Expert: David A. NewMyer - 9/20/2004

Question
I am an aspiring student, who is interested in the field of aviation. I was interested in commerical piloting but now i am more interested in helicopter piloting. Would you know the salary range, what it can get to, and when.

dan

Answer
Hi, Dan:

Nice to hear from you.  I will try to assist.

First of all, helicopter flying is still somewhat dominated by ex-military helicopter pilots.  While more helicopter pilots are being trained in the civilian world, the vast majority are being trained in the military.  This makes it tough for a civilian-trained helicopter pilot to compete due to the relative experience levels.  

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are relatively few helicopter pilots compared to fixed wing aircraft pilots....and many fewer helicopters to fly in the USA than fixed wing aircraft.  For example, there are about 212,000 registered aircraft in the USA and about 7,000 helicopters.  So, it is small segment of the industry.

I just wanted to make sure that you knew the scope of it.

As for salaries, the salaries for a corporate helicopter pilot with experience are similar to the salaries of a corporate fixed wing pilot.....starting in the $50K range and topping out (at 20+ years of experience) at close to $200K....at a good company, etc.  Government agencies (like law enforcement) pay less than this....expect to top out at just over $100K there.

I hope that this helps,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siu.edu