Sponsorship for the North Sea
 

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could confirm/ deny the rumour about sponsorships by Bristow/CHC/ Norsk etc...for pilots to convert their licenses to the JAA equivalent with some of of ROSO.
I'm a 2000hr/ 500hr turbine ATPL-H pilot.

I'm contemplating the move to Europe for family reasons, but struggle to justify the expense of converting my licenses.

Yak.

Classic case of rumour network!

Don´t hold your breath, the companies are not that desperate yet.

The best thing you could hope for is an interview before you convert. If accepted, you would be given a reasonable time to convert at your own expense, and given a job when done.

Rotordude

Unfortunately I think you've missed the boat on that one.

Lots of qualified people now being turned down for North Sea.
Some companies might even be cutting back very soon.



Sorry.

cutting back! whys that? We are struggling to provide enough aircraft and crews to keep up with demand.

chcoffshore, have you seen the price of oil recently? Over the last few years, the oil companies have been catching up on a lot of maintenance and development work which was put on hold the last time the price of oil was low. The recent high level of activity has allowed costs to spiral and they will now want to tighten their belts.

At least one NS heli operator has been hiring like mad over the last few years and were always behind the drag curve on recruitment. I hope they haven't overshot the mark to find themselves over the top on pilot numbers.

There are also some contracts up for renewal which well change hands.

Interesting times!

Well we will just have to wait and see!

and there are some operators who are short of pilots. That doesn't mean they will recruit though.
Lots of contracts up for renewal in the next year or so. Interesting times.

Cheers boys and girls for your input.
Guess I'll have to pursue other venues.

Yak

Helicopter CPL Sponsorship
 

Hi,
does anyone know of any North Sea Companies or any for that matter who offer sponsorship programs for CPL(H), I have no PPL just a passion for flying (500 Skydives:8) and no money nor collateral to get any, anyone out there want to rob a bank,

Hahhaahaa! Join the queue!! :}

It is a marketing ploy, but they are providing the training which you will receive.
However the actual costings and numbers mean that the company will break even minimum or earn some money out of it, it really is quite a clever way to attract students to come and fly.


Fluffy

Agreed 100%.

I don't like posting on Pprune but if it saves a newbie from pain then it will be worth it:

Guess what, the two "lucky" candidates will then be told they are unemployable without a Flight Instructor Rating.

Luckily I am sure the school is willing to let them pay for this after they have been so lucky to be "selected" for " CPL sponsorship" (after paying for a PPL course).

I wish I was being cynical but I fear that this is the truth of the matter.

To be fair, great marketing but: "Buyer beware"

Newbies take note: good marketing does not a good school make

I will leave it there for now, but hopefully you get my gist ;)

FYI, there is also a FI(H) scholarship.

Also, there is only one scholarship on offer, not two.


Its all there in their FAQs.

Thank you for pointing this out and my appologies for not reading their FAQs

Unfortunately, the cynic in me says that the FI will be awarded to someone who will be unsuccessful in the CPL sponsorship...

Just my cynical opinion and nothing more, and I am more than happy to stand corrected.

Helicentre Aviation Scholarship
 

Well just to let anyone who's interested know, I've got my date for interview for the CPL scholarship at Helicentre.

Seems there was only a few for the FI scholarship but a few more for me to go up against for the CPL scholarship.

Any advise people can give me on interview techniques in the helicopter industry would be really appreciated. I understand it's not a north sea interview but any general techniques would be great!

Ask them where your first job will be and how much they will pay you for the privilege. ;)

Here's a tip, before you progress any further, look at the amount of hours they do in a week and then divide by how many pilots they have working for them, and then you will understand if it is actually worth training there for the end goal of working for them, because I bet you they are saying once you qualify your first job will be with them.
You have to understand that this so called interview is just a way to draw you in and spend in the long term more money with them.
So I would say for the interview "yes I like flying helicopters and also I have a considerable large amount of cash"

Fluffy

In one! Or a chance to work for nothing! :D :D :D

True, but it still should never cost you more than the normal route of PPL, CPL, FI... So if thats the alternative it's perhaps worth a punt. The question then is, if the scholarship weren't on offer would you choose to train with them? Quality of training, location, chances of future employment etc. You could always do your PPL with them, try to qualify for the scholarship, and if unsuccessful embark on the CPL training elsewhere. They seem so be pretty good at offering their past CPL/FI's some work, but how much? They have quite a few commercial graduates.