Best Helicopter Pilot Jobs in Colorado

Colorado is a good market for helicopter pilots, with a range of job descriptions in demand, from air ambulance pilots to air taxi and charter providers. Some of the positions, including those for chief pilots, helicopter instructors and check airmen, require more experience but the diversity of jobs available means there are opportunities for lower-time pilots as well. 

The following are some of the most appealing helicopter pilot jobs in Colorado, ranging from travel and sightseeing charters to flight instruction and chief pilot positions for senior candidates with extensive experience.

Best for senior pilots capable of supervising and managing others.

Chief pilots typically play roles in training, evaluating and supervising junior pilots. They also often have responsibilities in managing company aircraft.

Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Company Website: https://www.coloradoheliops.com/

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Company Revenue: $1.1 million

Salary or Per-Trip Price: $140,000 to $230,000

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Best for pilots accustomed to high altitude and mountain flying.

This guide service leads a variety of tours and custom adventures in the San Juan Mountains. They are known for their specialty of helicopter skiing. Company pilots carry small groups of skiers to mountain summits, typically for six long runs per day, though customers can buy extra runs. Combined runs total as much as 14,000 feet.

Location: Telluride, Colorado

Company Website: helitrax.com

Contact Info:

Employees: 17

Company Revenue: est. $2.8 million

Salary or Per-Trip Price: Trip cost is $1,650 per person, per day, which includes six runs,

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Best for senior pilots with advanced instruction experience and knowledge of certification standards.

The Check Airman is responsible for ensuring that company pilots are properly trained and qualified for duty. They periodically check the currency of pilots on staff and make sure they continue to meet qualification standards.

Location: Greenwood Village, Colorado, operates in 48 states

Company Website: airmethods.com

Contact Info:

Employees: 5,000

Company Revenue: est. $1 billion to $5 billion

Salary or Per-Trip Price: median pilot salary $92,000

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Disadvantages: [lay out the disadvantages of this option]

The flight instructor conducts pilot ground and simulator training courses., develops and prepares training materials, and evaluates trainees’ progress through the curriculum. They also recommend candidates for qualification or additional training and identify training issues that might require review. 

Location: Denver, Colorado, company headquarters is in New York and the company has operations across the globe on five continents

Company Website: flightsafety.com

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Employees: 2,000

Company Revenue: est. $1 billion to $5 billion

Salary or Per-Trip Price: $91,000

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Best for helicopter pilots who want to break into the emergency medical transport segment of the industry

Shifts for this medical transport job are seven days on and seven off, with flights scheduled during the day and at night. Pilots are responsible for aircraft readiness and are expected to work closely with ground support and other air crew members.

Location: Greeley, Colorado, with company headquarters in Denton, Texas. With 90 bases across 25 states 

Company Website: med-trans.com

Contact Info:

Employees: between 500 and 1,000

Company Revenue: est. $50 million to $99 million

Salary or Per-Trip Price: $70,000 to $93,000

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Federal Aviation Administration regulations require applicants for a commercial helicopter certificate to be at least 18 years old, speak, read and understand English, have a FAA private pilot certificate, at least a second class medical certificate, 150 hours of flight experience, 30 hours of ground instruction and pass FAA knowledge and flight tests.

There is a minimum requirement of 150 flight hours for certification as a commercial helicopter pilot. Companies looking to hire pilots have various additional requirements sometimes topping 2,000 flight hours.

While pilots may work hard to convince potential employers to hire them, they also have to consider what elements of the job they consider most important.

Is the job you are pursuing likely to be one you can keep for the long haul? Are the company’s services perennially in demand? Given the pay and other benefits, is working there a sustainable proposition? Pilots need to answer these questions when determining if a particular job makes sense for them.

Often pilot-training programs focus sharply on safety, but the level of focus can vary widely from one aviation company to the next. Pilots looking for work have to set their own high safety standards and stick with them even if a prospective employer does not.

Salaries can vary considerably for helicopter pilots depending on the nature of the work and the size and customer base of the company. Some companies offering aviation services employ pilots on staff and maintain their own aircraft fleets. Others hire pilots as independent contractors – a deal that can be less satisfying and far less lucrative.   

There is a wide variety of pilot jobs within the helicopter transport segment of the aviation industry, and a variety of pilots. Whether they wind up happy in their jobs flying helicopters or not will depend on what they expect to gain from the experience – and how much effort they are willing to put in.