Most companies out there do this: They hire you for an SPIFR slot but tell you up front you'll spend six months VFR only. This is ostensibly to get you worked in to the aircraft type and the company way of doing things, without the pressure of having to judge whether to take an IFR flight. By that I mean, that the rules nowadays are so restrictive that unless you are somewhere like the desert Southwest, any little weather such as rain or fog conditions or whatever, like you have in normal areas of the Country, will be VFR show-stoppers. VFR only guys in 90% of the country probably turn down twice as many flights as they accept.
IFR capability will allow you to accept about half of what you turn down in a VFR-only operation, which is a signficant iincrease in business. And make no mistake, more flights and more revenue is why the expense of IFR equipment, IFR pilots, and IFR training is done--not service to the community, the good of mankind, etc., etc. It's about the Benjamins, Baby.
Now if you are a D o r k they will find some way to run you off duriing the six month VFR period. OTOH, if you are a real sharp guy and it's obvious you can handle it, and you are not some gauche socially inept Klutz who antagonizes people and therefore can't figure out how to get along with the others at the Base, AND they need IFR guys badly (read: want more revenue), THEN they just might send you early. In which case, you need to be able to get through the schoolhouse.
This is sometimes a problem...I would say, in about 25% of cases...because, like it or not, helicopter pilots as a group have a lot of trouble flying instruments, even though they already have an Instrument Rating (it's required for hire now), and even though the training is real basic (i.e., starting from square one) and takes you right up through a full sim course and check ride. This is because helicopter pilots have two problems, one they hate and fear flying in the clouds because that's they way they have been trained and conditioned to be and because they are lazy, and two because generally, helicopter pilots think sloppy and loose when it comes to regulations and standards and doing business out on the line. Nothing personal but these last characteristics are just "the culture" of helicopter flying and if you actually have been trained and certificated as a helicopter pilot and are honest, you will know and understand what I'm talking about, and agree.
...Now, it doesn't matter if you, personally, are among the minority of helicopter pilots who are sharp and professional and stay in the books and always fly sharp and right. As soon as you meet anybody in the aviation community and are knows as a "helicopter pilot," the impression I've sketched above is the impression they have of you. They have to get to know you and see how you operate for them to have any better opinion of you, and that takes about six months, if it matters to you or to them. Sadly, for a lot of people, it just don't matter.
Anyway, after you make it through school...assuming you do...they make another mistake (IMO) of putting you at high mins for a while, usually another six months. Meaning, you have to have better weather than in the Regs and the OPSPECs to take an IFR flight.
....Why I think this is a bad mistake is, the restrictions they layer on you during this "high mins" period mean that, right after training when you are booked-up and smart and sharp, it's tough for you to get weather enough for many actual IFR flights (see, weather conditions are usually either, a) good enough for VFR, or b) crappy enough for you to have to use Reg/OPSPEC mins). ...So, what happens is that you end up d*ck*ng around for six months not getting experience in the clouds and therefore staying scared of it, and then you lose your ability, and then, Wham-O, it's time for your six-month ride and you jump in out of practice and are real klutzy and maybe even fail the ride. It happens.
So what "they" want you to do nowadays is to do a practice IFR flight every so often, usually once per month. Another thing you can do (but few do) is to file IFR on return legs even if it's VFR, in order to stay in practice of operating within the system. There are obstacles to this because a) the Med Crews are usually in a hurry to get back to Base to start the paperwork, and b) Helicopter Pilots are generally pretty lazy (see above).
To conclude, if you make it through the process and aren't skeered o' clouds and learn the system and do what you can within the Regs and OPSPECs, you can expect your flight volume to go up 10 or 15 percent and that's significant. After a year or two you might even have the makings of an actually competent IFR Pilot (if, from prior experience you weren't already...some guys are), which will separate you from roughly 95% of the Helicopter Pilot population--not that anybody (like your employer, or your fellow pilots) will give a damn.
Have a Nice Day. |
