Helicopter Pilot License Requirements

Jack always wanted to be a helicopter pilot. Even as a child, he was fascinated watching helicopters flying in the sky. A full-time career as a helicopter pilot was on his mind, but he was not aware of the procedure and certifications to become a helicopter pilot. So, he started searching pages on the Internet to find the right information and take admission for his favorite training course.

Many of us, like Jack, dream of flying choppers, but most of them do not how to become a helicopter pilot. As they fail to gather right information about helicopter pilot training. Before you take a decision to join a helicopter training institute, you should be aware of the helicopter pilot license requirements, and ask yourself whether you fulfill them or not. Since it is not possible for us to fly without a license, go through the content on the requirements for getting a helicopter license given below.

How to Get a Helicopter Pilot's License

The most important amongst other helicopter pilot license requirements is that of the minimum age. In order to apply for a private helicopter pilot's license, you need to be at least seventeen years of age. One of the important helicopter pilot requirements is having a good eyesight. Since it is a must for helicopter pilots to deal with emergencies in an effective way. All candidates aspiring to be helicopter pilots need to have 20/40 vision in both their eyes and should have the ability to identify colors. At many places, you will be eligible for applying for a helicopter pilot's license even though you have not learned to fly an airplane.

All those wishing to get a helicopter license need to pass a written test with flying colors. The written test would ideally have questions on air regulations and also on aeronautics. Mathematical skills, numerical ability, problem solving skills are also essential to clear this test. At most places, the written test is a 'multiple' choice form where candidates have to choose a correct answer from the four or five options provided. Obviously, the test would be competitive and the time available for solving all the questions would be limited. So, attending mock tests at coaching centers and getting your doubts cleared regarding the subjects for the test becomes imperative for all candidates.

Helicopter pilot license requirements also include practical flying with and that too without an instructor. Authorities issuing helicopter licenses in most parts of the world would require you to undergo at least 40 hours of flying. Out of the total flying hours, around 10 hours should be solo flying experience. So get yourself enrolled in a good helicopter training school to learn the basics of helicopter flying and other flying procedures. A commonly asked question is, 'is it difficult to get a helicopter license than a normal aircraft license' The answer is no because once you get your basics right and learn proper controls through sharp instincts, you will be able to fly your helicopter without any trouble.

A helicopter pilot has to communicate with several people, even while he is in flight. So, language skills are a must for acquiring a helicopter license. English is the preferred language which is used in the aviation industry. Hence, proficiency in this language is a must for becoming a helicopter pilot. Not just speaking, but you need to be an expert in reading and writing English.

Hopefully, the content in this article will help you understand helicopter pilot license requirements well. Helicopter pilot jobs are definitely one of the best airline jobs and the helicopter pilot salary is a proof of it. Even though you might start with a salary of around $40,000 per year initially, it can go beyond $100,000 after gaining sufficient work experience. All the best for your career!

Airline Job Opportunities

The airline sector... well, I apologize to call it as a 'sector', because it is no more just a sector or an area. Rather, it has evolved as an 'industry' over the years. The reason behind this is the rise in global economy, business opportunities and moreover growth in the tourism industry. Many small airline companies have stepped into this business and have contributed to growth of the airline industry. Airlines, today have eased the activity of traveling to places which were once inaccessible or took several days to be reached by a ship. Such destinations have now come closer and can be touched within hours. Moreover, the world-class facilities that airlines provide, have made them a reliable mode of overseas as well as internal transport.

This article deals with some of the airline job opportunities. Read on to know about them...

Job Opportunities in the Airline Industry

There are many job opportunities in the airline industry, the only thing is that whether you are ready for them! The airline jobs demand long working hours in the peak season, hard work and patience for development.

Cabin Crew: The most 'in demand' job in the airline industry is the cabin crew. The most important work of a cabin crew personnel is to take care of the passengers, answering to their queries and cater to their needs, serving snacks, drinks and meals to the passengers, applying first aid if situation arises etc. To become a qualified cabin crew, you need to obtain a certification for it. For this, you can join institutes that conduct the courses for air hostesses and flight stewards. These courses train and groom you for the airline industry and the duration of such courses is normally 1 year or sometimes more than that. The eligibility criteria for such courses is a higher certificate secondary or an equivalent. Most people think that cabin crew jobs are mostly meant for women and men do not have enough opportunities in it! However, I would partly agree to it, as each and every airline requires flight captains and therefore, there are ample career opportunities for men too.

Ticketing Executives: Another important job in the airline industry is the ticketing executive job. This job mainly deals with preparing itineraries for the passenger, creating PNRs (Passenger Name Record), issuing PTA (Prepaid Ticket Advice) and issuing tickets. But, doing all this is not possible unless you are properly trained in it and have the knowledge of airline codes, city codes, airport codes, ticketing rules and regulations, fare calculation procedure and techniques, usage of PAT (Passenger Air Tariff) etc. However, if you wish to pursue career as a ticketing executive, you need to complete at least a foundation ticketing course, conducted by IATA (International Air Transport Association). This is a six month course and the eligibility criteria is to have a higher secondary certificate or an equivalent. You can surf through the Internet to find out an IATA recognized institute in your city conducting courses for ticketing.

Domestic Pilots: Well, another highly paid jobs in the airline industry are the pilot jobs. Although their pay scales are high, they have to work for long hours and are considered to be highly responsible staff members. There are many flying schools that offer courses to become authorized and well-trained pilots. However, these courses are quite expensive and therefore one cannot find many people going for this career option.

Airport Jobs: Another good career option in the airlines industry is the airport jobs. Airports are huge and busy places and the airport authorities continuously require to recruit staff for efficient work at the airports. Career options at an airport are immigration officers, guest relation executives, lobby managers, custom officers, air traffic controller etc. Airlines too recruit people and send them at their airport offices to assist people for ticket reservations, cancellations, refunds, to handle customer complaints and ensure better customer service. To pursue a career in any of the airport jobs, you need to undergo proper airport training and know all the important procedures pertaining to your job.

These are some of the most common airline jobs. Hopefully you must have got an idea of the several career opportunities that you can avail while working for airlines. So go ahead and wish you a prosperous career!

Apple Computer History

Apple. Quite a funny and unusual name for a multi-billion dollar corporation, isn't it? Yeah, I guess it is an odd-sounding name after all. But then as Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". So ideally speaking, based on this argument, Apple Computers could easily have been Mango Machines, Coconut Corporation, or for that matter, even Eggy Enterprises! So why Apple? Were the company founders ardent fans of Newton?

Well, that they may have been, but the truth is, the company got its name through an interesting incident involving the company founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and of course, an apple. Both of them had a special liking for apples (for various reasons) and had decided that if they weren't able to come up with a better company name by the end of the day, they would go ahead and name the company Apple Computers. Well, they couldn't think of any, and so on April 1, 1976, a company by the name of Apple Computers was officially born. Let us now go back in time and have a look at the annals of Apple computer history.

Apple Computer History - A Flashback Into Time

Let us have a look at the various milestones and developments that became important chapters in the history of Apple Computers.

• Company Foundation: Both the co-founders, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs met in the early part of 1970 when Steve Jobs took a summer job at the same company where Wozniak was working. After a bit of persuasion from Jobs' side to start a company of their own, Wozniak agreed, and Apple Computers formally took shape on April 1, 1976.
• Apple I: The Apple I was the first computer that rolled out of Apple Computers in the later part of 1976. It had an initial price of $666.66, it used a cassette tape and had about 4KB of RAM. A regular television and a keyboard were the only additional accessories that were required to operate this computer.
• Apple II: The Apple II was the next version of the Apple Computer. It was launched in 1977 and was a huge commercial success. This model featured a monitor, an inbuilt floppy disk drive, an integrated computer keyboard, and random access memory which was expandable up to 48KB. Since 1977, a series of Apple II computers were introduced such as the Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, Apple IIGS, etc. Each series had certain technological advancements over its predecessors. Production of the Apple II was finally discontinued around 1993.
• Apple III: The Apple III was another advanced version of the Apple II which was released in the early 1980s. However, it was not an improvement over the previous models of the Apple II. Instead, the Apple III turned out to be a setback for Apple Computers and therefore, was discontinued after 1983.
• Macintosh: The Macintosh series of Apple computers was launched in the year 1984. It was the first personal computer to sport a graphical user interface (GUI). The floppy drive size had changed from the 5 inch model to the 3.5 inch model. It was powered by an 8MHz Motorola 68000 microprocessor chip and had a random access memory (RAM) capacity of 128KB. This model was known as the Macintosh 128K. It was succeeded by a model known as Macintosh 512K which had a RAM capacity of 512KB.
• Macintosh Portable: This computer was the first portable Macintosh machine that was developed by Apple Computers. It was powered by a 16MHz Motorola 68000 chip and had 1MB of RAM which could be expanded to 5MB. It featured a standard 1.44MB floppy disk drive. However, with a weight of approx 8 kilograms, it was not exactly 'portable' in the true sense of the term.
• PowerBook: The PowerBook series of laptop computers were produced by Apple from 1991 onwards. They were supposed to be a much improved version of the Macintosh Portable. The PowerBook 100, PowerBook 140 and PowerBook 170 were some of the models which were released in the year 1991. As further technological advancements took place, the PowerBook 190 and PowerBook 5300 were subsequently released around the years 1995 and 1996 respectively. The PowerBook G3 and PowerBook G4 were the last new models in the PowerBook series of Apple laptops, and were launched around 1998 and 2001 respectively.
• Power Mac: This series of desktop computers was initially launched in 1994. The different models which were released as part of this series included the Power Mac 6100, 7100, 6200, 7200, 8100, 8500, 9500, 9600, etc. The Power Mac G3, G4 and G5 were the last models in this series of Apple computers before the series was discontinued in 2006.
• MacBook Pro: The MacBook Pro was the laptop model which succeeded the PowerBook G4. It was first launched in 2006 and through several new releases and modified versions, is still available in today's market. These machines were powered by state-of-the-art Intel processors and the hardware configuration was tremendously improved to match worldwide standards. And with RAM up to 8GB and storage capacity up to 500GB, what a journey it has been from the start. This made these Apple computers compete with their worldwide competitors, and naturally sales surged.

This was a brief overview regarding Apple computer history. There are Apple computer stores all over the globe now, with a great support and after sales process in place. If you're interested in other Apple products and gadgets, you might want to take a look at Apple iPhones and Apple iPods. As I sign off, I leave you with some additional information on the history of Macintosh computers for your benefit.