bond sponsorship

[seang]

Hello everyone, I'm a bit late to this one so please bear with me if you've heard it all before. I was just reading about the Bond helicopter sponsorship scheme and noticed there are three intakes, Jan, May and Sept (although I heard the Jan one has been canned for some reason). On the OAT website they give a deadline of August 2007, does anyone know if this is for all three intakes? I emailed OAT but they have not got back to me. Also, does anyone know if there is an upper age limit on likely canditates for such sponsorship schemes. In aviation terms I would probably be considered a bit old now (46) and perhaps perspective employers would not be prepared to take me on if they are only likely to get 15 years employment out of me. I've still got my own teeth and some of my faculties are intact - I even play football every week, for 90 minutes as well - but I appreciate I might not be the most exciting prospect for an employer of a helicopter firm. I'm rambling (it's the age thing), but if anyone can let me know about the Bond business, I'd be truly grateful,
Good luck to you all
Sean

[heli_port]

Post on the OAA forums and i think you will get a faster response otherwise pick up the phone!

I personally would rather be a 'chopper' pilot but fixed wing pays more so i'm going in that direction.

[seang]

bond

Thanks heli, good luck in whatever direction you go
cheers
Sean

[Whirlygig]

Search on rotorheads for the full story. Feeling_kind_-_here_it_is

Yes, the deadline was August 2007 for all intakes; i.e. applications closed 9 months ago! There is unlikely to be another one.

Cheers

Whirls

[seang]

Thanks whirl, I feared that was probably the case. Ah well, back to the dreams. Now, how do I raise £100,000....hmmmmmm

[heli_port]

Sean you only need to raise half of that money to go from 0-hero. Bristow Academy do an integrated course approved by the UKCAA. When i was investigating the rotary route i popped over to the states to have a look and i was very impressed.

Bristow Academy Site

Total cost of doing their Ab-inito (inc IR) program is $61K which according to xe.com is about £32 K (add your food, accommodation, transport costs etc) and bobs your uncle.

*

[seang]

Thanks a lot Heli, I'll have a look down that route. If I completed that course would I be able to apply straight to offshore firms, or will I need to build up a load of hours first? Oh, and do you think age will go against me (46) when applying to those firms? I also appreciate I will need to get a type rating on the helicopters they use. I will, of course, do some proper research into all this, but any quick hints or tips you could pass my way will be greatly received. I really appreciate your time and response Heli
Best wishes
Sean

[heli_port]

Hey Sean, i don't really have anymore tips etc as i have given up going down the rotary route however there is a shed load in the rotorheads section

With regards to age i would post in that forum ( i don't think your age matters as long as you still have the grey matter to get through the groundschool exams but this is only my opinion) or send the school an e-mail and as i remember they answer really fast.

Good luck

[Whirlygig]

The IR with Bristow's is single engine only; helicoper instrument ratings have to be done in JAA airspace and therefore is pretty much useless in itself - it has to be converted and you need a twin type rating as well.

Cheers

Whirls

[heli_port]

For those pilots who wish to improve their chances of employment in Europe even further, Bristow Academy is able to offer JAA IR(H) training through the Norwich, UK campus. Holders of a JAA CPL with FAA IR(H) complete a 4-week conversion program. Holders of a JAA CPL(H), with no previous instrument experience, complete a 7-week course. The JAA IR(H) is a highly sought after qualification by helicopter operators in the North Sea and completion of this program will make your job application stand out from the rest.

http://www.heli.com/helicopter-resou...hure110707.pdf

[Whirlygig]

Granted. And the cost is?

Whichever way you do it, you would be lucky to get a full JAA CPL(H)/IR(H) with ATPL(H) theory credits for less than £70k.

Cheers

Whirls

[heli_port]

Whirly i can't do all the work! but i agree with your £70K figure as a m8 of mine has just spent that amount and has walked straight into a job with Bristow @ Aberdeen.

Back to learning about fixed wing

[Whirlygig]

It was a rhetorical question - I know full well what the cost is - circa £30k for a UK JAA IR(H) not including twin type rating!!

Cheers

Whirls







not Whirly; she's a different person!!!

[seang]

Heli and Whirl, cheers to the both of you, your advice is invaluable to me. I truly respect experienced people like you who take the trouble to help plonkers like me. As we speak, the police helicopter is hovering over my South London home (again) and I'm imagining myself in it (flying, that is, not being nicked). One day, maybe. I'm thinking of opening a cats home as there seems to be loads of rich old spinsters who leave loads of cash to cats homes in their wills.
Best wishes to the pair of you and thanks again
PS just remembered, I'm allergic to cats. Scuppered again

[heli_port]

Spot on as always whirls

Single Engine Instrument Rating
All fees are payable prior to the commencement of any training

Procedure Trainer Package*
£ 5,250.00
29 hours Bell 206BIII instrument instruction**
£20,880.00
17.5% VAT
£ 4,572.75
CAA Authorized Examiner Test
£ 712.00
TOTAL
£31,414.75

[Whirlygig]

...and that's assuming Bristow's old Jet Box survives that long!!!! 'Cos once she's had it, there won't be any SE IR in the UK.

The approximate price for a twin engined aircraft is £1,000 an hour - you need 8 hours for your first twin!!

Cheers

Whirls

[Adios]

Bristow's academy is doing the training for the Bond Helicopter cadet programme, though I think only to CPL level, then I think Bond does the IR/MCC and Type Training. It's going to hit close to £100K any way you slice it when you throw in a Type Rating. Perhaps Whirls can enlighten us about the likelihood of getting a company funded TR.

[Whirlygig]

Reasonably likely IF you've already got a JAA IR(H) on a twin i.e. you get an IR(H) an twin squirrel rating (c. £40k in total). A type rating on whichever helicopter your prospective employer uses is therefore likely although you may well be bonded.

Unlike fixed wing, heli type ratings are not the big deal; it's the IR that is.

Cheers

Whirls

[seang]

shouldn't you lot be in bed? I'm going now, after a couple of cans of stella, to follow my dreams under the duvet and when I wake up in the morning the smiling postie will be there with a cheque for £300,000 (just to be on the safe side) from a spinster who has left it to my newly opened cats home - but with a note in the small print saying if you, Sean, want to spend it on becoming a professional helicopter pilot, forget the cats, they are a bloody nuisance anyway, I never really like them, always made me sneeze. Heh heh, sweet dreams everybody
Sean