How To Become A Police Helicopter Pilot

Requirements For Each License

#178 How I became an EMS Helicopter Pilot

Let us take a look now at what you need to do in terms of flight training, for each license.

We will start with the Private Pilots Helicopter License, as this is necessary for everyone, and is needed before doing any type of commercial license.

Remember, the hours given here are a legal minimum Most students take more than the minimum number of hours, sometimes much more. Even if you already have a fixed-wing license, you may need more than the minimum hours I certainly did. For helicopter flying is very different from fixed-wing flying, particularly when it comes to hovering and related exercises. So try not to worry if it takes you a long time, and it is a good idea to ensure you can afford to pay for extra lessons if you need them.

Pick A Good Quality Flight School

Your choice of helicopter flight school will directly impact how long it takes to complete your helicopter flight training, how much it might cost you, and ultimately, how good of a pilot you will be at the end of the training.

Your flight training is the rock upon which you will build your skills going forwards, so you need a firm foundation. While local flight schools may be more casual and easy-going, you will not acquire your license any time soon by flying once a week.

At California Aeronautical University, most students fly be flying in your first term. With a dedicated team of full-time instructors who are well versed in accelerating your training, you will find that you save valuable time acquiring your pilots license.

Here are some other advantages:

Excellent ground-based training, including simulators
Real hands-on experience
You can gain a degree and learn to fly at the same time

One perceived barrier to learning to fly a helicopter is affordability.

The solution?

Have you considered looking into whether you qualify for financial assistance? Why not take a look here and see if you could be eligible to gain help in covering the cost of your flight training?

Tip 4 Find Out What Type Of Aircraft The Flight School Uses And Information Of Its Aircraft Maintenance Center

This is important from a training point of view, but even more importantly, from a safety aspect. Furthermore, you should also take into consideration the equipment preference of airlines. Aircraft age does not always relate to safety, this is dependent on the aircraft maintenance ask the flight school in detail about their aircraft maintenance department and safety features of the aircraft.

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Tip 5 Visit Your Shortlist Of Flight Schools

Finally, when possible, speak to the instructors and flight school management teams to learn about the training, safety policies, history, and graduates of the flight school.

Do you still have questions? Send us a message!

You can also check outHow to become a Pilot in the USA, How to become a Pilot in China, or other countries by navigating on our platform or simply just reach out to our team through chat.

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What Next Getting A Job As A Commercial Helicopter Pilot

Getting your first flying job is not always easy Yes, you are qualified as a commercial helicopter pilot. But you have no experience, and this means a lot of jobs will not be available to you. Employers tend to want pilots with experience, but you cant get that experience without a job. A bit of a Catch 22 situation!

However, it is perfectly possible to get a job as a helicopter pilot straight after getting your commercial license, and many people do. So let us take a look at what kind of jobs will be available, at least theoretically.

Work for commercial helicopter pilots includes the following

ENG News Helicopter Pilot

Earn Commercial Helicopter Pilot License

You are eligible to get your commercial helicopter pilot license ) after you have achieved your private license. These are the requirements for a commercial helicopter pilot license:

Pass the knowledge exam. Candidates pass the commercial pilot knowledge exam 24 months before they take the practical exam.
Attend additional ground school and in-flight instruction. Candidates deepen their knowledge of the helicopter and procedures with additional training, which includes dual flights with an instructor.
Complete 150 hours of flight experience. Within the 150 total hours of flight experience required, a candidate completes hours as the pilot in command and flies cross-country trips accompanied and solo. They also complete training on instrument flying and solo flying.
Pass the oral and practical exams. After a flight instructor certifies the completed training of a candidate, the candidate then completes exams that test their knowledge and involve a test flight.

If you already have a commercial pilot license from the FAA for fixed-wing planes, you may have reduced training requirements to add the helicopter pilot license to your certification.

Commercial Pilot Helicopter License

If you want to go on from just flying for pleasure, this is the next type of helicopter pilot license. In addition to allowing you to do everything you could with a private pilot license, it will also allow you to work and make money as a helicopter pilot. This is the license you will want if you plan on making a career of your helicopter training.

The training for this is more detailed and harder than the training for a private pilots helicopter license. The reason for this is that you will need to meet very high training and safety standards to fly professionally. But although it is a large commitment, it is really not beyond anyones reach if they put in the time and effort needed.

Here are the requirements for the Commercial Helicopter Pilot License:

Hold a current private pilot helicopter license
Log at least 150 hours of flight time as a pilot
Of the above 150 hours, 100 hours must be in a helicopter. The remainder can be in a fixed-wing aircraft if you hold a license for flying airplanes too.
In addition, you need to fulfill all requirements around night flight, a pilot in command training, and cross country flight
Pass a written test
Pass an oral test
Pass a practice test flight

Once you have this license, you have quite a lot of choice as to what to do next. You may want to fly commercially. Or you may decide to get further qualifications, as detailed here

Doing Your Ground School

Your next step is to obtain your ground or written instruction and pass the relevant test. People are often surprised by how much theoretical work there is before you can get a pilots license, but there is a great deal to learn. You can do ground school before you start to fly, or at the same time, alternating the two types of training.

This is when you will be introduced to subjects such as helicopter systems and operations, emergency procedures, navigation, regulations, chart reading, meteorology, and more. If you are a fixed-wing pilot, you will have already covered some of these, which will be very useful for you. But some of the information will be specific to helicopters.

You can study on your own, although it is not really recommended. Or you can learn from a helicopter instructor face-to-face, or do an online curse. The latter is likely to be significantly cheaper and is recommended.

Once they feel you are ready, your flight instructor will sign you off and you can take your written knowledge test.

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CHP VLOG Ep. 2 – Air Operations

Rotary wing flying is an exciting world. Unlike a conventional airplane, you can land pretty much anywhere, not to mention being able to hover and even fly backwards. If you consider learning to fly, helicopters are a viable option with many exciting avenues to explore. But before you embark upon this adventurous path, you will want to know the helicopter pilot requirements. We have assembled a list of 8 things to know when it comes to becoming a helicopter pilot.

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Many Skills Needed To Pilot An Rcmp Helicopter

Publish on

S/Cst. Kathy Stewart has been flying helicopters for almost 40 years. In 2002, she joined the RCMP Air Services supporting operations from search and rescue to suspect pursuits. Stewart spoke to Travis Poland about her work and what it takes to fly with the RCMP.

How To Become A Police Helicopter Pilot In Texas

Qualifications for Memphis Police

The Texas State Police operates an aviation unit to aid law enforcement from above. This spells opportunity for qualified helicopter pilots who want to serve the public safety in the skies above the Lone Star state. Some municipal police departments in Texas also operate aviation divisions, but qualifications for police pilots may vary by agency.

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Requirements For The Commercial Helicopter Pilots License

The first thing you will need to do is to get a Commercial Helicopter Pilots License. This means doing a course for the license issue, and there are certain requirements for this course, that have to have been done in advance. So here is a list of them. You must

Be at least 18 years old
Be fluent at reading, writing, and speaking English
Be able to provide proof of identity
Be able to qualify for and obtain a 2ndclass FAA medical certificate. It is a good idea to get this as soon as you possibly can, just in case you find out about any health problems that you didnt know about. It is a little more stringent than the 3rd Class certificate you may have obtained before getting your Private Pilots Helicopter License, and it is not unknown for people to find they cannot get a 2nd Class certificate due to some small health issue. Hopefully, this wont happen, but it is better to find out about it now, rather than after youve spent a large amount of money on the commercial flying course.
Have already earned a Private Pilots Helicopter License. You may already have done this of course. But if not, you will need to get your Private Pilots Helicopter License before doing the commercial one. If that is the case for you, do look at the requirements for that now.

How To Become A Commercial Helicopter Pilot

So youre thinking of becoming a professional helicopter pilot! Perhaps you have done your Helicopter Private Pilots License, and now you realize just how much you enjoy helicopter flying. Youve talked to other pilots who are going commercial, and thought about what a great idea it would be to actually be paid to fly helicopters. Perhaps you could do it too.

Ormaybe you havent started flying helicopters just yet. But you have always wanted to be a helicopter pilot, and now youre wondering if you could actually fly them for a living.

Whatever your reasons, and however far you have got with a helicopter flying at this point, there are certain things a lot of things in fact that you will need to do in order to become a commercial helicopter pilot. If youve started researching them, it could all seem rather complicated, even daunting. But please dont worry. We will now go through them in order in this article. It may seem quite complex, but if you take it one step at a time, it will certainly be possible, and even enjoyable.

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What Do You Do As A Commercial Helicopter Pilot With A Cpl License

Commercial helicopter pilots with CPL license navigate helicopters and are predominantly active in commercial air transport, in the German Army, the Police or in rescue services. Besides the transportation of persons and goods, the helicopter pilots tasks include preparation of the flight and debriefing afterwards. Professional helicopter pilots need to check and assess weather reports, oversee the refueling of the helicopter, check all flight devices and document the completed flight.

Decide Whether To Pursue Airline Transport Pilot License

The next level of license after a commercial pilot license is an airline transport pilot license , which qualifies you to fly large helicopters. It’s not required for all EMS helicopter pilot jobs, but it can make you a more competitive candidate. Some employers might prefer that you already have this license, but others may request that you get it within 12 months of working for them. Here are the requirements for a helicopter ATP license:

Fill requirements. Successful candidates hold a medical class 1 certification, a commercial helicopter pilot license, an instrument rating and are 23 years old.
Gain 1500hours of flight experience: Within the 1500 hours, candidates need to ensure a certain number are at night, by instrument, cross-country and as the pilot in command.
Pass FAA written, oral and flight exams: These FAA tests determine an aspiring pilots proficiency.

Do Research On The Available Flight Training Options In Hong Kong

You need to know what pilot training programs are being offered in the country and which among those is the most suitable for you. This is where you should take into account what your aviation goal is. Do you want to obtain a Private Pilot License or a Commercial Pilot License . Are you seeking to work for an airline? If yes, then an Airline Transport Pilot License is for you. Do you aim to attain a college degree at the same time too? Or do you see yourself joining the military, particularly the Air Force?

Did we lose you? Dont panic! If youre not familiar with the terms or cant choose which license is right for you, you can send in your questions and our team will be happy to help you out.

Here are your options

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Pass Your Practical Test

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Once your instructor signs you off from whichever course you have done, you will be ready to take your practical test or check ride. Your instructor will have helped you prepare for both the oral and hands-on portions of this test, so you really dont need to worry about it.

So nowall you have to do is pass your test, file your paperwork and youre a real-life helicopter pilot!

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Police Aviation In The United Kingdom

Police aviation in United Kingdom provides British police forces with an aerial support unit to assist them in pursuit, surveillance and tracking. All police aviation in England and Wales comes under the National Police Air Service , while Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland operate independent units.

In addition to its fleet of helicopters, NPAS has introduced four Vulcanair P68R, which are fixed-wing aircraft able to provide longer flying time and lower running costs.

Police aviation in England and Wales was once a force-by-force, or forces working in partnership, organisation, however from 2012 to 2015 it transitioned to NPAS.

How To Become A Commercial Airline Pilot

There is a huge amount of jargon in a pilots world: ATPL, Frozen ATPL , PPL, ground instruction, flying hours and so on.

To join an airline as a Cadet First Officer requires you to have:

a valid Class One Medical
a fATPL Licence, including MEIR, A-UPRT and MCC

When you finish your training you will be issued with a fATPL, which allows you to get a job with an airline as a first officer working alongside a captain.

When you have gained 1,500 hours of flying experience meeting certain conditions along the way your ATPL will become unfrozen and you will be able to apply for jobs as a captain. This will bring a considerable amount of responsibility and, therefore, a considerable pay increase. Time to command depends on the airline, but as a rule of thumb you can aim for around five years with most low cost carriers.

As part of your flight training you will be required to pass multiple written exams with a 75% pass mark. These will include the below subjects:

communications: visual flight rules and instrument flight rules
KSA Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes

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How Do You Become A Police Pilot

But knowing where to start when you are looking to enter this occupation can be difficult because every law enforcement agency has different policies surrounding this.

In basic terms you have two options if you want to become a police pilot. You can go through flight school and become a qualified pilot first and then enter the police force and apply for a pilots job.

Or, you can enter the police academy and complete your flight training alongside your police work, achieving the required qualifications to become a pilot while also working within the police.

These are the two options that you have, but depending on the specific police agency that you are applying for they will require you to go through a different process.

Some agencies will only employ those who already have a pilot certificate, while others will allow you to work on this skill within the police force.

It all depends on the specific force you are looking to join. But generally speaking, these are the two paths that are available to you.

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