The helicopter pilot career may be the ideal option if you have a passion for flying and have an adventurous spirit as the professional opportunities for this occupation are quite diverse and are carried out in very different fields. In addition, piloting can be much more exciting than in an airplane because these machines may land almost anywhere, perform hovering flight and even fly backwards.
These pilots can work in both public and private sectors, performing their activity in different areas such as transport, tourism, the Army or instruction.
To be a helicopter pilot, either private or professional, it is necessary to obtain the corresponding license. Following, we explain the different licenses you can find:
With this license you can be a private pilot, that is, without remuneration, so you cannot use it for professional purposes. However, it is the first step to start this career.
This license entitles to pilot single-pilot helicopters up to 4,000 kg. weight and get paid for it.
This is the most complete professional license as with it you can fly helicopters over 4.000 kg weight.
As for any other profession, there isn’t a salary established for helicopter pilots. It will mainly depend on the company they work for.
In Spain, the average salary of a helicopter pilot who is starting can range between €2.000 – €3.000 per month.
Let’s see how much a helicopter pilot earns by attending to the different activities performed:
In this case, the salary for the co-pilot post ranges between €2.000 – €3.000 per month, being €4.000 – €7.000 for commanders. Normally, these pilots transport goods or carry out private flights.
Army pilots are state employees and for this reason their salary is lower than that for civil pilots.
In Spain, the salary of these pilots will depend on their rank and seniority. From 2019, a helicopter pilot with the rank of captain receives a base salary of €3.065,72 per month; lieutenant rank receives a base salary of €2.717,48 per month, while those with sergeant rank receive a base salary of €2.252,16 per month. To this, a number of benefits such as health insurance or pension plan should be added.
Usually, these pilots, work for private companies that may be subcontracted by the Health Services of the different Autonomous Communities or, also, by medical insurance companies that offer this service within their coverage. Therefore, their salary will vary depending on the agreements and the company in question but, in any case, it still reach €3.000 for the co-pilot post and about €6.000-7.000 for the commander.
The salary of commercial helicopter pilots starts at approximately €40.000 gross per year (about €2.500 per month) in the case of a co-pilot. This amount will increase as experience and seniority is acquired and can reach €120.000 gross per year (about € 6.500 per month) for the commander post. Thus, the average salary of a commercial helicopter pilot will depend on the role developed, being about €50.000 for co-pilots and about €90.000 for commanders.
As we have seen, the income of helicopter pilots does not vary much depending on the sector they carry out their activity but it does differ depending on the company for which they work, their seniority, the flight hours performed or the location in which the activity takes place as all these factors can increase the final remuneration.
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