Articles for category Career Development
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May
05
2025
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Posted by Admin
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On the personnel supply side of the equation, most every operator is working hard to recruit and retain experienced pilots.
There are still many external forces impacting the supply of working helicopter pilots. These forces are not only keeping the supply lines short of personnel, but stifling the growth of the base pilot pool as well.
As published in previous salary survey reports, the factors impacting operators stem from many issues to include; aging pilots retiring en-mass, aggressive airline recruitment of helicopter pilots, and the retraction of pilot training pipelines from traditional sources like civilian academies and the U.S. Military.
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Categories:
Career Development
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Apr
28
2025
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Posted by Admin
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The helicopter industry is continuing to face a pilot shortage that threatens to impact operations across sectors, such as emergency medical services (EMS), firefighting, law enforcement, offshore transport, and tourism. As seasoned pilots retire and fewer new aviators enter the workforce, companies are struggling to maintain flight schedules and meet increasing demands for aerial services.
Several factors contribute to this shortage. One of the primary challenges is the high cost and long duration of helicopter pilot training, which can exceed $100,000 and take several years to complete. Unlike fixed-wing aviation, which often benefits from more direct career pathways and funding opportunities, the vertical-lift industry lacks sufficient structured programs to attract and retain new talent.
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Tags:
Helicopter Pilot Shortage
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
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Sep
23
2024
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
Right now, I been working as the assistant chief pilot of Metro Aviation Inc. in Shreveport, Louisiana, as an instructor and check airman for the EC-135 and EC-145 and as an instructor on the Bell 407 for our programs, I flew the line for five years and three years ago I was invited to the Helicopter Flight Training Center and I’ve also worked as director of training at Night Flight Concepts Inc. in Waco, Texas, as an NVG Instructor pilot for the last 10 years. I’m very happy with both companies. They've been like family since I came to the U.S., which is my new homeland.
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Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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Sep
09
2024
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Posted by Admin
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It was bound to happen. As the American workforce and aerospace industry becomes more diverse, we now have two consecutive Executive Watch profiles, published last issue on Anthony Rios and this time on Ray Lamas, that feature second-generation Hispanic Americans who make positive contributions to the vertical-lift industry and show how healthy immigration fuels American economic growth and ingenuity. Lamas said, “Everyone is born somewhere and I was very fortunate to be born in the United States.”
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Tags:
Loft Dynamics
Ray Lamas
vertical lift industry
Categories:
Company Profiles
Career Development
Human Interest
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Aug
19
2024
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Posted by Admin
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In preparing to transition out of the military to the civilian aviation industry, you have likely done a plethora of research and preparation. After reading articles, attending networking events, assessing job postings and salaries, you encounter a major roadblock: you do not have enough flight hours or relevant flight time to qualify for any of the jobs on the market. So, now what?
This was precisely the position I was in about seven years ago when I left the military. As an officer in the MEDEVAC unit, I was only able to accrue approximately 600 hours during my time of service, which was certainly not enough to allow me to be eligible for most hiring minimums in the civilian sector. The good news is that it is possible to be successful in the rotary-wing industry with the right amount of determination, sacrifice, and patience. There are many programs that allow military trained helicopter pilots to transition into commercial fixed-wing positions. However, navigating the rotary-wing industry is a bit trickier, especially if you are a low-time pilot.
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Tags:
Mil to Civ transition aviation
Military to Civilian Rotor
Military to Civilian Transition
Categories:
Career Development
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Jul
29
2024
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Posted by Admin
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In 1997, I was a relatively new FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) in the South Florida FAA District Office. On a beautiful Saturday in December, I was asked to complete an FAA private pilot added-rating exam for an applicant at a helicopter flight school at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE). As I had done many exams for this school, there was nothing unique about this day. At least, that was my thoughts prior to my arrival.
The exam was scheduled for 8:00 a.m., so I arrived about 15 minutes early. I often arrived early so I could stroll next door and visit my friend Terry at CavAir, a helicopter maintenance facility, and have a cup of coffee. We enjoyed a quick chat and off to work I went.
Volar Helicopters, the flight school hosting the exam, was owned, and operated by Tony Hicks. Tony would often be in his office when I arrived, so when I walked through the door of the school and heard someone shuffling papers in the office area, I assumed it was him. At that time, a voice said “Hello”. At that moment: I knew!
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Tags:
FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE)
my two cents worth
Categories:
Career Development
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Jul
08
2024
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Posted by Admin
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One might think there have been many sleepless nights in Torrance, California. Well, maybe there was some sleep here and there, but you wouldn't know it from the amount of hard work the Robinson Helicopter Company (RHC) put into their new Instructor Standardization Course. Their Safety and Flight Training department has embarked on a new venture that will surely garner a lot of interest, and more importantly—reduce accidents. It is a unique project that has been in the works for some time but recently became a reality under the leadership of new RHC CEO Dave Smith.
I had the opportunity to personally experience the course recently, and an experience it was. I was fortunate to attend only the second iteration of the course. The first class consisted of eight highly experienced CFIs and DPEs from across the United States and internationally. My second iteration class was just as impressive, with six CFIs and one DPE (myself). Overall, the group brought a fantastic amount of experience ranging from 3,000 to more than 20,000 hours, much of that in an instructional setting. Regardless of the experience level, it became immediately apparent that those in attendance were there for the right reasons: "I have over 22,000 hours as a pilot, and I feel I have a lot to offer and have started to give back by doing flight instruction – I'm here because I want to do things right" said Alex Leal of Laredo, Texas.
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Categories:
Career Development
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Jun
10
2024
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Posted by Admin
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As the quality and cost of flight simulation decreases, the regulatory limitations on its use within the flight training industry remain stagnant. Looking much like it did decades ago, the credits offered on the use of simulation provide very little in the way of aeronautical decision-making (ADM) and focus on simulation versus flight-hour credits on limited aircraft-based maneuvers. Does this maneuver, credit-based simulation model truly capture the capabilities of the flight training simulation available today?
Many years ago, we acquired an FAA-approved flight training device (FTD) for use in our flight school. The acquisition model at the time was purely based upon the hours of flight training credit the FTD would provide back to the customer. Approved maneuvers were inclusive of both VFR and IFR training, however, the IFR training credits far outweighed those of VFR maneuvers. The ability to offset 20 hours of instrument flight training into the FTD was a tremendous savings to the customer, and the training quality was quite good.
My curiosity, though, caused me to seek out additional areas of training where the FTD would thrive, even if no FAA training credit was available. Our staff developed scenarios to include cross-country dual and solo flights, teaching our tour pilots routes and airspace checkpoints, as well as simple local area orientation flights to new pilots and instructor staff. Although we found success in these training events, the real benefit was found during flight instructor training.
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Tags:
Flight Training Devices FTD
Flight Training Simulation
Helicopter Flight Training
Categories:
Career Development
Opinion-Editorial
Training
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May
27
2024
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am the owner and president of Five-Alpha LLC. I also serve as the infrastructure advisor to the Vertical Flight Society and am the technical committee chair to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 418 Standard for Heliports and Vertiports. Some of the other volunteer hats I have worn during my career include board member and president of the National EMS Pilots Association (NEMSPA), board member and president of the Indiana Association of Air Medical Services (INAAMS), co-chair of the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team Infrastructure Working Group just to name a few.
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Tags:
Five-Alpha LLC
INAAMS
Meet A Rotor Pro
NEMSPA
Rex Alexander
USHST
Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
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May
13
2024
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Posted by Admin
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“My promotion to the CEO role at Air Maestro came at a unique time - I was six months pregnant with my son—with no prior CEO experience,” Aleks Banas says to begin this profile of a working mother who has risen to CEO of not one, but two aviation technology companies: Air Maestro and Spidertracks. The Polish-born Australian, gives voice to what has become the unofficial anthem of her current country—the song sung by the folk band, The Seekers: “I am Australian.”
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Tags:
Air Maestro
Alex Banas
Executive Watch
Spidertracks
Categories:
Career Development
Company Profiles