Home Helicopter Pilot Resume template
Helicopter Pilot resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what helicopter pilots actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most helicopter pilots should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Experienced helicopter pilot with a CASA Commercial Pilot Licence (Helicopter) and ratings for low-level, sling load and aerial work operations. Skilled in pre-flight inspections, weight and balance, and navigation under VFR and IFR. Committed to safety and compliance in challenging environments.
Key skills
- CASA Commercial Pilot Licence (Helicopter)
- Low-level flying
- Sling load operations
- Aerial firefighting support
- Mustering
- Aeromedical retrieval
- VFR and IFR navigation
- Pre-flight inspections
- Weight and balance calculations
- Weather and fuel management
- Air traffic control liaison
- Emergency response
- Plant and equipment operation
- Operations management
- Safety and compliance awareness
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
- Written communication
- ForeFlight
- OzRunways
- Air Maestro
- Garmin G1000 avionics
Experience: example bullet points
- Conducted pre-flight inspections and weight and balance calculations for charter flights, ensuring aircraft loading stayed within safe limits for every departure.
- Piloted helicopters for aerial work including mustering and survey, navigating remote terrain to deliver personnel and equipment on schedule.
- Monitored weather, fuel and aircraft systems during emergency operations, making timely decisions to divert or land when conditions deteriorated.
- Liaised with air traffic control and ground crew to coordinate safe departures and arrivals, reducing turnaround delays on multi-leg days.
- Managed fuel and payload calculations for lifting operations, completing tasks without incident over a season of firefighting support.
Education
Diploma of Aviation (Commercial Pilot Licence - Helicopter) from a CASA-approved flying school, or a bachelor degree in aviation with a helicopter stream.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- CASA
- Commercial Pilot Licence (Helicopter)
- Class 1 Medical Certificate
- Flight Review
- Low-level Rating
- Sling Load Rating
- Aerial Firefighting
- Aeromedical Retrieval
- Mustering
- VFR
- IFR
- OzRunways
- ForeFlight
- Air Maestro
- Garmin G1000
- CASA Part 61
- Human Factors
- CRM
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.