf4]

:ok:more or less that there are is a lil strug for pilots at the moment
however thet heli school's are full somehow because of the offshore industry the pre salt and etc the usual profile is 500hrs vfr
if you are 2000+ifr you get a very high salary = 16000usd per month for some high company bank etc usually flying a A109 for now or a bell 429 we ll see

[Soave_Pilot]

The Reg says you have to be a citizen..... they only permit foreigner to fly here as an instructor and for 6 months at the most.

Now, where's that brazilian woman? :}

[Soave_Pilot]

and offshore the last i checked captains make around 12k of our money here wich is about 7k in dollars .

[Aser]

TAM and PHI negotiate offshore joint venture
By Jackson Flores

Brazil's TAM Empreendimentos e Participações is negotiating with Petroleum Helicopters the final details of a joint venture helicopter enterprise dedicated to the flourishing Brazilian offshore market.

While details are scant, market sources indicated that the intention is to start operations at the end of this year with three Sikorsky S-76++ helicopters leased from Louisiana-based PHI, although mid-term plans envisage a larger fleet that would include Sikorsky S-92s.

Brazilian offshore operations have been growing at an annual 10% rate over the past five years, with Brazil's state-owned oil company - Petrobras - accounting last year for 65,000 passengers to and from oil rigs. Brazil's leading offshore operator, Líder Aviação, posted revenues of around $339 million in 2009 and those numbers are expected to rise significantly once work on the Pré-Sal oil field begins in earnest.

TEP - the holding company that controls TAM Airlines - is eager to tap a market that is expected to boom over the next few years, with local market observers forecasting that Brazilian offshore operations will double by the end of the next decade.

Although seen as a major departure from its air transport activities, TEP's initiative is spurred not only by the expected growth of the offshore market, but the profit margins that the segment offers. While local air transport carriers can expect a profit of 5%, profit margins in the offshore market can be as high as 20%.

A stumbling block is the lack of qualified helicopter crews, an obstacle that has raised concerns among Brazil's civil aviation authorities. A local source has indicated that TEP is flirting with the idea of establishing a helicopter flight training centre at São Carlos, home for TAM's maintenance centre. Or it could partner an established helicopter school to address its flightcrew requirements.


Regards
Aser

[Soave_Pilot]

Don't see that being true.. about not having pilots, I personally know quite a few unemployed pilots. Maybe the offshore companies need to lower their standard :cool:

[HFM]

Hello Fellow aviators,

I'm searching for helicopter flightschools who fly with a schweizer 300. I'm in the second phase of converting my licence and need to do the flight checkride. does anybody know wiche schools are operating an schweizer 300 near Sao paolo or Rio?

Already thanks,

HFM

""soave_pilo''

I don't think it is the companies that are making al these requirements. It is demanded by the oil companies and the brazilian authority that are making those ruels. A couple of years ago when the market was still good in Europe flying offshore I could remember that the requirement droped from 500tt to fresh from the academy with an IR. Maybe when the new contracts are coming up that they will lower the hours but I don't know that for sure.

[Soave_Pilot]

Hey HFM

There is one school where they operate 300´s, It´s called "Edra Aeronautica" they also have a campus there where you can stay.

Good Luck!

[HFM]

Thanks for the info. I am there right now and will be done next Thursday. Kind Regards, HFM

[Ian Corrigible]

Brazilian offshore helicopter services faces pilot shortage
Flight International (http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/08/25/346566/brazilian-offshore-helicopter-services-faces-pilot-shortage.html) 25/08/10

Brazil's offshore oil industry is expected over the next five years to draw 60-70 new helicopters into a fleet that now stands at about 120 aircraft, but operators are starting to feel the effects of a severe pilot shortage that is already curtailing services.

The impetus for this coming surge in fleet numbers is the opening of deepwater pre-salt oilfields, believed to contain some of the world's largest reserves. However, the expected oil boom is raising the spectre of a pilot shortage, especially for flyers rated in larger types such as the Sikorsky S-76.

Some operators are already reportedly struggling to hire qualified pilots as demand begins to outstrip supply. Indeed, local sources have indicated that some operators are already rejecting services because of the shortage.

Although high costs of training helicopter pilots play a role, the root cause is primarily regulatory, according to Rodrigo Duarte, director of Brazil's helicopter pilot association ABRAPHE.

Brazil's oil company Petrobrás requires that crews engaged in offshore work have a minimum 500h single- or twin-engined experience as pilots and a twin-engine instrument flight rules rating.

The latter requirement has become a major stumbling block since none of the local helicopter schools possess twin-engined helicopters. While Brazil's ANAC regulatory agency allows single-engine IFR training, it demands that the check-ride be performed on a twin-engined helicopter for aspiring offshore pilots.

"The ANAC's position is unreasonable in view of the current helicopter pilot shortage in Brazil," says Duarte, who adds that most aspiring pilots depend on the goodwill of some operators to log twin-engine IFR time and a subsequent check-ride.

And, there are fears that the offshore helicopter pilot shortage might overflow into other segments of Brazil's civilian rotary-wing market, which has 1,350 helicopters.

One interim solution may be to open the market to overseas crews. At the moment, Brazil's civil aviation regulations allow for contracting foreign instructor pilots for periods of up to six months. Approved changes to standing regulations will allow the hiring of foreign pilots for periods of up to 60 months. Yet these need to be voted into law, and that is unlikely before 2011, in light of this year's presidential elections.
..........
I/C

[Tango123]

"Brazilian offshore helicopter services faces pilot shortage"

Heard that too many times, so my Q is: But where are the jobs then?? :=

[Soave_Pilot]

We have plenty of pilots, I personally know quite a few unemployed, mainly bacause of the low time.
And it's hard to find a IFR rated because of the rules here... check ride and training must be performed in a real IFR ship... unlike in the USA for example. So, basically no one can afford it.
You pretty much have to go in the offshore biz without that hoping the the company will get you IFR certified, and that costs them money, a lot actually, that's where they come up with the "not qualified pilots". The whole system is a mess... believe it or not.

So now they want to hire pilots from overseas where they already have that. Whereas the government should just change that nonsense regulation.

And the agency in charge of the aviation here (ANAC) more like the FAA in the USA, is a mess as well, you can never get a hold of them, and anything you want to do it takes forever. It took me over 4 months to convert my FAA license to the Brazilian one.

And after that i took the ICAO english test and they rated me as level 4!?! I was like are you serious? I speak and write fluently, even better than the person who tested me!! :{

[MartinCh]

Without MERCOSUR passport or residence via spouse, pretty much forget it unless you got couple thousand hours and specialist skills (long lining, military etc.) for example for Chile. Some folks did mention contracts for old salts over there. Not for gringo newbies. I'd fancy flying rotary in Chile or Argentina, but the market is small and hoops to jump through. Brazil? hmm.

Sure, there is a demand for booming Pre-Sal oil exploration in Brazil, but, do you:
have 600ish rotary hours, fluent Portuguese, Brazilian passport?

As for other countries and stuff, well, you have to sober up a bit in your aspirations.
Also, you're not going to be 'commander' of anything else than training helicopters either as solo pilot or flight instructor after your CPL training. Doing JAA IR(H) may open doors to some co-joe job that'd be great chance (TWIN TIME), but you'd not be commander, so..

You've chosen tough career to get into and stay. But oh boy, isn't it great to buzz around in helicopter? :)

[MartinCh]

Without MERCOSUR passport or residence via spouse, pretty much forget it unless you got couple thousand hours and specialist skills (long lining, military etc.) for example for Chile. Some folks did mention contracts for old salts over there. Not for gringo newbies. I'd fancy flying rotary in Chile or Argentina, but the market is small and hoops to jump through. Brazil? hmm.

Sure, there is a demand for booming Pre-Sal oil exploration in Brazil, but, do you:
have 600ish rotary hours, fluent Portuguese, Brazilian passport?

As for other countries and stuff, well, you have to sober up a bit in your aspirations.
Also, you're not going to be 'commander' of anything else than training helicopters either as solo pilot or flight instructor after your CPL training. Doing JAA IR(H) may open doors to some co-joe job that'd be great chance (TWIN TIME), but you'd not be commander, so..

You've chosen tough career to get into and stay. But oh boy, isn't it great to buzz around in helicopter? :)

[paco]

You don't apparently need a Brazilian passport as of about a month or so ago. For the next 5 years, non-nationals are going to be allowed in to fly.

Phil

[paco]

You don't apparently need a Brazilian passport as of about a month or so ago. For the next 5 years, non-nationals are going to be allowed in to fly.

Phil

[voando]

It would appear the gringos are about to invade the market in Brazil - or so the offshore pilots fear, and obstacles are being placed in the paths of the big 3/4 players who have tried to cash in on the possible boom there - Bristow / CHC / Era and PHI - who are trying to bring in outsiders to help man aircraft or give training. Sounds like the scare-mongering about Turkish, Greek, eastern European hoards who were going to swamp the European offshore market with trumped up licenses when the JAA was formed ...... and of course it never happened.

[Smike]

Hey Phil, sounds interesting...i've checked out their CAA(ANAC) and goverment sites and couldn't find out any info about it. Anywhere i can have a blast?

Cheers!

[lotsahueys]

You don't apparently need a Brazilian passport as of about a month or so ago. For the next 5 years, non-nationals are going to be allowed in to fly.

Phil

I wish this were true Phil.

This regulation / loophole is correct but has not yet been passed. It possibly will be soon.


Regards

Lotsa

[dinofootball]

how soon? soon like transferring your tc license to faa soon?

[TunaSandwich]

Not sure your FAA license will help you too much in Brazil:hmm:

[EdForce6]

Hi all,

I've gone through all the replies... but im still not sure !! If you are Brazilian or Portuguese you have a change on being a commercial pilot in Brazil .. otherwise no go ?? Or you can for a few months !!

Where do we stand !?

[Soave_Pilot]

Brazilians and Portuguese folks to fly and get paid.

Everybody else, only instructors for 6 months to train nationals.

[skiper-choper]

sometime a middle man ask me $$ to introduce my papers(MAKE THINGS EASIER) and arrange a test flight with anac inspector.
they validate only comercial with ifr rating and 200 hours PIC.
to validate my ATP, he told me i need brazilian pasport, but not the 100% of my hours PIC.I never tried to do that.
REGARDS!!!

[patatas]

Het guys,

I am actually in Brazil right now in the process of converting my JAA CPL (H) over to the Brazilian CPL. I've been talking to ANAC since october last year, when I started my process.
In fact this is the second time I am trying to convert my license since they "lost" the reply from DGAC in Spain when I first tried to do it about a year ago.

So, this is reality. It is relly hard work. And I am brazilian born and speak portuguese as a native language, but it looks like we don't understand each other when I try to speak to ANAC, when I can, of course...

Anyway. I let you guys know the exact process and how I did my paperwork when i finish (hoping to do in a couple of months).

Jobwise, I always hear people saying, pilot shortage, lots of job everywhere, as if employers where picking up people on the street and offering to pay then a training course because he really needs a pilot. NOT REALLY!! You have to have minimun hours as everywhere else in the world... helicopters cost as much as everywhere else in the world, so employers won't hand you a S76 with 200 hours... this is the reality!!

I am sorry if this is a little disapointing to some people... if you really want to live in another country, as an adventure, fair enought... but you will need to look for jobs like any other place on earth...

Besides, Brazil is really famous for the beaches and women. This is in Rio de Jameiro. Most helicopter jobs are in Sao Paulo and you will have to share your living with another 18 million people and 18 million cars (no kidding) with all its consequences that we already know

I am not spoiling peoples idea. I am giving the REAL information.
Good luck to all of us....

[Soave_Pilot]

Most helicopter jobs are in Sao Paulo and you will have to share your living with another 18 million people and 18 million cars (no kidding) with all its consequences that we already know



Amen to that!

[Peter PanPan]

Patatas perhaps you should make sure the Spanish CAA has done its part on the other end, heard that they can be quite slow in the Licensing department, let alone interacting with other CAAs.

Having said that I´ve heard experienced brazilian captains speak very poorly of ANAC, things have apparently become very messy since they became civilian run. Good luck to you anyways and please keep us posted about your adventures in the heart of the Stone Jungle! :)

[dinofootball]

I have heard that FAA and Brasilian regulations are fairly close, but besides Brasil are their any other Central or South American countries that are hiring and allowing ex-pats to fly?

[JAA/FAA Pilot]

Helinka SAC
Peru

www.helinka.com.pe (http://www.helinka.com.pe/)
Immediate opening for three vertical reference pilots in Peru & Bolivia

Minimum Flight Time Requirements:

3000 hours as pilot in command
1,000 hours in AS350 series - ( experience in BK 117 or Lama SA 315 a plus)
500 hours Vertical Reference in the AS350 series
1000 hours Seismic, Carousel ( confirmed experience required)
Preferred Skills:

Mountain course & mountain flying experience
Speak/understand Spanish a plus but not mandatoryPlease email resume to [email protected]

[Dustwing]

Brazilian regulations are similar to FAA, just one detail, they use FAR rules translated to portuguese; but the translation are having distortions during the process, and many of the rules ending up with a different meaning. Why? Because of non qualified individuals doing that. This is old story. Life is hard even for brazilian pilots, for expats, it may seem a complete disaster. The market in Brazil is hot, but for the records, bended regulations are just "the" obstacle on the way.
Expats to fly in there, difficult.

[LEAv8or]

Fellow rotorheads,

Anybody out there have any information on the helicopter market in Brasil? I have 1300TT(Fixed wing and rotor) with 500 in turbine Astars and I do have a Brasilian citizenship. I also speak the language fluently but I am not up to date with the market in Brasil. I would have to convert to ANAC which can be a lengthy process but I am willing if there is a market. Thanks in advance for any info!

[oleary]

Marry a Brazilian girl - and that ain't bad duty at all!:)

[North & South]

LEAv8or,

Cant be better than that:

G1 - Demanda por pilotos cresce, e novas habilitações para helicóptero dobram - notícias em Brasil (http://g1.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2011/07/demanda-por-pilotos-cresce-e-novas-habilitacoes-para-helicoptero-dobram.html)

:O

[LEAv8or]

Wow!, thanks for the link! I am highly surprised at the demand. Looks like it could be in my future.

[Aser]

Petroleo Brasilero SA (PETR4) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=PETR4:BZ), Latin America’s largest company by market value, plans to boost oil production by more than 50 percent over the next four years. To do so, it needs helicopters bigger than houses and floating platforms longer than two football fields.
The state-controlled oil company (http://topics.bloomberg.com/oil-company/)’s demand for heavy helicopters, used to move equipment and workers to platforms as far as 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the coast, will double in 2012 from 2011 and rise 350 percent over the next nine years, according to Barclay’s Capital. U.S. helicopter lessors Bristow Group Inc. (BRS) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=BRS:US) and Seacor Holdings (CKH) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=CKH:US) Inc. may benefit the most.
Petrobras, which produces 90 percent of Brazil’s crude, is spending more than any other oil company as it seeks to develop offshore fields located in the pre-salt area, so called because the deposits lie below a layer of salt two kilometers thick. The company has a $224.7 billion, five-year investment plan through 2015 to do so. Repsol YPF SA (REP) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=REP:SM), BG Group Plc (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=BG%2F:LN) and OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA (OGXP3) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=OGXP3:BZ) also are seeking to develop the fields.
“Nowhere in the world looks like Brazil” for helicopter and vessel companies offering support to off-shore drillers, said James C. West, an analyst with Barclay’s Capital. “Winning lease contracts from tenders announced recently by Petrobras, and others expected early next year, would be a positive” for Bristow and Seacor shares, he said in a Nov. 28 phone interview from New York (http://topics.bloomberg.com/new-york/).
Ocean Depths

Petrobras’s demand for rigs capable of drilling in ocean depths of more than 2,000 meters is expected to grow by 147 percent between 2010 and 2015, to 37, according to a Sept. 25 presentation by Mauro Yuji Hayashi, the company’s exploration and production pre-salt planning manager. The company’s heavy helicopter needs will climb to more than 40 in 2012 from the current 20, according to Barclay’s West.
A Sikorsky S-92 heavy helicopter costs $17.7 million, according to the website Aircraftcompare.com.
Bristow’s global helicopter fleet numbers more than 550 worldwide, according to Senior Vice-President Mark Duncan, who oversees new business. The Houston-based company has six leased helicopters in Brazil (http://topics.bloomberg.com/brazil/), all operated by Belo Horizonte-based Lider Aviacao Holding SA, 42.5 percent owned by Bristow and the country’s largest provider of helicopter services, Duncan said.
“We entered into Lider in 2009 when we saw the increased demand in Brazil,” Duncan said in an e-mailed response to questions. “We saw it as having growth potential similar to the North Sea (http://topics.bloomberg.com/north-sea/) in the mid-1970s. The pre-salt will be a new dimension.”
Recent Contract

Five more Bristow medium-size helicopters will start operating in Brazil next year under a recent contract, Duncan said. Petrobras has a bid in progress for six to eight heavy helicopters. Such choppers generate average revenue of $1.5 million to $2 million per month, while prices in local markets may vary widely, he said.
The total global fleet of helicopters servicing offshore oil and gas companies is about 1600, Duncan said, estimating annual revenue at about $4 billion.
Medium-size helicopters are used to fly 10 to 12 passengers as far as 120 miles. To reach the pre-salt fields requires heavy choppers than can handle 19 passengers. The Sikorsky S-92, which Lider leases out, is about 18 meters (60 feet) long and 5.5 meters high.
Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras declined to confirm how many helicopters it will need in 2012 to “avoid influencing prices offered in tenders,” the company’s press office said in an e- mailed response to questions. The company currently has 91 choppers for off-shore activities, the statement said. It did not address a question about the contract mentioned by Duncan.

Petrobras Oil Seen Abundant From Brazil With Gigantic Helicopters: Freight - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/petrobras-s-oil-seen-abundant-with-gigantic-helicopters-freight.html)

Regards
Aser

[ATPMBA]

in use for off-shore or other work like B206, B407, Astars?

Are they hiring ex-pat pilots?

Thanks guys.

[Flaviano]

Being naturalized in the line can fly with the crew of the helicopter companies that provide services to Petrobras.