Spring Helicopter Jobs

[SAR]

Hi All, Was looking for any tips or rumors any of you may have to offer with regards to possible work for a new helicopter pilot. A friend of mine started his training last fall and will be done in a week or so. Exams and flight test have been done for a few weeks, now its the 100 hour requirement. I would appreciate any pointers or suggestions anyone may have to offer that I can pass along to him. He is planning a trip across the country, starting here on the Rock (His home as well) then as far as it takes to find work. Or course a flying job would be first on his list, but there is nothing wrong with ground support provided its a stepping stone in the right direction. Thanking you all in advance for any response and wish all a safe and busy summer.

Take care
SAR

 

[Ryan]

Here's a few web sites with heli job postings.
Aero Ads
AvCanada

I'm going to be in the same boat as your buddy next spring. Some advice I've gotten is to pick 3-5 operators you want to work for, and pester them all for as long as it takes to get hired. Doing the cross country trip is fine too, but you only meet the people at each place once, then you're gone. By picking a few and staying in their face you show your enthusiasm, plus they will remember you more than the guy/gal who just dropped in that one time.
Also, I've heard it's best to go into these places on weekends. This way there is no secretary working. If there is a secretary working, odds are she won't let you talk to the cheif pilot. So go when she's not there.

That's about all I've been able to collect. Anyone able to lend SAR first-hand knowledge of getting that first job?

 

[jetbox]

Let me tell you new guys what works for us:
1- don't show your face unanounced with no appointment: this time of year, were very busy getting the fleet ready for the season. Last thing we want to see is some 100 hour wonder walk in the doors and expect a half hour of our time when we're not prepared for it!
2-Never come on weekends: if we're in on a week end it's because we have to, not because we want to. In other words we're busy!
3-We don't have a secretary so call and make a friggin appointment, we'll be glad to show you around, even if we're not necessarily hiring!
4-Nothing worse than getting caugh off guard by a 100 hr pilot that expects to walk in the door unanounced and receive 20 minutes of our time!

Good luck to all of you, keep at it, persistence and a gung ho attitude always pay off. B)

 

[cyclic monkey]

1. Keep knocking on doors, no matter how many it takes........
2. Keep smiling, no matter how depressing your trip has been.

Let's face it, you aren't going to get a job as a 100 hour dude these days without lots of 1. and 2. above.

Good points Jetbox. 100 hour pups should exude confidence, not cockiness.
You are only expected to be a 100 hour pilot, nothing more........so don't over-do how damn good you are.
You can save that until you've got 500 hours !!!

 

[jetbox]

L.M.A.O.

 

[Frickin' Apprentice!]

mmmmmm….secretaries can be yummy. :wub: Anyone been to Port Alberni lately?….tee hee.

Where is that Koala when you need it?

Sorry ff:

Apprentice :huh:

 

[MINI]

With the comments made by Jetbox I dont think Id go to your shop on a week day even with an appointment.Sounds like a grumppy place to me.....

Cheers Mini........

 

[SAR]

I'm with you mini. Simple questions usually get simple answers!

SAR

 

[Blackmac]

Jetbox & CyclicM: Cheez, you guys ever lucky, you really must of padded your log books to be born with thousands of hours.

Remember you had ZERO hours at one time, give the guy a break.

How soon we forget

 

[shaggy]

roger that, blackmac. thankfully i don't need to drive my old P.O.S. endless miles to out of the way places away from friends and family to get started at a low paying, crappy (depending on who you work for) job. however, it wasn't so long ago that i don't remember how some of the senior people (the ones i was aspiring to be) could be such bastards. on the other hand some of them were extremely nice, friendly, and helpful. those are the ones i choose to work for now. it would sometimes do everyone on both sides of the fence to remember that, for instance, the senior people have lots of work to do, and the junior people would dearly love to help.
cheers

 

[407 Driver]

I agree with Jetbox, We get a lot of "drop-ins" here as we're on the Trans Canada Highway, but don't expect we have the time to sit and visit with you.
We do not hire pilots at the base level. That's the job of the chief pilot, and there is no chief pilot here.
We will visit if we have the time, and we will steer you in the direction of the Chief Pilots office.

Yes, we were all low timers once BlackMac, but we have a job to do at the base level, and don't always have the spare time in a day to sit with several 100 hr guys a week either.

When I got hired on, I made an appointment to meet a guy at OKie, I'll bet you'll know him....Frank Ranger ?

 

[SAR]

Anyone want to go back to the original question? All I wanted to know was there anyone out there, be it you, your employer or even the competition, looking for a low timer or even a hand around the base with hopes of flying soon. I never said this guy will knock on your door just to piss you off and act like he knows it all. I thought that this would be a friendly and easy way to reach across the country to find some good information. I'm not looking for a job, I have one. But where I work is not really an option for a new pilot. However if I read this same post and knew of someone that was looking I would have passed it on. I thank those who did answer, and maybe someday you will have a question that I may be able to answer. Funny how these threads always piss someone off!

SAR

 

[shaggy]

sorry about contributing to the off-topicness ( i know that isn't a real word) of this thread. amazing how they seem to do that. unfortunately the few suggestions i have would be airborne out of whitecourt but they have their own school and would likely take new guys from there, although, i have heard of them hiring from without also. alpine (in canmore) will sometimes bring on new guys to work the ramp and such, remote in slave lake had a new fella helping out doing scanning on the sioux lookout fire i worked last year. i don't think he flew an awful lot but he did get some stick time in a 206 if i remember correctly. rupert's land in bonnyville is another place to maybe get a start but you have to have a pretty thick skin to work there, and be prepared to do seismic and nothing but (except for menial work around the hangar for pennies a day). there is always canadian, too, and then some of the dedicated spray shops like western aerial applications.

to the other guys, i can understand the frustration of having to deal with constant interruptions but i always went to the CP, rarely the ops manager, never the base manager. i can appreciated that it would be better for them to concentrate their efforts to the guys who can help them but whether or not you like having the new guys drop in on you there really is no other way for them to go about looking for a job unless the more senior people in charge of hiring start accepting resumes that are either faxed, mailed or emailed. i certainly wouldnt drive all the way from newfoundland to bc and go back without talking to everyone i possibly could (prick or not).
SAR, hope that helps.
cheers

 

[SAR]

Thanks Shaggy, Some very good points there. I will pass them on. See guys, that didn't hurt that bad!

Thank you!

SAR

 

[407 Driver]

Alpine in Canmore will be hiring right now for ground crew positions, but don't expect any word on a flying job. They say that there is NO chance for that flight job, and NO chance to even get a checkride when you work there.
It's near minimum wage in one of the most expensive towns in the Rockies.

In saying that, some guys have stuck it out on the ground for THREE summers and have that first job....