Questions for air ambulance drivers -

[Torey15]

Can anyone tell me about some of the pros and cons, likes and dislikes of being an air ambulance pilot? A buddy of mine flys for an outfit in a major Texas city that transports sick kids to and from a well renowned childrens hospital. The schedule seems to be good, the job secure and the starting pay ain't too bad, either. The equipment also seems to be top notch with good maintenance. The only thing that bothers me is the lack of flying time - My buddy is averaging about 120-150 hours a year. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Russ]

I flew ambulance missions a number of years ago. I was tied to a pager and a 15 min call out radius of the airport. The nurses were pretty conceded (all ugly and married) and treated the pilots in a rude manner. The attitude was that the pilot worked for them. A few tried to tell me to clean up hazmat messes (blood, vomit, etc)while they transported the patient. Thankfully I had been warned by my boss and told not to do it. Not much flying, I was in Arizona. Flying was very seasonal. Lots of snowbirds in the winter, long weekends were busy with boat versus boat engagements and other similar drunken antics. Summer was very slow. I did it for about 18 months and flew about 300 hours which included non ambulance company flying.
The worst part was seeing the patients. After awhile you got thick skin and could block it out. Especially for the older folks, but flying kids was a real bummer. One not very nice nurse knew I hated flying kids and took perverse pleasure in telling me about it. I felt no remorse when I continually dinged his door in the parking lot. Now that I am a dad times two I could never do the job again.

 

[Valkyrie]

Russ, were you flying a Jetstream 31 in Arizona?

 

[Rick1128]

A lot depends on the company and what type patients they carry. Most of the companies do not stay out now. The few that did are for the most part out of business. So one pro is that you normally sleep in your own bed. The hours a s**ty. All hours of the day and night. Plus the pager/cell phone leash. A con there.

Flight time and type of patient depends a lot on the type of operation the company is doing. Short range type flying you tend to bring in from small town hospitals or clinics. That puts you in line to see the worst type of patients. Mostly because they generally are or very close to being unstable. Long range operations will generally see stable type patients.

In long range type operations flight times will generally be much higher. So you have a better flight to duty time ratio. However you will also have a higher potential of international operations which can be a pain in the butt.

The qualitity of the medical personnel depends a lot on who is doing the hiring. And a great deal on how they are trained. Remember, as the PIC, you are in charge of the aircraft. Period. And when in international operations, that is doublly important.

And yes you will be dealing with sick people all the time. It can be depresssing, especially children. But you know at the end of the trip, the patient or the ride along's heart felt Thank You goes a long way.

Other negatives are no tips, lousy hours, at all the fun places you don't stay. And so on.

If you are looking to build time and experience (which in my opinion is more important) it is hard to beat this type of flying. Just look at each operation to see if it fulfills your needs also.

 

[LJDRVR]

150 Hours a year isn't going to do much for you professionaly. Look around. There are lots of charter jobs where air ambulance is only a part of the business you do and one is able to log more flying hours a year. (I do about 500)

I've been flying a fair amount of this stuff for five years now. Rick1128's comments are right on the mark. For me the biggest pro is a good paycheck, 24 overnights a years, and a fair amount of time getting paid to sit at home and play with the kids and squander my life force away playing around on flightinfo. The drawback is total lack of a schedule. I'm on call right now. One hour gear-up time to anywhere in the world. Nothing like those o'dark-thirty Central America trips. Even though they take their toll, it's still kind of cool to see some variety. It can be professionaly and emotionaly stimulating to take an airplane into Panama City in the middle of the night, safely retrieving a sick individual. Not everyone is capable of doing this job well, and it's a neat feeling to be able to make it happen in a challenging environment working under the auspices of bone-crushing fatigue.

And there's good stuff too. I didn't work today. Yesterday I flew a Lung team 27 minutes to harvest in AUS. 25 minutes back. I didn't have to fly on Christmas this year, and my only trip before the holidays was 5 days in Cancun from the 18th to the 22nd! Not too shaby.

In the end you have to ask yourself what's more important? Destination, journey or both. If your goal is to be an airline pilot as fast as possible and pay is no object, then go get yourself a regional job right away. For me personnally, it's the destination and the journey. I've had a lot of fun doing this and the pay has been quite livable. I've learned skills here that would have been difficult to come by at some regionals and I'm grateful for that. Flying an RJ would be a blast, but I don't want to take the pay cut. Just waiting on WN. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. I assume you're talking about SB Air up in Dallas?

Take Care!

 

[FalconPilot69]

I currently fly air ambulance for a major children's hospital in Texas. The equipment and maintainence is top notch. Like others have said, you do not do a lot of flying but you can just about bank on the fact that you will continue to be employed when the economy tanks. The one that I fly for has what I would consider to be the greatest schedule around. We fly 8 on and 6 off. If you have a family, there is no better job. We do not ever overnight, so every night, I am at home with my wife and kiddo. But like others have said, if you are looking to build time, go for freight or something else, because air ambulance in not a time builder.

Good Luck.

 

[Hagar17]

Any of you guys based in Lubbock?

Hag

 

[LJDRVR]

Lubbock? Nah....Houston. although I do get to visit LBB on a regular basis. By the way, your "toothbrush in the crackus' response on the apartment lease thread had me laughing my behindy off.

"Doesn't have to be his toothbrush, just one that looks like it.

.......or not."

Good stuff. I know there's an air-ambulance/charter operator on the South side of the field at Chapparal. Seem like nice folks. Are you looking?

 

[jn99_2000]

What kind of planes were/are you guys flying with your particular air ambulance operations.

 

[LJDRVR]

Learjets myself. The most common civilian types you'll see are: Lears, King Airs, PC-12's, with the occasional odd twin Cessna, Citation or Challenger thown in. The Lears are popular due to the large door and the fact that within 30 minutes, one can convert it from executive to ambulance configuration inside. We use ours for both. The Challengers are popular for the international flying, particularly the middle eastern stuff. On the military side of the house, you have the C-21 (Lear 35) and C-9 (DC-9-30)

 

[Hagar17]

LJDRVR:

No, I'm not really looking for work in that area, though I really liked Lubbock when I was stationed there. We used to use LBB as a wx divert base when Reese AFB was out of limits (usually for winds). Reese had all north/south rwys and the wind in west TX is usually out of the west. Go figure. Anyhoo, I chatted with some of the air ambulance guys over by the FBO where we used to park. Real nice fellas. That's all.

The Poloroid camera, I really believe, was designed specifically for people that try to mess with you. Works well in conjunction with toothbrushes, doughnuts, coffee cups, etc.

Hag