Pilot cars means that you’ve seen them – pickup trucks or cars driving in front of a tractor trailer pulling a very wide load. And the people who drive them are professionals who specialize in that form of driving. You may have thought that those cars and trucks were part of a team, but in fact the pilot car driver is usually someone contracted to get the load through a particular state. So what does it take to be a pilot driver? Read on and find out.

There is a certain amount of equipment your vehicle will require. For instance, you will need a fire extinguisher, a CB radio, flags, and an oversize load sign. It goes without saying that you need a highly reliable vehicle capable of handling long drives. It is important to have the equipment required by the states in which you work. Equipment requirements can vary from state to state

Gathering together the equipment you need is the easy part. The hard part is living the lifestyle necessary to be successful in the industry. The life of a pilot car is very similar to a truck driver in that it requires many hours of driving with limited interruptions. Just like truck drivers, they are paid by the mile. So the more miles you can drive in a day, the more you can earn.

There is one area where these drivers are at a disadvantage relative to their companion truck drivers – the pilot car driver has nowhere to sleep! When the day is done, a pilot car driver must find a hotel. This adds to his time on the road and is an additional expense to consider.

There is also a certain level of danger associated with driving a pilot car. There may be times when quick lane changes or other repositioning is required to accommodate the needs of the wide load vehicle. Timidity is not a trait that will lead to success in this field. Sometimes require aggressive driving.

This type of driving is not something that you should just decide to do with no training. Your best bet to get into the field is to find an experienced driver who will allow you to ride along, and later maybe even drive the vehicle yourself. The wider the load, and the more difficult the situation, the higher the level of training that will be required to drive safely and effectively.

Pilot car driving is not an easy life, and it definitely requires a high level of concentration and determination. But if driving is what you love, and you are willing to live a lifestyle similar to a trucker, then it is a profession that you might find very satisfying.

When an oversize load escort is required, locating qualified pilot cars quickly is critical, and Comdata has your solution. They have developed one of the most comprehensive networks of independent pilot car drivers in North America. With Comdata, your truck is ready to move, accompanied by a qualified pilot car escort, saving you the time-consuming task of tracking down drivers and vehicles.

Helicopters are one of the most versatile vehicles ever invented. Their unique ability to hover in mid-air, fly sideways, backwards and being able to land in a space no bigger than a tennis court make them uniquely suited to perform a wide variety of tasks. These are some of the many professional helicopter pilot positions that are available now and will continue to be available into the foreseeable future.

I. Emergency Medical Services (EMS)- These are the helicopters that respond to life threatening emergencies on our nations interstates, highways, and local roads. EMS helicopter pilots usually fly as a single pilot and sometimes in weather that is less than favorable. The flight time requirements differ but for the most part you will need a minimum of 2000 hrs of pilot in command (PIC) flight time in order to be considered a competitive candidate. As far as who you’ll be working for…most EMS helicopters are owned by a company that is separate from the hospital. The company leases out the pilots and the helicopters to the hospital. Notice that I said most. There are hospitals that directly employ EMS helicopters and their pilots.

II. Electronic News Gathering (ENG)- Pilots who fly Electronic News Gathering missions report on traffic conditions, cover local events like parades and festivals and also give us that wonderful coverage of high and low speed police chases. These pilots usually work a split shift that corresponds with the morning and evening rush hours and are on call in case of developing stories.

III. Government Agencies- The federal, state, and local governments offer a wealth of flying opportunities. On the Federal level agencies such as the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), ICE (immigration and customs enforcement), NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), DHS (Department of Homeland Security) as well as others offer flying opportunities that are diverse and wide-ranging. On the state levels state departments of transportation and wildlife.

IV. Military- Military flying can be one of the most rewarding types of flying. In government and military flying money is less of an issue. Excellent training is the norm and you could be flying some of the most advanced helicopters on some of the most exciting missions.

V. Law Enforcement- Flying for state and local law enforcement can also be very rewarding. In most law enforcement agencies they hire pilots from within the ranks of ground officers. So, if you want to fly for a state or local law enforcement agency you can expect to be an officer on the ground for a few years

VI. Petroleum Support- Petroleum support pilots fly workers and equipment from on shore locations to off shore oil rigs. They usually stay at bases strategically located near the rigs and will work an extended number of days and than have an extended number of days off. (for example 7 days on and 7 days off). In the United States most of these pilots work along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and some work in Alaska.

These helicopter pilot careers are available to anyone who desires a career as a professional pilot. They all offer challenge, adventure, excitement, and financial rewards. If any of these positions interest you, research what skills you need to acquire the position. Put a plan of action in place and act on that plan.

In the past few days China’s top airline has been forced to suspend a portion of their operations in the eastern side of the country under pressure from the Aviation Authority in China. The call comes as a result of a number of strange “no arrivals” flights left 1,000 people wondering whether they were going to be flying or sitting in the airport for another few hours. These no arrival flights are when a flight turns around or basically doesn’t go to where it should do, this is dangerous as you probably know that air traffic control is a strictly scheduled process and if an airplane has to turn around or be re-directed then it can cause massive delays and confusion to other flights due to take off or land. This particular instance has been the result of pilots taking strike action against their employers over pay and working conditions.

A number of the flights reported technical problems and adverse weather as reason for turning back, while a large group of flights cited no problems and followed the other flights back blindly. It is believed up to 9 flights have no conclusive reason for turning back after equipment on board failed to report back to Air Traffic Control, a move that officials believe was down to dissentious pilots sabotaging equipment. Flights officials were quick to state that the pilots were irresponsible and showed no regard for passengers’ rights, it is rumoured that up to 11 pilots have been suspended although China Eastern refused to confirm this point.

If not all RC Helicopter novices begin with electric RC Helicopter for several reason. Gas RC Helicopter is powered by an engine that is ran by fuel. This is much complicated to maintain and requires a higher level of mechanical understanding to operate (compared to electric RC Helicopter). then you should settle for kinds that are easy to fly. What you should be looking for is an electric radio-controlled helicopter. In this way you eliminate the risk of crashing down your newly purchased helicopter to the ground.

From kids and kids at heart collecting model RC Helicopter has become one of the more popular hobbies. See RC Helicopters Video How important is it to find an expert to set up the pitch and balance? Make sure to buy a balancer and a pitch gauge you want errors to be less than 1 degree and the balance of the blades to be perfectly level / even. For those who have heard this for the first time you should realize that you only require standard parts from an auto parts and hardware store to create a helicopter (that can really fly).

The O.S. .32 SXH runs at a peak power RPM of around 18000 RPM with 1.2 horsepower while the 60 size engines can make 2 to 3 h.p!. because it is much more responsive now and much more difficult to see however it will fly much better. See Full RC Helicopter guide at http://www.rchelicopterguide.info. Wind conditions; the bigger the helicopter the more wind it can cope with.

in that the real one doesn’t fly exactly like the sim but the coordination is much more worth it than the perfection of flight dynamics. Practice flying around backwards slowly. This is very difficult. Practice flying around backwards while inverted. Yikes. The Real McCoy. I suggest that you should wait to fly the real thing until you can confidently fly around in the simulator and land without crashing. You will be much better off in the event of an emergency and learn quicker too. There are many unexpected things you will encounter if you do not have a simulator that are not listed here. I can not stress the usefulness of a simulator enough.