Fixed Wing/Rotor

[MasterBates]

Aw come on, I liked flashy's post. Good natured AW ribbing.

Now for a real answer to the original question. True I didn't have jet grades in primary, but by that point I didn't want them anyway. After a few flights in the 34 I discovered how much I hated wearing the chute and the O2 mask, and being stuck in something small and narrow (yeah I know the jets are wider than the 34) with restricted maneuverability. (pilot not plane) And then came the solo flights, I got so damn bored flying by myself, I decided that I didn't really want to do that. Call me lazy/underachiever, but I didn't want to put in the effort it took to get jets either. I didn't want to do that much studying in primary and advanced. (turns out I ended up doing a sh!t-ton for the ATO phase of the HSL FRS, but thats another stury) To make a long story short, from the first flight in HTs I knew helos were for me. There wasn't a day in advanced that I didn't look forward to going to work, I love flying helos and I'm glad I selected them.

Good thing. Damn hard to select P3s or Jets out of the HTs

 

[gregsivers]

Good thing. Damn hard to select P3s or Jets out of the HTs

Thanks smartass. At least it wasn't a bird from my squadron that was getting all worried about an aircraft flying around Julington Creek not talking to anyone tonight.

 

[HAL Pilot]

It sounds to me like pilot experience would lead to a more interesting field of work in the civilian world. I just don't see much excitement in riding in an airliner, which would be the ideal job if one left the military as a NFO. EMS, police work, firefighting, logging, construction, ENG, and SAR sound like pretty cool careers to me and these are mostly pilot jobs. Did this influence your decisions or is it just that riding b!tch is more interesting to you personally
?

I hope you never wanted to work as a Hawaiian Airlines pilot - you just got black balled. I'm pretty sure I can arrange that you will never be interviewed by Aloha too.

Signed,
P-3 NFO / Hawaiian Airline Pilot (sort of - furloughed but will be back)

Hey Wink, how do you feel about NFOs flying for major airlines........

 

[nocal80]

Aw come on, I liked flashy's post. Good natured AW ribbing. After a few flights in the 34 I discovered how much I hated wearing the chute and the O2 mask, and being stuck in something small and narrow (yeah I know the jets are wider than the 34) with restricted maneuverability. (pilot not plane)

well the jets may be wider but the cockpits have all gotten smaller since I left T-34's

 

[ChuckMK23]

Er, this happened in 1977. The Army had pumped out a couple of hundred helo pilots a week for quite a few years so the market was a bit saturated. And, unfortunately, you're right; many vietnam era pilots are retiring.

It goes deeper than that. The fundemental business model of commercial helicopter operators are generally what gets in the way of a satisfying career as a commercial helo pilot.

There are some niche/corporate (Part 91) operators that pay very well but still far and few between.

Also, helo pilots lack the unifying representation in the labor and FAA world. ALPA has done wonders in a way. Look at the EMS helo mishap/accident rate the last few years (it's increasing) and the FAA response. The brought loads of experts to the "table" and had study after study commissioned - yet there was no, ZERO pilot representationj. They had aircraft manufacturers, operators, engineers, FAA, etc etc. But NO pilots.

Gives you an indication of how pilots are viewed in the helicopter community (Civ).

 

[phrogdriver]

I agree, so touchy. It's funny how that line always flushes out the 'tards. :icon_roll I'm secure in my designator, among other things - how about you?

Brett

The original poster did qualify with "assuming you wanted to follow that pipeline." You were the first poster to respond, and had to bring the hate, AW smilies or not. Then Flashypants responds with a post that was a little overboard, but kind of funny, and everyone acts like he just p!ssed in the communion wine before Christmas mass.

To answer the question from someone who actually had the option to do any pipeline and chose helos, it didn't have to do with civilian employment. It had to do with flying low, working with the grunts, and being close to the action. Admittedly, my SNA visions of "Low Level Hell" (great Vietnam helo book by Mills) were not quite what I've seen thus far, but the low flying, working with the grunts, and being in the middle of the action have been.

 

[jamnww]

To answer the question from someone who actually had the option to do any pipeline and chose helos, it didn't have to do with civilian employment. It had to do with flying low, working with the grunts, and being close to the action. Admittedly, my SNA visions of "Low Level Hell" (great Vietnam helo book by Mills) were not quite what I've seen thus far, but the low flying, working with the grunts, and being in the middle of the action have been.

I know a TON of guys/gals who selected helos for these reasons. With all the jet drafts lately (this past fiscal year) I have heard a lot of people trying to figure out a way to make sure they didn't get jets out of primary.

It isn't just because they didn't get jet grades...in fact more often than not, for Marine students, the student with the highest jet grades has been selecting helos to avoid the jet draft.

 

[skidkid]

I selected Helos (probably was going to happen anyway) based on the missions as mentioned above there was no thought to a post military career at all, that wasnt why I signed up in the first place.
Being a reserve squadron I see lots of post military jobs and many guys that get out do not do so to take flying jobs once youve gotten to shoot stuff for over 100K a year other flying for less is well.....less. We have guys who are senior VPs at fortune 500 companies, small business owners some airline pilots, the list goes on. They jsut like to come on once in a while and wring out a Cobra from time to time and if they get to shoot a few times a year it satisfies the jones.

 

[plc67]

I learned quite a bit on this thread. I thought the EMS community had their act together and was pretty safe. It's well understood flying helos is more dangerous over all than fixed wing but I thought the EMS accident rate was declining. I realize it's more than a little hairy to land at night at an accident scene with unfamiliar terrain and obstacles surrounding you but I believed there was some sort of pathfinder type of ground expertise available when you headed into the zone.
Fetter, if you're interested in the helo side of the house and don't have college plans the Army's Warrant Officer program is something you should look into.

 

[gregsivers]

Yeah the EMS helo mishap rate as been increasing in the past few years. There was an article on it in Air and Space a few months ago. A lot of the problems were coming from crashes in bad weather, when the helo either shouldn't have been flying or on IFR. As far as the "pathfinder", its usually some guy with the fire dept on scene who's been trained in marking an LZ by the EMS helo at a class beforehand. Just enough to mark a spot so the helo can see. At least thats what several of my friends who were EMTs in college tell me.

 

[flashypants]

I agree, so touchy. It's funny how that line always flushes out the 'tards. :icon_roll I'm secure in my designator, among other things - how about you?

Brett

Touchy, touchy, touchy ALL OF YOU! I guess my lack of AW "smileys" had some people mistaken that I was being touchy, sensitive, insecure, reTARDed???

Ok, how about this: :icon_tong

On a forum of Naval Aviators, I expect some thicker skin. Can dish it but can't take it Brett? Need some help digging your panties out of your hole?

Blackballed from being a bus driver? I mean, sorry, blackballed from an airliner?? CHILLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Lighten up!

Now that I've cleared the air, would someone please remove the giant a$$ from my profile picture? That'd be great. Thaaaanks.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Blackballed from being a bus driver? I mean, sorry, blackballed from an airliner?? CHILLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

If you thnk I'd actually keep your name until your wings commitment is up, you really are a 'tard.

BTW, if you ever do decided to become a bus driver, Hawaiian and Aloha are two of the airlines that respect helo time. One of the guys in my new hire class was a Marine 53 pilot whose only fixed wing time was his primary training T-34 and 300 hours in a Cessna 402.

 

[Venom-0]

Okay, you know what...I'm feeling kinda left out. How about all of you Navy/Marine Corp guys stop hating each other and say stuff bad stuff about the Air Force. That way we can all get along.

 

[HAL Pilot]

 

[flashypants]

If you thnk I'd actually keep your name until your wings commitment is up, you really are a 'tard.

BTW, if you ever do decided to become a bus driver, Hawaiian and Aloha are two of the airlines that respect helo time. One of the guys in my new hire class was a Marine 53 pilot whose only fixed wing time was his primary training T-34 and 300 hours in a Cessna 402.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep it in mind, but that's waaayyyyyyyy down the road for this nugget.