Articles for category Career Development
Apr
22
2019
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Posted by Admin
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It’s not easy for a power company to chalk up a 99.999 percent electricity reliability rating, but the Tennessee Valley Authority has been doing it for the last 19 years straight. Helicopter pilots and linemen are an integral part of this achievement.
People outside the industry sometimes envision these pilots and linemen as a bit loony, and for good reason. The Tyler benches attached to the outside of helicopters commonly touch 500,000-volt electricity lines while linemen transfer themselves from the benches onto towers that stand as high as 300 feet in the air. While the lines are de-energized, their proximity to the helicopters and their spinning rotor blades is hair-raising to the uninitiated.
Ask TVA Helicopter Operations Manager Adam Hammond whether the pilot or lineman is loonier, and he’ll quickly point to the other guy.
“Definitely the lineman,” Hammond said. “They’re out there operating in all kinds of weather to get the power back on.” When rain grounds the helicopters, the linemen have to climb the towers instead.
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Categories:
Company Profiles
Helicopter Sectors
Career Development
Apr
16
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Over the last four years there has been a significant increase in median pay for most helicopter pilots across the board. Good news right? Interestingly though, the industry is struggling to attract and retain experienced pilots. Why?
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Categories:
Career Development
Apr
08
2019
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Posted by Admin
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If you’ve ever had the desire to travel further, faster, and higher your time is here. I’ve flown helicopters commercially for 13 years. As a civilian, I attended a small flight school in Florida where I obtained all my training from Private through CFII where I used my GI Bill benefits.
Until recently, most Part 121 air carriers did not count helicopter flight hours towards their hiring minimums. In recent years, this trend is on the decline. If you are an experienced helicopter pilot and have ever wanted to fly for the airlines, opportunity may be on the horizon. With as little as 250 hours of airplane PIC time and a commercial multi-engine land add-on certificate you can be eligible for hire at a regional airline that may provide a stepping stone to the mainline carriers.
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Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest
Mar
18
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Last year when one of my best friends was preparing to retire from the military, he expressed to me that one of the greatest challenges for him in the transition process was his difficulty imagining civilian employment could ever provide him with the same sense of purpose and fulfillment that he had experienced as a member of the military. For many of us who have served, defending the American way of life and serving in the country’s most trusted profession makes pay and earnings seem like an almost secondary motivation. For my friend, the thought of working at a job where—he imagined—salary and benefits was the sole reason to get up and go to work every day sounded like a rather unhappy way to live life. Fortunately, I had transitioned from the military two years prior and had already found my new purpose, which provided me with a few insights that I was able to pass along to him. Don’t get me wrong: redefining your life’s purpose after so many years of living with “duty, honor, country” as the default is not easy. It’s not easy at all.
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Categories:
Career Development
Jan
07
2019
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Posted by Admin
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Seven years ago I was invited to speak at my first Helisuccess Career Development Seminar and Job Fair and was literally blown away by the experience. This year’s event was no different and I can say it gets better and better each year. This year we had 13 speakers covering 16 topics and $4,000 given away in scholarship money.
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Categories:
Career Development
Dec
04
2018
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Posted by Admin
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I’ve been privileged to fly in different countries around the world. You gain a perspective on the good, bad, and ugly of our aviation system here in the United States. With that said, I haven’t been anywhere outside of the U.S. where opportunity for all citizens to experience aviation is more available than here in the States. You are not excluded from aviation, because of your gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or any other differentiating factor. Additionally, many physically challenged persons find themselves successful in aviation as well.
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Categories:
Career Development
Training
Sep
17
2018
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Posted by Admin
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You’re about to be that guy—that guy that gets his first civilian flying job and can’t stop talking about how he used to do things in the military. Look, we get it; your military flying is the only gauge you have to measure your new civilian flying job. I’m here to tell you—it’s grating to hear the new guy prattle on about how he used to do things in the military.
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Categories:
Career Development
Helicopter Sectors
May
28
2018
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Posted by Admin
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Military aviators are the best trained pilots in the world, right? How could that possibly be limiting?
Military pilots are extensively experienced, highly trained aviators. They are skilled leaders with combat time, and security clearance. These attributes are listed on most transitioning pilots’ resumes. Unfortunately, civilian employers aren’t looking for any of those skills and they certainly don’t list them in job advertisements. Most military pilots appear out of touch and they never receive a call back.
The truth is, your experience and skills are based upon your flight time, and most military pilots haven’t even been keeping a logbook. They’ve been letting the military keep track of their flight time, which doesn’t keep a flight log in accordance with civilian requirements.
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Categories:
Career Development
Apr
16
2018
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Posted by Admin
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In its third year, Rotorcraft Pro’s annual U.S. Pilot Salary & Benefits Survey was initially launched in an effort to monitor and report trends on the salaries of pilots in the industry. Traditionally, surveys were sent directly to employers via snail mail in ballot form, then collected and tabulated. This old method did provide interesting results, but because employers are reluctant to reveal the exact salaries and benefits they provide, the sampling could be rather small and probably wasn’t always representative of the larger whole.
Online technologies have given us the ability to survey actual pilots and their employers thus generating more participation throughout the industry. As in previous years, this year’s survey had excellent participation and we have obtained some of the latest information on helicopter pilots:
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Categories:
Career Development
Apr
09
2018
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Posted by Admin
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RPMN: What is your current position?
I am currently the President and CEO of Sevier County Choppers Inc. Our main business is conducting overhauls on Robinson helicopters, along with a small flight school and touring business. We are a family owned and operated business.
RPMN: Tell me about your first flight.
My first flight in a helicopter was during Army flight school. About halfway through I was pretty sure I would not be able to do this. I really thought I was going to throw up on my instructor and was probably several shades of green. Of course this was August in lower Alabama, so the heat didn’t help much.
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Categories:
Career Development
Human Interest