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"More Than Just A Job, It Was A Dream Come True"
The Story Of A TV News Helicopter Pilot! |
| Flying Journalism, Contributing Writer & Photographer |
| Los Angeles, California, USA |
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Meet Robert Rodriguez, also known as Helicopter Rob. People named him Helicopter Rob, because he loves to fly helicopters! He took us on a news-chopper ride along. An exciting day of news gathering, flown by a pilot with humble beginnings.
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| Contrary to what many people believe, the news stations do not own their own helicopters. They are branded with the logos but these ones are independently owned and operated by Angel City Air. |
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| This is the microwave downlink, it sends the television signal to the station. |
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Rob grew up watching fire helicopters dropping buckets all over Southern California. He was fascinated with rotor blades since he was a kid! Rob realized that flying for the news was his ultimate goal in life! He says he enjoys every shift because every day is different.
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| Flying the AS-350 helicopter has been a life long accomplishment for Rob. |
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Ambitious to reach his goal, Rob became a police officer and worked hard. He signed up for tons of overtime to save enough money to pay for his ratings. He started off with a private pilot airplane, then a private pilot helicopter. With all his hard earned overtime money, he added on a helicopter instrument rating, and a helicopter commercial. Rob flew air tours, med-evac, firefighting and part 91 for an owner. Whatever it took to get the job done, he did it! In addition to all of that, Rob has a masters degree in public administration, and is also an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve.
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| Rob says, "some of the biggest challenges are avoiding complex airspace, watching out for police helicopters, and making sure you have the camera operator's desired angle. The constant balance requires a large amount of multi-tasking." |
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Many people do not realize that most news pilots have been retired law enforcement officers. This helps the reporter get a leg up on understanding the police activity on the ground. When Helicopter Rob finally left being a police officer, Rob took on a career in aerial firefighting and during off season started flying for the news.
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| This screen shows what the camera operator is looking at. In this shot, we were looking at the most expensive house in Los Angeles! |
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Helicopter Rob says, "it may take years to get the experience you need to start flying helicopters professionally, but it's worth the struggle." Currently, helicopter pilots remain in constant high demand. The demand exists because there are a lot of helicopter jobs and even more helicopter jobs that require a high level of experience such as long line, long line with human cargo, and lots of experience flying turbine helicopters. Combine that with expensive training and lower pay (in contrast to airplane pilot pay) the shortage is ever so present.
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| We were lucky enough to spot a wild police chase of a stolen vehicle, which ended in a fiery crash! The suspect was rescued from the vehicle just in the nick of time. The action unfolded right before us. Rob had to use his skills to keep the helicopter in a perfect hover. |
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| A news pilot's favorite food, delicious Chinese takeout! |
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Helicopter Rob is one example of how hard work pays off and dreams can come true. For those who are working tirelessly on their ratings, there is light at the end of the tunnel! Stay focused and level headed! Until next time, fly safe and remember "life is worth flying for."
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| By Flying Journalism, Contributing Writer & Photographer |
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