Aerial work by helicopter

Aeronautical professions related to the mountains are highly sought after in the Alps and generally in mountainous areas in France and abroad. It’s an ideal path for a student who loves vast open spaces and has an adventurous spirit. This job requires studies that include specific training and learning, with a minimum number of hours required. Like all extraordinary professions, taking the controls of a plane or helicopter also requires precision, agility, composure, and anticipatory skills. This path is suited for atypical profiles.

Training and Careers in Aeronautics for What Types of Interventions?

We are familiar with mountain rescue professions with the civil security’s yellow and red helicopters, whether for people’s safety and rescue or fighting forest fires. There is also training dedicated to recreational air transport. In the mountains, the air also allows access to remote areas, especially for supplying refuges frequented by tourists. Other activities also require the use of a plane or helicopter.

Various mountain work requires lifting operations, heliportage, or transport of loads. This includes construction work, development and maintenance at altitude, as well as interventions in forest areas or on agricultural farms. While all these professions require studies and training, they are also regulated by strict rules and can be practiced within specialized companies.

Aerial routes also allow for the transport of materials, heavy equipment, or personnel to remote or difficult-to-access areas in the mountains. They are also very useful for the maintenance and upkeep of high-altitude infrastructures such as electrical lines, telecommunication stations, or ski facilities.

Finally, scientific professions may use air transport to access remote mountain areas to conduct geological, climatic, or ecological studies.

The Various Professions and Activity Sectors Represented at the Mountain Planet Trade Show in Grenoble:

• Small leisure air transport (helicopter and airplane)
• Aerial tours
• Aerial rescue
• Surveillance, anti-fire efforts
• Sling transport, various development works, and for agricultural and forestry exploitation

In 2024, the Mountain Planet Trade Show hosts the mountain drones village, featuring:

• Training
• Heavy-lift drone manufacturers:: 25 to 150 kg payload
• Service providers for the Alps and Pyrenees, international remote pilot network
• Autonomous drone manufacturers for resorts
• Consulting and engineering firms
• Mountain-specific Lidar sensor manufacturers
• GNSS data network providers (for grooming machines and drones positioning)
• Indoor/outdoor drone show companies

Also, a new Mountain Drone Center of Excellence has opened its doors at the Les Orres resort in the Hautes-Alpes. It welcomes all professionals from mountain rescue and ski areas who wish to train in drone piloting.

At the international Mountain Planet Trade Show, held biennially in Grenoble, France, a student can meet these various companies and discuss their career path to choose the most suitable training for a job in the mountain aeronautics sector. The Studyrama trade show is also a reference for information on this path. It is held in Paris and many other French cities. The “mountain” pole of the Careers Forum in Grenoble, organized by Grenoble Alpes Métropole, is also a source of information and guidance for students.