There's a shortage of EXPERIENCED pilots willing to uproot their families for compensations that are fairly flat across the country.
There's no shortage of 500 hrs pilots ready to work for free, and that's the real problem of the current US helicopter industry.
Unless the Feds step up to the plate establishing minimum requirements for some specialized applications (it's already been done in Europe), we'll see 1000 hrs and then lower starters in activities such as HEMS.
There are several new flight schools pumping out an ever growing number of "flight instructors" with not much time outside the traffic pattern, but most will say it's a catch 52 situation:"cannot build experience if you already ain't got it".
Going back to Europe seems more attractive every day.

Tottigol my illiterate friend, you make Joseph Heller turn in his grave.

If you fly here in the US going back to Europe to fly isn't possible at the moment, unless you hold that JAA Licence. But I have been told there are rumours flying around to say that my change next year. Once EASA takes over licencing, there maybe a chance that FAA ATPL licences maybe, recognised in the UK. If that were the case I would consider heading home. Closer to family etc. Let's see....:ok:

Darren

The day the CAA recognizes the FAA license I will stand naked on Trafalgar Square and give the entire Rotorheads membership two weeks to draw a crowd.

Whatever you are drinking has plainly gone to your head!

Uncle Ralphy !! There could be some truth in what Dazza has said - a pal of mine who works in Geneva, has been firmly told that the whole JAA system of exams is to be scrapped lock, stock and barrel ! I will not believe it until it happens, but we're getting a little closer to the future.:uhoh: So you'd better get prepared for a night in Charing Cross nick ! In the the meantime Darren - start reading mate - you may actually find it enjoyable ! The KOL was twice as hard !

I will be standing next to Kissme in Trafalgar Sq!!, I think it would be a fine site to see! we could probably sell tickets!!! Kissme your right about the KOL, may just start reading. Hope your ok, check your emails
Darren

SASless,
You give 2 weeks to draw a crowd - big mistake. The crowd will be MUCH bigger if you gave only 10 minutes, and made sure nobody knew it would be you!

The CAA give up all 14 exams??? Where is the money to come from that change will cost the Crats?

The money could come from the tickets they sell to people wanting to see you naked, there is a market for everything these days you know Geronimo… :E
Hope it’s not too :mad: cold!
Joking aside I would not count on the CAA swapping a FAA ATPL licence for a JAA one until hell freezes over.

Thank you for your precious input Rev, it is a fundamental addition to this thread.:ok:
On a more important subject, I'd be happy to see that change applied all over Europe. As of right now there are still wide differences among most Countries over there.

PHI's has two problems.

The first is the expansion of their EMS division. Too many GOMers are trying to jump ship and fly the air ambulances. All things being equal, it's better to sleep in your own bed every night than one out in a swamp in southern Louisiana. And if given the choice, most will opt for the former. Reports are that PHI has instituted a "stop-loss" program for the GOM. If true this will inevitably run them afoul of the union if it has not already.

The second problem is that when the union was voted-in back in 2000, fully 50% of PHI's pilots were age 50 or older and only a literal handful were older than 61. So six years down the road we are definitely at "crunch time." The most senior guys will be dropping out in ever increasing numbers in the next five years. This second problem affects not only the GOM division, but EMS too.

So what does PHI do? They must attract experienced and qualified pilots in the first place, and somehow convince enough to stick with the GOM even when given the option of a position within EMS. Back during the first round of union negotiations, I had some conversations with management. I told them of my belief that PHI would eventually be forced to pay GOM pilots a premium over and above what pilots in other sectors get. It was an observation that was neither dismissed out of hand nor even scoffed at. And it may come to pass.

But there is that darned Catch-52, the "spillover effect" if you will. If PHI raises the pay for GOM assignments, then pilots at Air Log will surely (and justifiably) demand the same. Not to mention, pilots in PHI's EMS division will scream and howl in protest. Too, operators around the country will increase their salaries to match PHI (this has always been the case, and there is no reason to think it will cease). And 'round and 'round we go!

Industry-wise, EMS flying has always been thought of as slightly better than other "menial" types of flying such as GOM which is perceived as crude and basic and unchallenging. Whether this is true or not, a paradigm shift needs to occur. As I see it, PHI's only solution is to add a "bonus" of some sort for their GOMers. And it will have to be more than a pittance. There will have to be a real incentive to stay in the GOM, otherwise pilots will bail at the first opportunity- which they're doing now and in fact have done all along. It's just that it hasn't been too much of a problem in the past.

I know some very senior management folks at the three major operators attend this forum and are well aware of what is said here. It would be interesting to hear how they see the state of the American Helicopter Industry to be...particularly regards this "perception of a shortage of pilots" and statements that suggest they are having retention and recruiting problems.

This makes very interesting reading - particularly those of us about to embark on a new career.

Presumably this will have a knock on effect for lower time pilots at some point but what shape is this likely to take? I hear that internships are a thing of the long distant past - presumably a revival of this is highly unlikely?

What is the shuffle likely to look like? I assume the 200 hour pilots wont be given a job in the GOM, but the replacement pilots have to come from somewhere...

The big companies all seem to offer very similar packages... high 40K- mid 50K + benefits. Does this sort of money befit the job and does it afford a reasonable quality of life for a family?

Where does one find slightly better renmueration in the US or is it fairly relative to the various costs of living around the states?

catch 52? is that anything like catch-22?

:hmm:...sounds more fixed wing than rotorwing!

The day the CAA recognizes the FAA license I will stand naked on Trafalgar Square and give the entire Rotorheads membership two weeks to draw a crowd.

SASless, that was a good one, ha ha :) . I have difficult to believe that the EASA should recognise the FAA ATP. On the Engineering side EASA have been implemented since September and they will not even recognise an FAA STC for example.... But I still hope of course that the new EASA licensing system should be a more flexible and better system than the JAR (an improved JAR system), but who knows!

Does anybody know why the JAA does not recognise FAA licenses that have been issued before the JAR's became effective (grandfathered)? Is it just a political thing?

It was possible to do this before JAR became affective. For example in Finland JAR-FCL2 became affective 01.01.2000. If you had begun to convert your FAA licenses before this date you were able to convert them quite easily.

The point was that you had to start to convert the licenses when the old national system was still in use ie. before 01.01.2000. If you just started the process before this date then you had (I think it was) 2 years to finnish up the conversion.

Employment Screening Test for Gulf of Mexico Pilots
 

We are sick and tired of hearing about how much more professional the UK Offshore Pilots are than the Gulf of Mexico Pilots are. Thus, we have decided to put you lot to a test to see if you can pass our Pre-employment Written Exam. Take this test and see how you measure up:


1. Calculate the smallest limb diameter on a persimmon tree that will
support a 10-pound possum.

2. Which of these cars will rust out the quickest when placed on blocks in your front yard?
(A) '65 Ford Fairlane
(B) '69 Chevrolet Chevelle
(C) '64 Pontiac GTO.

3. If your uncle builds a still, which operates at a capacity of 20 gallons of shine produced per hour, how many car radiators are required to condense the product?

4. A woodcutter has a chainsaw which operates at 2700 RPM. The density of the pine trees in the plot to be harvested is 470 per acre. The plot is 2.3 acres in size. The average tree diameter is 14 inches. How many Budweiser's will be drunk before the trees are cut down?

5. A front porch is constructed of 2x8 pine on 24-inch centers with a field rock foundation. The span is 8 feet and the porch length is 16 feet. The porch floor is 1-inch rough sawn pine. When the porch collapses, how many dogs will be killed?

6. A man owns a Georgia house and 3.7 acres of land in a hollow with an average slope of 15%. The man has 5 children. Can each of his grown children place a mobile home on the man's land and still have enough property for their electric appliances to sit out front?

7. A 2-ton truck is overloaded and proceeding 900 yards down a steep slope on a secondary road at 45 MPH. The brakes fail. Given average traffic conditions on secondary roads, what is the probability that it will strike a vehicle with a muffler?

8. With a gene pool reduction of 7.5% per generation, how long will it take a town which has been bypassed by the Interstate to breed a country-western singer?

How did you do?