.... meanwhile the airlines and offshore operators continue to laugh.

There will always be a demand for pilots for off-shore companies until the oil runs out, if there aren't enough with self-funded IR's then they'll have to start bonding again. I fear though that there will always be enough willing to borrow the £45k, and sit complaining about how they're unemployed with an IR coming up for renewal. I don't want to offend anyone, but I have little sympathy as they're only making the situation worse for the rest. The old way certainly makes more sense - get them to pay for it when they need you to have it and do your time to pay it back with minimal risk. I know that this means there is no quick 'in' to the job unless your very well connected, as there will likely be more experienced pilots who would sooner be employed and bonded ahead of you, but you'd get there one day, and as this thread was about FI's I think it's a very valuable and worthy way of building the 1,000 hrs or so that one would need. I know I'm dreaming though really as people aren't prepared to 'do their time' if there's an quicker way of buying their way in. :hmm:

Well I'm certainly in no position to 'buy' my way in with the IR & don't have the folks that can pick up the cost for me (though that said, being Devil's advocate for a moment, surely the FI route is equally 'buying' your way in?! I mean, both routes require ridiculous investment?!? But apparently only one offers any sound prospects any more?!).

I actually want to cut my teeth as an FI; what I want to know is, is this still a legitmate route to a job in the industry, are there still FTOs still prepared to help out FI-(R)s with work even if they've not done their training with them? Or is it true that you'll end up still in the dayjob & no closer to that elusive helicopter job?

I used to think the 'safe bet' was the FI route, but now, ironically it sounds like the IR is?! :sad: Someone restore my faith pleeeeease??! :eek:

Don't despair, that's the first rule. Economic times are rough right now and you have to be prepared to rise and fall with the tide. It took me more than ten years to go from private to multi engine commercial ops. Opportunities do arise eventually and unfortunatly patience can sometimes be the only option. :ok:

I guess there is some truth in that... Only you don't need quite the same pockets :bored:

I think the difficulty is the 'R' - There are certainly opportunities for instructors if you can be flexible on location/travel, the problem for those with an 'R' is that often whats available at present is weekend work, and often unsupervised to give others a day off. So I think it depends whether you are asking pre/post FI course. If you haven't done it yet then chose wisely as your probably most likely to get hired post FI course by the people who have trained you if your up to standard, if the face fits and you did things their way. A good chat with the head of training pre-course wouldn't be a bad start.

If you are asking post-FI then I can see the difficulty you face if they are no help, and can only recommend visiting places, getting your face known, and hopefully making the right impression when you meet people...

I think this has to be true. And if you consider the knock on consequences of the 'current lack of demand for PPL/CPL/FI courses' - less people coming through the ranks means more jobs for us when the lack of supply becomes evident, and demand starts to outweigh supply. maybe... :ok:

Aucky - i don't understand the focus on pilots who self fund an IR and the suggestion that they are bringing doom upon the industry. Why draw the line there, why not take it back a step to a CPL or take it back even further and moan about self funded PPL's.

In the end someone has to invest in the training and actually if you are bonded - which will mean whatever the contract says it means - you are going to be paying for some of the training anyway.

I'm not meaning to say that it brings 'doom' to the industry, infact quite the opposite in a sense, the lower end of the market is flooded with over qualified under employed pilots. The industry doesn't suffer from this, but the pilots trying to get a start do. It means that with each generation of pilots the expected minima prior to employment goes up, as do the costs. Bonding of course means you pay for it, but in a low risk environment - your already employed and using it. Doing the IR with no guarantee of employment and sitting £45k worse off contemplatig doing an FI rating to keep in the air occasionally whilst you IR is lapsing must be a nasty feeling but may well become the required 'norm' with enough people choosing to take the risk. This is quite different from paying for your CPL (the right to work legally). Afterall most of the CPL is just having fun hour building and developing some half safe airmanship - worth every penny for the enjoyment alone :)

Addition - this reminds me a funny of a conversation I had about a week before my CPL test whilst knocking off the remaining hours. We popped into Wycombe on a nav, as we were there I dropped in on one of the most respected IR training providers to see what the costs, prospects, and most up-to-date advice was. I walked into the office of LS (first time we had met) and said something along the lines of 'Hi, I'm potentially interested in undertaking the IR' to which, with little delay, the response was 'Yeah, You look like the sort of C:mad:t who'd want to do an instrument rating', slightly taken back by the lack of word mincing I choked out some reply... A few minutes later having warmed to this bluntness and honesty the advice was clear - go and get some experience, preferably some twin time in due course, and come back in 3-5 years to play instruments. I guess I took this onboard, and am thankful for the advice. A few years and 850 hours later I have benefitted dramatically from my experiences to date as an instructor and continue to daily. To those interested in the long game it's not the most well paid or easy route, but it's a very rewarding start, and I think demonstrates commitment.

Cheers for the comments Sir Korsky & Aucky; that's pepped up my optimism until the next mental breakdown on this lengthy journey! :ok:

My master plan is to go part-time in my current role once I have the FI(R) - assuming they'll let me - then pimp myself out literally EVERYWHERE, driving the extra distances to begin with (even when it's not cost-effective to do so) to - as you rightly pointed out - get my face about & build the contacts & hrs.

I've always joked I'm playing the 'long game' on this one, and where my pockets might lack the cash for an IR, I have cupboards full of persistence & patience that I hope will see me proud with the FI! :) (plus a half-decent CV demonstrating I'm not a total slacker)

I'm counting on this!!!!

Heli-Jock, you're a braver man than I coughing up for the IR; I hope you get that elusive break soon :)

Sounds like the right realistic attitude to take. It'll make it feel all the more rewarding in the end :ok: Choose your FI course and provider with some forethought to potential opportunities. Best of luck.

No one has Commented on what a ridiculous way to treat a potential customer who wants to spend a lot of money, and people who behave like this don't deserve to have any customers, I would have been more than "slightly taken aback" I would have been ready for a f****ing argument !

People get away with bad customer service on the basis of being a "character" or "eccentric" it's a shocking state of affairs !

Yep I had the same experience at that certain place many years ago, I walked in with a student, who was a wealthy business man who I was doing a nav ex with. I wanted to find out myself about converting my single engine Ir to twin, that certain person was standing there and another cronie and I asked a reasonable question about the requirements and basically these two people found it very humourous, they did not know me or my experience. After walking out of their place my student commented on how unprofessional that company was, and are a lot of helicopter companies the same.

Very poor company indeed, they only became wanted after CHC many years ago thought it would be a good idea to send some sponsored pilots to their place, other than that, they would probably have gone out of business along time ago.

Fluffy

State of FI work in the UK
 

Are there many FI's looking for work? If a UK FTO was looking for an FI (Unrestricted) what would be the most effective medium for advertising a position?

Well, you can see if your free advertising here makes it past the mods... :rolleyes:

Or, otherwise, Helidata can be a good place to advertise. Avia Press Associates - Helicopter International Magazine - HeliData News & Classified