A 17-year-old asks Kenny Keller and Chris how to become a law-enforcement or EMS helicopter pilot. They recommend starting flight training immediately if you can afford it, building flight hours through EMS or police work, and note that college helps but isn't required. Both careers demand substantial experience before you're ready.
Questions this video answers
January 30, 2021.
17 years old; graduating in June and planning to pursue law enforcement or EMS helicopter pilot career.
Around 2,000 hours (hosts say EMS agencies often require 1,500 or 2,000 hours; law-enforcement also commonly requires substantial time and internal hiring).
Chapters
Traffic copter 30 is leaving the area to the south. Got an airplane out here somewhere.
Okay. I don't know where. He's all right. Welcome back to HOGS daily flight brief. Another week of videos for you and we have a question from a high school kid wanting to go the professional pilot route. I'm going to read you his question here in a second. Great question for the younger generation wanting to become helicopter pilots. First I want to mention free PDF down below for a helicopter maneuver guide. And inside ground school. We've updated over 30 videos since the start of COVID with new videos. We have like seven new videos in a new aeromedical section, five or six, seven new videos in airspace weather section in private pilot. The whole thing has been rebuilt. So we've made a lot of updates in helicopter land ground school since the start of COVID So we've got busy for you to keep you cranking out new content is three miles to the southwest.
We'll be entering the left downwind for two seven Goshen.
Okay, so this question from this young man, I want to read it to you. I'm a 17 year old. I graduate in June, but I don't really plan on going to college. But I have planned on becoming either a law enforcement helicopter pilot or EMS helicopter pilot. What would be the best thing for me to do right now? I would say start learning as much as you can and start flying as soon as you can. As soon as you can physically afford it. And we don't know anything about your financial situation, but the sooner you can get flying, the better off you're going to be. And there are some young people that get out there and get a good start in industry. So you know finance is going to be a big part of it for you. I know you mentioned not going to college. I didn't. Did you go to college?
I did.
You did? Okay. Chris did. I didn't. I was still able to further my career without college. However, I think in this day and age you might want to rethink that. But your choice but a college degree. I think as time progresses more and more jobs will require it. Right now a lot of helicopter jobs do not require moving forward. I think your best bet if you can get some college, I think it's a great idea. But I think getting flying is going to be the first thing and know that your path may change. I started out I wanted to fly for law enforcement. That's what I wanted to do. I became a cop and then I became a helicopter pilot. Never put the two together. And I've always jealous of, you know, I look up to that job. I think that's an awesome job. Never got to do it. I did fly helicopter EMS for five years, so I did get to do that. So your path may change. I think getting, I think, you know, getting a. Start doing something, moving towards that goal, baby steps. And just start working towards it and know that you're going to have to have a lot of time under your belt before you get those jobs like helicopter. EMS is usually 2000 hours in law enforcement. There's a lot to it. Particularly a lot of times you got to be hired as a police officer and work the road for a couple years and then try to get into the aviation unit. So get started on that dream man. What do you want to add? Chris?
I agree with you. I would start flying as soon as you can and if you can't afford the actual flying right now, start reading. I mean get yourself the helicopter flying handbook. Start reading through that. Start watching videos, become a member of Hogs there. You know, he's got all kinds of courses and he. And honestly there's all kinds of free videos on YouTube reference flying. So I would. If you can't physically start flying right now, then at least start reading about it. I agree that, you know, college, college isn't for everybody. My, my oldest son went to the military. He wasn't going to go to college. He's in the military. So college isn't for everybody. If you want to be a law enforcement pilot, each agency is different. Most of the time the agency hires within. Turn that down for a second. Most of the time the, the agency hires from when within their department and most of the time they are not going to hire. They will not take a guy that has no ratings whatsoever. So if you want to be a law enforcement pilot, I would suggest that you go ahead and start your training, get your private and then you be. Then you join a law and you get hired by a law enforcement agency. And more than likely they don't take you just straight in. They'll take you after you work the road for two or three years. And then when an opening happens in the agency, they'll take you into the aviation unit. So that's not always though, you know, I do see where agencies will hire a civilian pilot.
Yep.
So you don't necessarily have to become a cop to be a law enforcement pilot. But most of the time they hire from within. So if you wanted the law enforcement route, I would start studying now. I would at least get your private rating. And then I would join a police department that has an aviation unit. And then after two or three years, maybe five years of working the road, you've built experience, you built some time, then put in for that unit. The EMS route it's all about, that's a time thing too. We've discussed this in other videos, but most EMS agencies are not going to take you until you have 15 or even 2,000 hours. So again, there, that's all about time building too. So start, start now. Start while you're young because you got plenty of time. You know, I'm now 42. I don't quite have the turbine time yet to become an ems. You're close, so I'm, I'm very close. Yes, but you know this. I wish now that I would have started flying 10 years before I did, you know. So yeah, if you think you want to fly as a career, start now. Start now. Absolutely.
And if you want to sign up for helicopter land ground school, our operations manager is an experienced sheriff's deputy, worked in the aviation unit, blew airplanes, helicopters. He was head of the organization, still flies for him part time. You get a free 30 minute consultation with Brian if you sign up for helicopter land ground school. And Brian will talk with you one on one. He'll do a zoom call with you if you like. And he can tell you firsthand what it's like considering he was in that profession. 25 years in law enforcement, 30 year aviator, it'd be a great contact for you just by signing up for one month of hogs.
Yeah. And unfortunately, just like you, I was 18 years in law enforcement but my department did not have an air unit.
So.
Yep, you know, just the way it is.
Yep. Me, small town, that was never gonna happen. And anyway, your dream could change. I say get flying.
Yep. Get flying as soon as you can.
Absolutely. So go down below, check out our pre maneuver guide, subscribe the channel, click the bell and we'll see you in the next video. We're going to talk about switching between airplanes and helicopters in the same day. Great topic and we love the question. We'll see you the next video. Okay, cool. I like that one.
