Helicopter pilots have many different types of employment opportunities available to them. Helicopters around the world are used for a wide variety of jobs including law enforcement, tours, off shore oil and gas support, air medical transport and many more.
EMS (emergency medical services) pilots are some of the best paid in the industry. These jobs are considered to be at the top of the career ladder and many helicopter pilots aim to work in this field. It offers challenging flying, a good salary, predictable schedule and plenty of free time.
A typical helicopter EMS base in the US is a 24 hour operation with four pilots and a combination of flight nurses and flight medics. The pilots work twelve hour shifts with a seven and seven schedule, meaning they work for seven days and get seven days off. After seven days off they come back to the night shift and work for seven nights. Shift change typically takes place around seven or eight o'clock. The nurses and medics work two 24 hour shifts per week.
Helicopter pilots flying under FAA part 135 regulations such as air medical operations are subject to certain flight and duty time limitations. No pilot can fly more than eight hours in a 24 hour period for a single pilot operation. To ensure the pilots satisfy the ten hours of rest period, the maximum time on duty is fourteen hours. A pilot may exceed the fourteen hour limit only if it is a matter of life and death and there is no other pilot or helicopter available. If a pilot exceeds the limit they are still subject to the ten hour rest period.
It takes some time for pilots to reach the level of experience required to work in the air medical field. Most helicopter companies require a minimum of
1. 2000 hours of helicopter flight time.
2. 100 hours of unaided (without night vision goggles) night flying.
3. 500 hours of turbine time.
4. 200 hours of cross country flight time.
5. Commercial license with an instrument rating.
Not every pilot is suited to the emergency medical services. There are long periods of boredom mixed with short bursts of excitement. There are days when nothing happens and other days when you are flying all day. The biggest challenge for most EMS pilots is waking up in the early hours of the morning, flying to the scene of an accident in poor weather conditions and landing the helicopter in an area surrounded by obstructions like wires, trees and fences.
Taking off and landing a helicopter at night from unlit areas is a challenge for most pilots. This job has been made a lot safer and easier since the introduction of night vision goggles. Any helicopter pilot that has used night vision goggles always wonders how they ever flew without them. Using night vision goggles is the difference between night and day and has improved the safety of the air medical helicopter industry a great deal.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is
provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice
provided to you by any health care or other professional or
organization.
