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The Thousand Hour Conundrum

Conventional wisdom has it that you won’t get picked up for your first “real” pilot job in aviation until you have at least 1,000 hours Pilot-In-Command (PIC) time.  Certainly employers have the right to require a modicum of experience among potential job candidates.  And most employers have insurance company guidelines and restrictions to deal with, so the 1,000-hour mark was not simply plucked from thin air. The 1,000 hour requirement, however, can be a frustrating barrier for many.  After all, by the time you’ve completed your initial helicopter flight training and you’ve earned your Private, Commercial, Instrument, CFI and CFI-I ratings, you’re likely to have just 200 to 250 hours total time.  And that’s a long way from the magic 1,000 hour mark. That’s why our prescribed path for future professional pilots includes working as an instructor for either Mauna Loa Helicopters or another flight school in order to build the additional time most employers are looking for.  This career path has met with success for many in the last few years. However, there are indications that the job market for helicopter pilots is robust, even in these stark economic times, and that some employers are relaxing requirements in order to get pilots.  Former Mauna Loa Helicopters instructor Shelley Sailer had just over 600 hours when she was hired to do utility work in Alaska in an R-44.  Shelley has since graduated to flying A-Stars.  Cameron Walker, another former instructor, was hired to herd cattle in an R-22 when his logbook showed about 700 hours total time.  And fellow instructor Justin Fisher landed a job as a MD-500 pilot spotting fish for a tuna fleet in Micronesia.  Justin had just 400 hours when hired. Please don’t get an unrealistic expectation about how soon you’ll be hired: there’s more to this story than an apparent loosening of the time-honored 1,000 hour requirement.  Each of these pilots could be described as a self-starter and exhibited an admirable determination to get started in their professional careers.  That meant combing websites such as JustHelicopters and VerticalReference for possible jobs, contacting people they had met in the aviation field, sending out resumes and, in general, doing whatever they could to find a place for themselves. It may very well be that you remain an instructor until you’ve reached your 1,000 hours.  But with a little bit of diligence and hard work, you could get snapped up earlier by a grateful employer.  As with so many things in life, you get out what you put in.   P.J. O’Reilley Honolulu Manager Back to Resources Page

 

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