Do Become A Helicopter Pilot !

[longliner]

I must admit to a certain amount of sadness as I see our chosen profession hammered by people who have obviously not enjoyed the ride . For those thinking of mortgaging your future let me give you my perspective. Ive been in the industry as apilot for 31 years Its Been Great!!! Yes it is costlyfor the ticket-Yes the first job is hard to find-yes your away from home alot-Yes there is very little true job security-Yes I could go on and on with the negatives but for me its been a great drive I've seen the beauty of Canada from coast to coast from an astounding perch and it is o so gorgeuos- I 've enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing the job has been done tothe best of my ability-Ive enjoyed reasonable renumeration which with careful planning has allowed me to work part time now and I've been fortunate enough to have met and worked with a crazy group of people many of whom I'mproud to call friends So if youwant to be a helicopter pilot DO IT!! BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE and ENJOY THE RIDE

 

[Helilog56]

Thanks for that! Nice to see someone upbeat about the industry. Like you, I've also enjoyed our industry as a pilot for 28 years. Sure, it is not always easy.....dues have to be paid, but when you serve an apprenticeship, it's all in what you make of it. The "passion" for flying has to be there, why else would one want to do it? I have found that if you stick with it, it does " pay off" in the long run,so like you....I would not have changed a thing and still love it!

 

[ORION]

And that is why i am a pilot!

 

[Rotorboy2]

I agree!

It indeed was a hard battle to find pernament work (6 years) but last year I finally found F/T in northern Alberta and, although I'm not crazy about the place I live now, at least I still love the job...

... until it gets to -30 C again, then it's just going to be a bit less enjoyable.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

longliner

Thanks for your post, it came at the perfect time. I am currently in school taking maintenance in order to continue with my chosen career path and assist me in my dreams to one day be a pilot / engineer. Although the past years have been a struggle, I often find mysef wishing that I was out banging on doors instead of having my nose in the books studying. This becomes especially difficult when a machine flies past and all you want to do is look out the window or hop in the truck and shoot the breeze with the pilot. But your post defenitely puts things into perspective. Thanks,
PJ

 

[cap]

Puddle Jumper --------what you want to do is check with the wives and children of pilots to get a "true feeling" of what the business is all about. Don't just stick to the rotary wing wives and kids either.......check on the fixed wing side also.

IF and WHEN the day should ever arrive when you feel that maybe you made a bad choice of professions, find a cop's wife or a military wife and see if all of the wives and the various husbands have similar stories. In otherwards, don't get into the habit of gazing at your own navel too much because if you check around, you'll find many professions like your own.......except when YOU leave the ground and until you land again "you the man of all you survey and the rest of the world can kiss your butt".

 

[Albert Ross]

It's easy to forget that we are not the only industry that is hard to break into - photography is worse if you want to be successful, and try being a junior lawyer!
Tom Paxton said the same about folk singing, but I suspect he was secretly enjoying life when he wrote the song.

I look at it like this - you are where you need to be at any given time - if you are needed elsewhere, things will be arranged. So why not enjoy it?

Phil

 

[cap]

Albert ------shall we assume then, that you are "where you need to be" at present? ...........and are you wearing a kilt per chance? .......... and if so, is it made of NOMEX?

 

[Albert Ross]

No, not a kilt, I'm a bit further South than that! I'd show you a picture of me in one, but I don't want to scare the horses.

I was trying to say that my philosophy is generally to go with the flow, and it's not done me any harm. All the good jobs I ever got I either tripped over, as if Fate took a hand, or needed minimum effort after knocking on the door. It's almost as if the management upstairs took a hand. I might not be rich but I'm sure lucky.

Phil

 

[cap]

Oh I think you are rich alright Albert. It all depnds on what you include in the definition of "rich". Money is only one of the things. Stay well.

 

[Albert Ross]

And you - how's the 'peg these days?

Phil

 

[cap]

Let's put it this way........don't crack any "rain jokes" within earshot of a Winnipeger or you'll get an earfull of expletives or maybe a "fat lip".

....and me?.......let's say Christians 2 - Lions 0.

 

[jetbox]

A lot of what's been going on in this forum in the past few months with mouthy newcomers has proven that if you are a hard worker, HAVE A GOOD ATTITUDE and are able to get along with people, you will most definately have some form of success or another in this business!

Cap, Longliner, Albert, Magster, 407 driver and all those other guys(and gals) are bang on the money when it comes to realistic expectations in this business.

The ones who don't like it or have nothing positive to say about it probably shouldn't have ever "joined" in the first place and they should most definately get out before they poison any other impressionable newbies.

This is by far the best career choice I could ever have made!!!

 

[GoldMember]

cap/Albert Ross,

Good to hear positive words, keep it up.

And cap, I've got a friend in Dauphin so I've worn out all my rain/drowning/Arc jokes. Got gills yet?