Coastwatch Contract

[Lefthanded_Rock_Thrower]

Heard on the grapevine today SA lost the Coastwatch contract for NT to Pearl.

Congrats to Pearl.

Re: SA - pay peanuts get monkeys.

Which other zones have SA lost their contracts ?.

[Icarus2001]

Isn't the Coastwatch contract Australia wide rather than by state?
Are you getting confused with the new Darwin SAR contract?

[The Voice]

Icarus

Isn't the Coastwatch contract Australia wide

That's my understanding. It wouldn't make any sense at all to have several providers given the staffing required if the operation moves to tactical flying.

Left hander

Re: SA - pay peanuts get monkeys

That's a bit rough. The pilot and crew and others are all competent and do have to jump through a lot of hurdles put in place by the contractor. The pay may not be as good as everyone would like, but it is reasonable and regular and on time. I think that may be more than some other GA ops around the place.

[slice]

Maybe it is the SAR contract that they have won which as far as I know is separate to the Coastwatch contact ?

[AerocatS2A]

I think you need to find yourself a better grapevine.

Fact 1. Nothing has been decided yet on the Coastwatch contract and it won't happen till well into next year.

Fact 2. They don't pay peanuts, and the crews certainly aren't monkeys. The Dash 8 pay isn't quite the equivelant of an airline salary, but it's close and there have been some Dash 8 guys who have come here from airlines as a lifestyle choice.

[Lefthanded_Rock_Thrower]

Aerocat,

i disagree, i have also worked for SA, i was very disappointed with the quality of product provided.

C&T was fantastic, pay was livable, aircraft were ok, ability to effectively do their job, way below standard in my opinion.

Change will be good.

If it is infact the SAR contract, again , Congrats Pearl and good choice AMSA.

[AerocatS2A]

Well maybe your crews weren't putting out a good product, all the crews I've been part of have been excellent :).

[The Voice]

AerocatS2A

here here .. had a ball and the flying wasn't bad either ...

[RENURPP]

I don't work for SA however have a few friends that do, they are happy with there lot. As indicated by the 2 above!

Do tell what is the problem with 5 late model DHC8's, or the others for that matter. How much should they get paid.

You sound like a real tosser who probably got and deserved the bullet from SA

It really bugs me to see disgruntled ex employees of any company sitting back in anonimity bagging companies for their own short fallings.

As for pearl good on them if they won the SAR contract with 1 Dornier 328.
Please advise us what knowledge you have of pearl and why they are more capable of carrying out the contract this time than there last effort??? (all be it under a different name)

As for the rest of LHRT comments use some toilet paper to wash it off the screen because it is all ****e.

[Listening Watch]

The quality of training at SA is excellent in my eyes, especially for the pilot group. Ongoing check & training and proficiency checks every 6 months keeps us all upto speed. SOPs are numerous due to the nature of the job.

The coastwatch contract will not be officially announced till may/june next year.

The SAR contract was recently awarded to PEARL to the best of my knowledge.

As for the pay $40k for an islander driver plus allowances aint peanuts. Very happy the way the company supports staff and provides us with a very safe working environment.

All the crews i have worked with do a fantastic job and customs recognises this also.

Cheers
LW

[Stilted Converstions]

A company called AeroRescue P/L which is part of the Paspaley group has advertised for a Chief Pilot and Line Pilots today in the NT News. This may be an indicator of who got the AMSA Contract in Darwin. They will be using a Kingair and a Dornier 328 Turboprop.
Cheers

[captwawa]

cool

[Lefthanded_Rock_Thrower]

Renurpp,

I find it interesting that if my opinion differs to yours i am, quote"a real tosser".

of course it appears you have alot of actual knowledge on the topic, quote"I don't work for SA however have a few friends that do, they are happy with there lot".

you have issues my friend.

Quote" As for the rest of LHRT comments use some toilet paper to wash it off the screen because it is all ****e", NICE !! :ok: .

[BORED AGAIN]

Not that I want to get dragged into LHRT's baiting (either that or he really did get the bullet) but I also work for SA and they are a great company to work for. Of course, every company has politics but the pay is good (almost the same as others at the same level - sunnies/eastern) and the flying is a **** load more fun. The bar is set high for sim checks every 6 months but it is refreshing to work for a company with high standards and appropriate training. The only real downside is that the roster changes so frequently and depending on your base, you can be away 8-15 nights a month (but think of the money).

I don't post often but I think that LHRT paints a really inaccurate picture of a company that most of the employees would be mostly positive about. And LHRT, to be honest I find it hard to believe you worked for SA for any length of time considering how little you actually seem to know about upcoming contracts.

Until I'm bored again, cheers

[No worries mate]

From the ABC 17/11/04

High speed aircraft to patrol northern Australia

The Federal Government says the introduction of a new high-speed aircraft will provide northern Australia with an unprecedented level of search and rescue support.

At present, operations are carried out by general aviation companies, using staff trained in search and rescue techniques.

But under a multi-million-dollar deal, a Dornier 328 will be on permanent stand-by and will be ready to respond to an emergency within 25 minutes.

Federal Member for Kalgoorlie Barry Haase says the contract has been awarded to AeroRescue, which is a subsidiary of the Paspaley group.

Mr Haase says the deal will strengthen the area's search and rescue capability.

"It's always been left up to a hotchpotch of commercial operators in the past, and that's not to criticise them too much, but they've not been absolutely specialised in this field," he said.

The aircraft will come into service in August next year.

[Agent86]

Ah ... Just what Australia needs ...another orphaned aircraft type requiring major spares backup and provisioning for 1 (or are there more?) aircraft.

[gravitysucks]

aaah 86.
That'd be a 320kt TAS orphan with a full glass cockpit, I'd say it's an orphan that's a tad more modern than your dash 8.
give my regards to 99.
Grav.

[m-dot]

Point taken its faster than a D8.

But put a randome + vision equip + a door/dropping devices on it and we'll see how much of 320 it does!!

[Agent86]

GravitySucks ... you won't find me in a turboprop.

as they say...Props are for BOATS.

MAx

[bunglesboy]

Just a quick note to clear up the confussion about coastwatch/amsa.

Pearl aviation was awarded the AMSA contract to operate a King air 200T and a dornier 328 tp turbo prop. These are the start up aircraft with the 328 starting service in august next year. This has nothing to do with the coastwatch contract which pearl has tendered for. The company which will operate the AMSA contract is called Aero Rescue and this company will be operated seperately from Pearl Aviation and Paspaley Pearl.
Hope this will help with any confusion.:ok:

[ComeByChance]

I think you will find all the SAR gear will only knock off 15-20 KTAS, so 300-305 KTAS at the same fuel burn of a Dash 8-100 is still pretty good.

[Bendy]

LHRT

I spent 17 years in GA, 4 of them with SA. Have now moved on to something bigger and (arguably) better, but I've never had so much fun flying as I did in those 4 years.

Please don't bother slinging muck at SA. Their equipment is excellent, their C & T excellent, their pay (by any reasonable comparison to any other GA sector) is excellent and the quality of the end product, I always found to be very reliant on the crews willingness to put in.

There are frustrations in every job but I personally found my 4 years there very challenging, satisfying and above all, fun.

As far as change goes, it is not in anyone's interests to pursue change for change's sake. I was involved (peripherally) with the last contract changover and the MASSIVE organisational effort involved would need to be justified in a much more coherent way than you have put forward.

Your right to have and express an opinion is respected. Alas the opinion itself cannot be.


Bendy
:ok:

[hirobowen]

I worked for SA and had a hell of a good time.

The training is great crews are fantastic and you don't get top notch aircraft like that in many other GA companies.

I wish I had never headed south.

Cheers.

[Dashunder]

Has anyone heard the latest on AeroRescue, when does the Dornier arrive in country, I believe there struggling to find expereinced backenders.

[InTransit]

Dornier was supposed to arrive on the 1st of August, but I believe there has been a delay of around 1 to 1.5 months.

Not sure about the backenders, but I have heard them beating around the sky quite a bit doing training flights.