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achieve). It contains all the
helicopter-specific information from
my other book, Operational Flying,
which is more to do with the admin
side of things (more details near the
back page), plus additional chapters
about two popular light helicopters,
the Bell 206 and AS 350.
In short, it contains all the stuff that
I had to pick up on the way.
The Job
Flying helicopters is definitely not a
9-5 affair, and it’s the only work
some people ever see themselves
doing. You are certainly part of a
select brotherhood, but there are
things you need to know before
doing it professionally, which is a
different ball game than flying for
pleasure – the rules are entirely
different. Mostly, the “extras”, in the
shape of paperwork, responsibility
and office politics, are bearable for
2 The Helicopter Pilot’s Handbook
the amount of pay you get, and the
flying itself is the icing on the cake.
It can be tiring, for a start. Four
hours’ worth has been compared to
eight hours’ hard labour and double
that when long-lining, all due to the
concentration, particularly in
mountainous areas and going in and
out of clearings all day long (or over
120 landings a day with heli-skiing),
where you cannot afford to let your
attention slip. Do this for 21 days on
the trot (sometimes up to 42) and
you will also find you need to keep
physically fit in order to cope.
However, don’t expect to be flying
all day and every day. There will be a
lot of waiting around in the back of
your machine in remote places, so
you will need plenty of books. A
typical day on duty may be up to 10
or 12 hours long, within which you
might fly for about 3. The ratio will
be greater in the Corporate world
(though not always).
You also have to remember that
helicopters are generally used
because there is no other suitable
means of transport, which means
going to places nobody's ever heard
of in strange weather, and not being
home for weeks on end. In Canada,
this is very much part of the job, so
think twice if you don’t think you
can cope. If you want to get home at
night, have a look at corporate,
offshore or instructing.
Finally, some of it involves making
money out of other peoples’
misfortunes, as when reporting on
disasters, etc., which is an aspect I
have never really liked, but
helicopters save lives, too and, as I
said, it’s the only thing some people
want to do, whether for the flying or
the lifestyle, so let’s have a look at
how you become a helicopter pilot.
Getting Started
This is the most difficult bit – the
cost of helicopter time is so great
that it’s almost impossible to do
without help, maybe from parents,
or being trained in the Forces.
Having said that, there are plenty of
people who have done it, so it isn’t
impossible, but these will tend be
found in Canada or the USA, where
it’s considerably cheaper. In Europe,
where it’s over twice as expensive
and you need more hours to get your
licence, anyone who can afford their
own training would, in terms of pure
financial reward, have to think twice
before working as a pilot, because
that sort of money can be
considerably more productive
elsewhere. At least then you can fly
when you want to.
Mind you, it’s ultimately not that
different in North America. Even
though you only need 100 (Canada)
or 150 (USA) hours to get your
ticket, you are still usually
unemployable, unless your family
owns the company (and even then
the insurance companies or
customers would have something to
say), so you either have to do a
couple of years as a hangar rat, that
is, washing windscreens until your
company sees what you’re like and
trains you up, or buy the hours
yourself. To be even remotely
interesting to an employer (or, more
correctly, a customer), you need at
least 500 hours, sometimes 1000 or
1500, or some sort of specialised
training, such as a mountain course
(or both) and maybe an instrument
rating, depending on the job.
Introduction 3
Typically, in a large company, there
will be an internal course for ground
staff with commercial licences, and
who have been observed for a
couple of seasons for suitability. It
will be run by senior pilots who are
also instructors, and is a good thing
to get on, as it will markedly improve
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The Helicopter Pilot’s Handbook(3)
