Uk Jaa Cpl H
 

What are the total hours required for a UK CPL H?

Is the ATPL needed?

Assuming you are talking about a modular course rather than integrated, you need to have 155 hours before you can start the CPL(H) flying course. The course is then lasts 30 hours or 35 if you don't have a Night Qualification.

You can either do CPL exams (9 in total) or ATPL exams (13 in total). An ATPL is a separate licence with stringent requirement, the ATPL exams do not an ATPL make!!! If you don not get an Instrument Rating within 3 years, the ATPL exam credit become invalid and you would have to sit the 7 IR exams again.

You have to have passed the exams before you take the CPL skills test.

Have a read of the "Becoming a Helicopter Pilot" sticky thread above and check out LASORS from the CAA website.

Cheers

Whirls

It is for flying the 332L2:E

332M

Many thanks for the info.

332M, I think you will find that no matter what type of aircraft you fly commercially in the north sea, you do not need an atpl :ugh: (unless your captain of the aircraft of course!)

Regards,

BM :)

That's good to know, thanks

But you're highly unlikely to get a job on the North Sea without an IR!

In addition, some job adverts recently have specified JAA ATPL as a licence (which would include an IR) but only doing VFR work! An experienced CPL should also be capable of the thing but may not get a look in!

Cheers

Whirls

Beaucoup

I am a captain:E

Whirls you are right at the moment no IR no job offer but that is only true today tomorrow there may be sponsorships and by the next day no jobs at all. It can change that quickly.

332M

Do the guys leaving the Forces leave with an I.R.?

Asking because with the amount of them dropping the letter at the moment, it could be interesting times ahead for anyone civvie trained and fresh trying to get a turbine/I.R. type job if they have to compete with those guys if they are so equipped.

Still. There's always instructing:{ :ugh:

Best option, Get an IR at first possible opportunity, end of story!!

Do not assume that offshore jobs may appear that does not require an IR.

Why? What if the sort of helicopter work you want doesn't need an Instrument Rating? What would be the point of spending something like £30k on an instrument rating if the nature of the work is all VFR?

Not everyone wants to do North Sea!!

The military guys leave with a military qualification which has to be converted to a civilian licence. So they would have to sit the exams etc. The advantage they do have though is hours.

Cheers

Whirls

Not everybody that gets an IR goes North Sea.
With hindsight I wish I'd done mine earlier. I learnt a lot from FI'ing. Some about the flying, more about the industry. :ugh:
The risks of going straight for an IR are far higher but the rewards are endlessly better in terms of career development, variety of flying and lifestyle.Oh, and pay :E
Very few can cover the costs of an FI and IR rating before the exams expire, or an IR once they start earning (in the loosest sense) as an FI.
Bottom line to getting ahead in this industry is predominately all about luck. That said in a world of no guarantees (except death,taxes and nurses!) you pays your money you makes your choice.

What else is there? Corporate work? From what I know about that, I'd be very careful choosing that as a career path!! :ooh: :eek: :}

Cheers

Whirls

I'd be very careful choosing aviation as a career path. The important message in my post was ' It's all down to LUCK'
The FI/IR question is another matter all together. I know people with both that are looking for work.
I know FI's that are desperate to move on for a number of reasons, yet cannot afford the IR, or whom question the state of their sanity if they wait till they've reached some ever changing magic number of hours (SOME of them wish they'd done the IR instead, others don't).
I don't know anybody with an IR that is flying IR twins that would choose to change jobs and become a full time FI on single pistons :eek:
As an FI where does your career go????? Once qualified and with low hours, who do you learn from????

Sorry Flingingwings, that wasn't the point I was making. There are quite a few on-shore roles (such as Police, HEMS, piipeline/powerline, aerial work and filming etc) that do not require an IR.

Are you saying that the choice is fly IR twins or instruct PPL? Surely, there's a lot more diversity in helicopter flying?

Cheers

Whirls

Nope that wasn't what I was saying.
You've sort of answered your own question with your earlier posts.....

Many jobs that don't utilise an IR are beginning to specify an ATPL as a application requirement.

An inexperienced CPL with an FI rating may well become a good FI, but how do they gain CPL experience when their main role is ppl tuition???? A CPL is a licence. Flying the roles you mention is 'commercial' work and new FI's in the main get very little of that.

An IR is a way of showing a potential employer that despite your low hours you can fly to a recognised standard (It's a tricky course!). I've FI'd and know how hard the jobs are to come by and how quickly the shine of that role fades. Having completed an IR I still had little actual commercial experience, yet would get S.E. onshore work in preference to some guys without IR's but with more total hours.

It's not the hours you've got but what you've done with them that counts. It's been said before the lowest risk option is FI and hours build, but it is a VERY slow road to development in 99.9% of cases with no assurance of progressing from teaching. 000's of hours teaching won't guarantee you anything (You learn little from trial lessons and by the later ppl lessons do little actual hands on flying.)

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed tecahing. But I should have done the IR instead.