"Downgrading" from Helicopter Pilot to Airplane Pilot
 

Hello to all

After several year working as helicopter pilot i come to a point where i feel it might be a good move to go on the fixed wing side.....

I´m ATPLH with IR struggling to get a job after my contract ended. The disappointment on the industry is huge...all companies requirements are for type rated pilots, its ridiculous for a pilot to get self sponsoring a type rating....no one has 50.000 euros for a 139 rating or 145. Makes no sense. For this amount of money you get a Airplane Ab-initio course.

So ...i´m wondering.....how hard is the transition from a EASA Helicopter Licence to a EASA Airplane licence.

From what i´ve been reading the theoretical part is "only" 5 exams, but the big question is on the practical side of the thing. Does a helicopter pilot get any flying hours/experience credits to airplane?

Did anyone here made this transition?

Thanks

Safe flights

https://www.easa.europa.eu/sites/def...20Part-FCL.pdf
From page 224 and on...
In short you need to get PPL A and SEP to be able to gain needed A hours and nice number
up to 100 h is credited. All to be able to make that modular (5) missing ATPL A exams. And than final one...

When my Jr decided to go profi way, my advice was: You need to have A and H at last CPL
and in worst case of lost Class 1 medical Part 66 B1/2 is more than useful for daily bred and butter.
He is still doing this way, now well over 100 f/h on A and H with nice number of Part66 exam done
with approx half of Part 66 on job training done.

Hi Berlioz,

just try and hold on a moment, it looks like the helicopter industry is picking up again.

Berlioz
If in Europe I would imagine with years of time on helicopters You could get a airline to sponsor You somehow.
Professional , mature pilots with command time is hard to find and the industry is getting absolutely desperate by next spring.
Do keep the H active for a few years , as You might miss Your freedom.
Good luck
Cpt B

I found a surprising number of Chief Pilots who believed that any amount of helo time was irrelevant and had no transferrable benefit. These were generally but not exclusively civvy trained people.Military experienced people know better but are fewer and fewer in number.
The transferrable benefits of helo time are immense, especially if you've used your IR procedurally.

imo Captaincy develops in a helicopter far faster than in a comparable sized f/w simply because of the diversity of things you are expected to do in it and the independance required of so many helo ops. And immensely faster than an f/o in any f/w.

Best of luck, you'll find your helo time immensely useful in f/w. As ever luck plays a huge part, right place at right time is everything.

I had about 3500hrs helo time when I defected o/w about 1000 was procedural N Sea. The rest was Jetrangers and Squirrels all europe VFR.
My first f/w job was P1 single turboprop self-managed bush flying. (900hrs)
Second was P1 turboprop small commuter twin scheduled. (150hrs) from which I resigned due to their lax standards.
Third Quadropuff P2 for a year, then command. 350/500hrs.
Fourth 737 command and onwards.

I didn't get there by being anything special as a pilot - I'm just average ability, merely struck (very) lucky.

But bludsup's right, you'll miss your freedom. Much/most airline work nowadays is little more than 100% knowlege of and rigid adherence to sop's and the word Capta***y has been eradicated from the dictionary and is never uttered - and I mean never uttered in some. It can feel suffocating but that's the price you pay for confidence in earning mortgage and pension payments in the future.

Downgrade huh? I’ll keep my advice, having converted myself from RW and been in pilot recruitment, to myself. Best of luck.

Oh.. stiff upper lip brigade, take a bit of banter for christ sake :ugh:

downgrade..............it's a bloody up-grade fella, don't beet yourself up

I remember some years ago there was the Bridge... I have no clue how it is done now... But i am curious about that also...

Very funny Sloppy link - I get it, let's hope others do too!

Bridging is done by taking 5 exams for an equivalent licence (CPL - CPL, ATP to ATP) at an approved ATO, then you need the flying training. Got a few people doing that.