Pilot Wings
Pilot application of the law as a career
How can we really become a law enforcement helicopter pilot fixed wing? It is a question asked by many young people who one day aspire to be a pilot, or more specifically a pilot application of the law. Response standard you will hear is that most police agencies "hire their drivers inside." This is true for most, but Take a closer look at this career option. Another related issue that I see often is how do drivers are law enforcement?
In fact there are organizations that hire civilian pilots. We will look more closely at this issue in a future article.
First, look at where Most drivers are law enforcment in the United States. By far the vast majority located in the state and local agencies implementing the law. In other words your local police and sheriff's department, or your state Highway Patrol. Yes, there are a number of agencies Federal employees who have drivers, but the vast majority are local law enforcement.
Take LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) example. They operate about 18 aircraft, mostly helicopters, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 people assigned to their unit Aviation. They are one of the largest units of aviation law enforcement in the country, if not the largest.
I do probably not need to tell you that the helicopter had dominated the Inventory application of the law, even though many organizations operate one or two aircraft fixed-wing transport of prisoners and surveillance operations. Thus, the majority of drivers are law enforcement helicopter pilots.
The vast majority of agencies do indeed their sworn officers and deputies, and either train them home or send them to school Steering get their pilot license helicopter. Why do they do this way instead of just hiring people who are already pilots? Well, I can not answer for every organization, but suffice it to say that the majority do, do it this way and have for many years.
So how long would you spend on the field as a patrol officer before being able to transfer a unit of air application laws? This rate varies considerably from agency to agency. There is usually a minimum of time, such as 2 or 4 years, and then there's real time and experience you'll need to compete for such a position. I know policemen who were able to transfer their air units with as little as 5 or 6 years on the department.
On remuneration. Most pilots under the law receive a premium for being a pilot in the unit air. However, all you really need to do is look at the salary of a law enforcement officer in a large department with around 10 years. This will give you a good idea of what a driver applies the law. According to the part of the country, I would say most drivers are law enforcement at $ 60,000 $ 70,000 minimum. Some are much more. Ultimately, law enforcement and the pilot application of the law are excellent and rewarding career choice.
About the Author
Darryl Kimball is a law enforcment helicopter pilot with a large Southern California Sheriff’s Department. You can visit his website at
http://www.policehelicopterpilot.com
