For Jacqueline and Carlos Cabral, developers of the Vortex Helicopter Pilot School in Pittsburgh, PA, training the next generation of experienced helicopter pilots is a moral imperative. “We have a crisis around the world and in this country that is little spoken about and therefore little known about, and that is, that we face a helicopter pilot shortage of incredible proportions,” Pilot and Pilot Instructor Carlos Cabral exclaimed passionately. “We face a situation where, of all the pilots in the world, a bit less than 10 percent are helicopter pilots, and only about one percent of those are certified flight instructors.”

“Until you are stranded somewhere or know someone who is, and the situation calls for the skills of a trained helicopter pilot, it is not common for the general public to ever think about the essentiality of helicopters,” exclaimed Jacqueline Cabral, owner of the flight school. “Our main passion and focus with this school is to utilize our over 20 years of aviation knowledge and experience from all over the world to train the next generation of helicopter pilots and instructors.”

Several key factors have created this shortage of helicopter pilots and flight instructors. Among them is that many helicopter pilots are former military and were trained in the service. Many are Vietnam veterans and are retiring or coming up on retirement age. Helicopters are being utilized far less often in the military paradigm in favor of drones, so far less training of helicopter pilots is still taking place in the military setting.

There are global pilot shortages in general aviation. Some helicopter pilots and instructors are being pursued to leave their posts and come back into fixed-wing aviation. “I have faced this myself, as I have been offered to leave my passion of flying and training helicopter pilots for work in commercial aviation. That would be one less skilled helicopter pilot and instructor to pass on this crucial knowledge and experience to the next generation,” Carlos remarked with audible concern. “This is an issue that calls for awareness and action and cannot go ignored. As helicopter aviation and skill knowledge are just as vital for running and servicing our current global systems from gas and electric, to agriculture, to search, rescue, and EMT services, as any other factor we may generally think of.”

“The major shortage of pilots, the incredibly high demand, the diversity of job opportunities, and the urgent need for skilled instructors make today a very auspicious time to become a pilot. Our passion and goal are to transmit our knowledge and experience, ” Jacqueline Cabral comments. “While this is a business and we certainly need to eat, what drives us is our responsibility to ensure that these skills endure for many generations to come.”

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The career paths for helicopter pilots are numerous, and the demand is exceptionally high. Here are just a few jobs that can be undertaken as a pilot.

1-(724) 206-6562

Mon-Sat 10am-6pm

196 Airport Road, Finleyville, PA 15332

[email protected]