They're Pumping Out Product And Competing For Contracts

So you've been laid off from your flight crew gig at the airline? You're a commercial flight student looking at less-than-optimal job prospects with any of the major carriers? Well, consider this:

Rotorcraft. Sure, you might make less money than at a legacy or low-cost carrier. But then, chances are, you will have a job.

The New York Times points out that, while pilots and pilot wannabes struggle in the current airline economy, helicopters -- particularly medical helicopters -- have proven virtually immune to the slump that has gripped aviation for the past three years.

Medical aviation companies that rely heavily on rotorcraft say their business is up more than eight percent.

"Face it: more aortas are going to burst as more people age," Steve Towne, chief executive of Ranger Aerospace, told the Times. Ranger, of course, owns Keystone Helicopters.

Of course, companies that provide helicopters and helicopter maintenance aren't doing bad either. Flight schools, according to the Times, are also seeing relatively good times, with a marked increase in the number of rotorwing students.

"Regional jets, corporate jets, they have explosive growth one year, none the next," said Roy Resavage, president of the trade group Helicopter Association International. He told the Times, "We grow at a steady 3 to 4 percent clip. It's the tortoise and the hare."

FMI: www.rotor.com