Pretty much what I'm doing right now in Canada. I work 7/7 so I've got plenty of time to chip away at the Commercial on my days off and enjoy doing so on the R44. My plan was to get into it full time, though I'm seriously thinking about just enjoying the flying on my days off when I finish my license. Saying that I do have a few contacts here in Canada flying all sorts of utility work so I'll see what happens.

21,500 hrs over 54 years on 4 continents is not enough "experience?

H500, B47/204/205/206/212/214ST, SK55P/55T/58P/58T/61/76 + fixed wing is not enough "experience"?

How much "experience" do you have?

And being in the right place at the right time. Very fortunate to have spent my time in offshore, home every night and not having to do tours. Daughter was on a dual trip when the instructor received a phone call from a mate of his who was looking for a pilot for his operation, instructor replied "I've got a person sitting with me right now", "but I don't have my CPL ride until next week" Daughter replied, instructor "he doesn't need to know that". And off she went to spend two weeks working the office after her CPL ride until arrival of the CPL license in her hand. Lad she was to later meet and marry on gaining his CPL flew into a town with a lot of GA activity by airline one night with just a couple of dollars in his pocket, next morning, having spent the night in a back packers, began walking the rounds at first light with suitcase in tow and had a job very early morning.

Networking is the key as well. Training with a small operator who has been in the business for some time and not one of the sausage factories can be advantageous as well, as in my Daughters case.

All the very best of wishes with it Shaun, whatever path you decide to take.Ah, yes, but is that 21,500 hrs of experience, or one hour repeated 21,500 times. Mine was mostly the latter. :p

R/W: IFR/night offshore, night slinging, Arctic summer/winter, long-lining, drill moves, logging (which I hated), mountain, firefighting, heli-skiing, steel-setting, game capture, general charter, CP.

F/W: bush/floats, IFR charter w/ King Air and others.

oleary - calm down old chap, helonorth's comment was clearly tongue in cheek:ok:

You should probably stop posting then.

I will if you will.

😂 plus at least enough characters to post.

Interested SLF here. I keep seeing things like and the thought occurs to me that a new CPL(H) might not make the best instructor as they have very little experience and are basically doing the job to get hours. Am I missing something? Personally, I would prefer an instructor who has actually done stuff....

Thats a completely seperate issue.
Previously, in Australia, 400 hrs were required before the issue of an instructor rating. One of the biggest advantages was that pilots with no interest in instruction could usually find something else by the time they had 400hrs. It also seemed to make instruction a more financially viable employment option. (Supply/demand) and less of an “hour building” pursuit.

CASA has “fixed” this now.

As a guy who got stuck with a fresh off the assembly line newbie halfway through my instrument training when my 4,000 hour instructor left for a better job, I can tell you,...

No, they don't make the best instructors,...but here in The States we don't value education, so that's the only first job you're gonna get.

Winemaker - there are many of us who think that instructors should have at least 1500 hours before they start instructing, because, as you rightly imply, you can't teach what you don't know.

However....

I have flown with 200 hour pilots who I would trust with anything, and 27,000 hour pilots who I wouldn't trust with a pram. Similarly with instructors - we had an outstanding one here who just had a PPL (he was promoted extremely quickly on the N Sea). So there are two elements to consider - having the knowledge and the ability to convey it. The answer lies somewhere between the two, although I would probably add enthusiasm, and I can see the problem Authority has in establishing the dividing line. The Australian suggestion above is a good one.

Uh-huh...lol

,........:rolleyes:

now this thread has reached rock bottom