heligreenhorn

i am on a short list to work in india flying a koala in the corporate enviornment
i live in the usa
i have a wife and a 2 year old boy
i would like to take this job but have a million questions regarding working abroad
i am new to posting on this forum as well and looking for advice from any expats working in india or abroad flying helos
i am a low time guy 2000 hours total time helicopter
they keep stating they are going to send me a letter of appointment
(what is this??) job offer i guess
the only details i can get from the wing commander are that they pay
50,000usd per anum 6days on 1 day off
a ride to work every day
pilot acomodation
thats all i know right now
what is the going rate for a helicopter guy in india????
do they tax you locally on income????
would you subject a 2 year old to new delhi or mumbai for a year
i understand these 2 metros are some of the poorest and richest places in the world
you also can e mail me at [email protected] if you dont want to respond here
so please bring some advice,stories and comments to the table
keep the greasy side down
greenhorn

Hippolite

Heligreenhorn

Its a big leap from the USA to Delhi or Mumbai. The 2 cities are a long way apart and are quite different so your lifestyle will be somewhat dependent on which one you will be living in. India is an eclectic mix of good and bad. I have travelled there many times on aviation business and find the people friendly and non threatening, I like them very much.

But, India also has the most extreme poverty I have ever seen, people literally living in cardboard boxes on the side of the road with young kids. They have nothing other than a few pots and pans and have to resort to washing in puddles or drainage culverts and defeceating on the side of the road.

There are many expat pilots working there with the airlines and with some smaller charter operators. If its a Koala you will be flying, will you be working with AR Airways/ Club One Air in Delhi?

The letter of appointment is your contract of employment and will outline the pay and conditions. The general rule these days in India is that the company provides housing, car with driver and a small per diem in addition to salary. Your roster seems to be quite biased to time on duty, 2 days off would be more usual from what I have seen.

The bugs are different there, especially the stomach ones! Hygiene is the most important thing, washing hands frequently and not touching the toilet door handle on the way out is very good advice. You would have to ascertain what medical arrangements are in place for your family.

I think you could have a most enjoyable time there with a few precautions and a clear understanding of the pay and conditions before you go. Make sure your pay is deposited overseas in USD. Allowances will be paid locally in Rupees.

Feel free to PM me, I have some contacts there who may be useful to you depending on where you will be.

HH

Nigel Osborn

Flying in India can be quite fun but at the same time very challenging. In the 80s I spent a year in Bombay/Mumbai flying Canadian registered 212s to offshore oil rigs. In the 90s I spent a year flying Indian registered Australian 212s to rigs about 250 nm north of Madras.
As a non Indian we were required to have 500 hours on the type you are going to fly; some of our pilots had 450 hours & were rejected. The air law exam you can do in Delhi or Mumbai & does involve quite a bit of study as the rules, etc are very different to what you normally use. The monsoon season can be quite exciting & the summers are very hot.
Family living can be quite acceptable if you take the trouble to learn the ropes of living in India & it helps if you like cricket! Make sure you have all the recommended needles before you arrive & you should then have no problems.
Indian tax is very high; I suggest you discuss that before you arrive.

check

I was out in Bombay as it was in 1984 and stayed for 3 years flying mainly to the Bombay High field, but also had some very interesting VIP trips all over the north east of the country.

It was one of the best places I have worked, but it wasn't the flying that made it great, it was India, the people, the food, and much more. Friends had their kids with them, some went to the local school - with better standards than back in the UK!

If you have the chance take it, as for hygiene, take care but don't be over fussy, you have to have a few bugs in order to get any sort of immunity.

Good luck

singesavant

hi everybody,


how is it going in India?

heligreenhorn did you finally accept the job?


One classic low time's question:do you think there are opportunities with a FAA commercial in this big and awesome country for a first job?

Thanks for answering and sorry about my poor english...

Indfly

With the Aviation boom happening in india, Corporates are going ahead with buying Bell 407's, A109's, A119, 412, 212, 230 ... but theres only 1 hitch .... PIC's for them are not to be found high and low. Our HR guys are pulling their hair in despair...lol

Quite a lot of drivers are flying 2-3 jobs at a time. we see that this is a disturbing trend in terms of Flight safety/FDTLs.

singesavant

Hello, I was just wondering about india's market place for low time, do you have any more precisions maybe?

Thanks so much for answering

thepross

There are plenty of pilots available, You just need to compensate them accordingly....

rotors88

So where are ALL these India jobs being advertised?? I have been enquiring about a start there for 6 months with around 3,000 hours & there does not seem to be many jobs there on offer?

helico2003

I can't help you on any info about India but the pay you mention doesn't seem much...even for a low time pilot...I can tell you for sure that Bristow is paying a lot more than that to pilots with less than 2000 hours!...of course if you don't mind flying as P2 for a while until you get more experience. Bristow has a diverse range of operations allover the world maybe you could try and apply for a job with them, who knows??
I'm one of their Captains posted at the moment in Mauritania flying 212 and i can confirm we have co-pilots there earning 75000 USD more than what you are getting offered in India and on a 28/28 day roster and with less than 2000 hours experience!...chek their website Bristowgroup.com
Sorry if I am getting you confused at this stage... maybe you should just go ahead for India of course the salaries they pay locally have no comparison with what is paid elsewhere in offshore operations.
All the best on your future career!

singesavant

Do you think that's bristow would hire a brand new and low time as co pilot?
Patrick Cor has talking about, but we don't have any news annymore in that way in the brand new bristow academy ex Hai...

singesavant

Helo

just one precision, what do you mean by: "They are looking for Indian pilots and no doubt the vacancies are well advertised in India" ?

Thanks

singesavant

ok roger that!

sorry, my english is pretty bad!

Thank for the expalanation

helico2003

Singesavant,
What I'm suggesting to Heligreenhorn is to go on the Bristow web site and apply online for a job simple as that....god knows he might be lucky!
Bristow's may not have vacancies for new people everyday but...it is a big group and they are always looking for people.
...just give it a try!

fluffy5

I was offered last year through deccan, it took time for them to admit their rosta was a basic 6 days on and 1 off !
206 and 407 work they have dropped their limits because they can't get any international pliots to do that sort of rosta, if you really want to call it that.
That was for 50,000 usd with bonus I think. flying around in the indian summer for six days with one off will take it out of you, pass me the imodium , us western softies

Helisweet

I´m interested on working in Mauritania but the bristow I only can find job offers with airlogistics in the USA.
Any info would be appreciated.

rotors88

So does anyone know where all these helicopter pilot jobs in India are advertised or gong?? I have Googled India & job offerings there, & there ain't none. Can anyone please shed some light? Cheers

Indfly

Rotors 88

You could try out 1 company in India from whom noone seems walking away......this Aircraft sales/charter outfit has been taking select few expats for their Indian Chopper/Airplane corporate clients.pm me for their id

Wayne Jenkins

I worked for three years in India, in fact out of the same hangar that “Old” Nigel worked from 20 years previously.

My advice to any expiate pilot that has the opportunity to experience the country and people, is to take that opportunity and you will never look back.

There is poverty and widespread crowding together with pollution that I had never seen before, however after a short while the eye and brain becomes numb to those sites and smells.

Most of my time there was in the capacity of Chief Pilot and Examiner for a start up company based out of the Helibase at Juhu Airport, which is on the coast a few kilometers from Mumbai [Bombay] International Airport.
The sole reason for expiates being there was to introduce a new aircraft type [B412] into the Indian Helicopter Industry.
Hence once the Indian pilots were experienced on type, the expiates began to drift back home.

I personally found that the professional capacity of the Indian Flightcrews were as good or better than anywhere else that I have seen around the world, and were a delight to work with.

On the other hand the Indian bureaucracy in the form of the DGCA [CASA, CAA or FAA equivalent] was indeed a contrast. The British left their system with the Indians with their withdrawal in 1947 and the DGCA has enshrined that 50 year old legislation to the present day….a challenge indeed.

I would be very surprised that expiates were being employed in India at the moment, with the exception of any new type being introduced, however the rules may have changed in the last few years.
.
It is nigh on impossible to obtain a Indian Flightcrew Licence unless you are an Indian national, however validations of foreign licences are quite available. I suggest that the FAA [USA] ATPL is the best Licence to have for the validation process, as the Instrument Rating is “self renewable” and does not rely on the annual government retest on your home country Licence.

Yes, ensure your immunisation program is up to date and don’t eat greens or fish in the monsoon time.
Medicines that are prescription only in the “west” are freely available from most street pharmacies, so relief is not far away from the enviable illness. [Yes even Viagra is available…Nigel are you listening….cheap I have been told]
Beware of the Bombay Belly [normally strikes on day 2 or 3 of your tour.
Due to the daily requirement of being declared “Fit and Healthy” by the company Medical Officer prior to flight, a doctor is always close by to treat the unexpected.



Did I also mention to beware of the local “Fosters” beer?……and in the old 26oz bottles….the beer is great but the formaldehyde in the beer will cause the old head to hurt a little.

The weather in the South West Monsoon time can be a little of a challenge, .oh were the days of coasting in over Bandra Point at 500 ft AGL with four storey buildings and the occasional flagpole appearing through the murk.

But would I go back………… only in a heartbeat.

It’s a great place and I miss the place and the people.

ferny300

hi again guys, lately from my conversation with few fixed wing pilots in my flights it seems to appear that the helicopter industry in india is booming like crazy, any one who is been working or is actually working there has anything to say about that...? (same same but different?)