Airline transport pilot to helicopter pilot
An airline transport pilot already meets 79% of what the helicopter pilot role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
30.3/ 100
1 How much of what a helicopter pilot is expected to do is already part of an airline transport pilot’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the helicopter pilot role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A helicopter pilot role treats 32 of its required skills as things an airline transport pilot already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- air traffic control operations
- air transport law
- aircraft flight control systems
- analyse weather forecast
- apply signalling control procedures
- aviation meteorology
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 34 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A helicopter pilot role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an airline transport pilot background worth leading with.
- already held inspect aircraft information skills
- already held create a flight plan management skills
- already held apply signalling control procedures working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held respond to changing navigation circumstances communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held undertake procedures to meet aircraft flight requirements assisting and caring
- already held ensure ongoing compliance with regulations assisting and caring
All 34 carried skills, including the 32 the helicopter pilot role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn interpret visual literacy required
- still to learn perform risk analysis required
- still to learn address aircraft mechanical issues required
- still to learn undertake procedures to meet helicopter flight requirements required
- still to learn comply with checklists required
- still to learn airport planning required
- still to learn handle stressful situations in the work place required
- still to learn freight transport methods required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a helicopter pilot role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 address aircraft mechanical issues practise this
- 02 airport planning study this
- 03 undertake procedures to meet helicopter flight requirements practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 34 skills that carry over
- already held air traffic control operations knowledge
- already held air transport law knowledge
- already held aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- already held analyse weather forecast skill
- already held apply signalling control procedures skill
- already held aviation meteorology knowledge
- already held civil aviation regulations knowledge
- already held common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- already held comply with air traffic control operations skill
- already held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation skill
- already held ensure compliance with civil aviation regulations skill
- already held ensure ongoing compliance with regulations skill
- already held follow verbal instructions skill
- already held geographic areas knowledge
- already held have spatial awareness skill
- already held implement airside safety procedures skill
- already held inspect aircraft skill
- already held operate cockpit control panels skill
- already held operate radar equipment skill
- already held operate radio equipment skill
- already held operate radio navigation instruments skill
- already held operate two-way radio systems skill
- already held perform flight manoeuvres skill
- already held perform routine flight operations checks skill
- already held perform take off and landing skill
- already held read 3D displays skill
- already held read maps skill
- already held respond to changing navigation circumstances skill
- already held undertake procedures to meet aircraft flight requirements skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held use meteorological information skill
- already held visual flight rules knowledge
- already held carry out navigational calculations skill
- already held create a flight plan skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held act reliably optional
- optional, not held have computer literacy optional
2 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held act reliably optional
- optional, not held have computer literacy optional
13 held skills the helicopter pilot role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse work-related written reports skill
- not needed by the target role balance transportation cargo skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role follow airport safety procedures skill
- not needed by the target role give instructions to staff skill
- not needed by the target role handle customer complaints skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
- not needed by the target role make independent operating decisions skill
- not needed by the target role manage financial risk skill
- not needed by the target role respond to customers' inquiries skill
- not needed by the target role supervise crew skill
- not needed by the target role undertake procedures to meet requirements for flying aircraft heavier than 5,700 kg skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn airport planning required
- still to learn freight transport methods required
Other moves recorded from airline transport pilot
Common questions about this move
Can an airline transport pilot become a helicopter pilot?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An airline transport pilot already covers 79% of what a helicopter pilot is expected to do: 34 skills carry over, 32 of which the helicopter pilot role treats as required.
What skills does an airline transport pilot need to become a helicopter pilot?
8 required skills are missing, plus 2 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is address aircraft mechanical issues.
How hard is the move from airline transport pilot to helicopter pilot?
Its learning distance is 30.3 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.