Helicopter Check Ride Part 14 EMS Pilot Jobs
Jun 14, 2018
Helicopter Check Ride Part 14 EMS Pilot Jobs
Having been an EMS pilot, I am asked many questions about the job. I felt it only right to answer some of these common questions.
What was the least favorite part? That would definitely the hours, and hours (and HOURS), of doing nothing.
The next thing that comes to mind is being watched over by hospital personnel that know nothing about helicopters or helicopter operations. Some of them want to dissect every move that you make and play armchair quarterback. We do not get involved in what they are doing in the back with the medical situation, but they all sure seemed like they need to get involved in what we were doing.
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Helicopter Check Ride Part 14 EMS Pilot Jobs
"What surprised you the most when you started working in the EMS field?"
Well, because I had a background in emergency services with the police department and fire department, there were a few things I had to get used to. When I first went to interview for the job, the base manager knew my history and he said, "This is going to be a little bit different. You are used to rushing to the fire truck or rushing to the police car. In helicopter EMS, we do not rush. We walk to the helicopter. We walk to the helicopter, do a walk around. We climb in. We put our seatbelts on. We go through a step-by-step checklist to make sure everything's good to go. Then, when we're ready, we are flying from Point A to Point B as if we're hauling cargo."
Now, the people in the EMS side of things, they have a hard time swallowing that because, to them, it is a medical emergency. To us, as the pilot, it is not. If you think about it, this makes sense. The person flying the aircraft needs to stay calm, needs to focus on his job. If he lets the emergency get to him and come into play, he takes chances, he takes risks, and he skips certain operations that end up causing real problems.
"What are employers typically looking for when hiring people in this line of work?"
Well, I am not an employer, but I would say, at this point, they are looking for qualified people. We know the Vietnam veterans are retiring and those jobs are opening up. So, I think, in general, can you do the job? Do you have the qualifications?
There is another problem in this industry of people faking time in their logbooks. As everybody hears about the pilot shortage, more and more people are tempted to fake their time to get in and get to the job. Well, you need that experience. You need that time under your belt to get in this line of work and have the experience necessary.
I would say good quality people that actually have the required experience you need to do the job and do it right.
Helicopter Check Ride Part 14 EMS Pilot Jobs
"What was the work schedule like?"
The work schedule was cool. We did seven days on, seven days off. We would work seven days of day shifts, we would have a week off, and then we would have seven night shifts. Those seven days did make the workweek very long, but it was sure nice having seven days off. The biggest problem was switching from days to nights. They would say, "Well, when you're switching from days to nights, during that week, stay up a little later each night, and sleep in a little bit more the next day to help get your sleep pattern moved around. That will help you get through your week."
Me, personally, working nights off and on for years in all different types of emergency services, I do not think you ever get used to working nights. Our bodies are meant to be awake in the daytime and asleep at night. I think that is just the way it is. For me, the nighttime part, as much as I like nights, it can be very hard on the body.
"What training and education experience is necessary and what can a person expect to spend to gain it?"
That is a big one. Pretty much across the board, in general, you need about 2,000 hours of flight time. It is normally at least 1,500 in helicopters. This is in general. Any one specific company could be looking for something different, but I believe a majority of the time, 2,000 hours is the big mark. You will have to be a commercially rated pilot with an instrument rating. To get that level of experience, it is probably going to cost you somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 just to get the training. Then you are going to be a road dog for probably about five years, not making much money until you get to that EMS job.
"What is the typical starting salary for someone in this line of work?"
Back when I started, it was around 2008, I believe I started in the range of about $46,000. I would assume that the average salary probably went up, but I would say that is a pretty good average. It could be more. It could be less.
"I'm not sure if you're up on the trends in this field since you're on to other things, but is this EMS piloting field changing? If so, then how?"
One of my good friends is a Check Airman for the largest air medical provider in the world. The big thing that he is telling me is the average pilot he is now training is in their late twenties to early thirties. That is a change he has seen over the past about five years; the pilots, in general, being much younger coming into the field, coming into the industry. Other changes are happening, due to the national attention on EMS accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, has had to to step in and make certain recommendations in certain areas. I would also imagine that a lot of changing as far as the use of electronic devices in the cockpit. We know at this point in the game that technology is changing very fast and aviation is adapting too many new changes.
"What advice would you give someone who wants to pursue this as a career?"
If this were going to be your career path, I would say get your commercial. Get your CFI and your instrument rating. Get out in the field and start working. Do a good job, fly by the rules, and just know that your career path might change as you're going through this process. You may decide to go into the oil and gas with platform operations. Maybe you want to go into forestry. What many of us start out as our goal kind of changes once you get out there in the real world. However, there is nothing wrong with that at all. Bottom line is, get your ratings, start building your time, and make a good decision to be a safe and prudent pilot.
"Do you have to have a certain amount of turbine hours to get any job?"
When I was hired, I had around 350. The company I went to work for said, "Well, we usually hire guys around 1,000 of turbine time."
I said, "Well, you know, that's great. But, I really want the job, and 350 is all I got, and that was darn hard to get that 350 hours."
The guy chuckled and said, "Well, we like to see 1,000, but it doesn't mean you won't get the job."
I did get the job, and it all worked out. I know, currently, my friend that is a Check Airman told me, "They look at 1,000 hours of turbine time in that 2,000 hours total."
I asked him, I said, "Don't you think 1,000 hours is a little bit ridiculous when there's so many good quality guys out there that might only have a few hundred?"
He said, "Well, it depends on the situation, what their background is, and they can waive some of those hours depending on the circumstance." Getting those almighty turbine hours is always a key pretty much in any industry as far as airplanes or helicopters. Moving up the ladder always requires turbine time.
On an ending note for me in helicopter EMS, I did it for five years. It was a great experience. There were things I liked about it, others things, not so much. I learned many things that still help me to this day.
Helicopter Check Ride Part 14 EMS Pilot Jobs
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