Charity Work

[Hompy]

Anybody know how I could get involved with disaster response units? SAR current, JAA licence. Recent news coverage of floods and earthquakes made me wonder if volunteers were needed?

[SHortshaft]

A cheque made out to 'UNICEF' or 'The Salvation Army' has worked for me in the past, and may still be the most productive!

[Hompy]

Maybe it would be more productive but I already know how to write cheques as my bank manager will testify.

What I am after, are details of how to fly as a volunteer using my qualifications and experience. I don't care any more or less than people watching on TV but I'd like to get involved, if possible. I know this works for dog handlers, paramedics and doctors so why not internationally qualified helicopter pilots?

Can't speak for UNICEF, but knowing a few senior charity managers for other well known charities I know that a lot of money doesn't leave the administrators' desks. 'That's the only way to get the quality of staff' being one reason given for high charity salaries. If I put time in, I know that it's not being wasted, even if it isn't as productive as a highly paid city boy.

[SHortshaft]

Hompy,

In many ways I empathize with you.

In other ways I hold an opposing view.

First of all I don’t see much chance of western civilian helicopters getting into either of the two currently stricken areas, for political and nationalistic reasons. If I am proven wrong then I would suggest it will only be through an established operator already set up to work for the UN.

As a small operator in the region I would like see a flow of cash from the relief agencies to local operators who have the availability and capability to do the work, rather than see a flow of volunteers passing through and heading for the quake zone who are ready to undercut the market with “experimental” aircraft (Bell 205’s and the like).

It was rather galling to sit through the Asian Tsunami with aircraft fully certified, licensed and ready to go, and not get one hour of flight time while helicopters of all shapes and sizes came into the region from thousands of miles away and flew hundreds of revenue hours. Not on any “Samaritan Flights” but on good old commercial terms. This I believe was primarily because a handful of operators/brokers with good UN contacts had the market sewn up.

So again I would prefer to see aid agencies get the funds to rent air support on commercial terms from local regional operators; discounted for volume of course.

[Hompy]

Thanks for your views.

However, I was hoping that a ppruner might know of contact details for somebody who had organised a 'pool' of pilots willing to give up their time to either work for/with/alongside local aid agencies or military in the role of PILOT. I did not want to and do not want to enter into the politics of charity work. There are always reasons not to do something.

I had hoped that via pprune I would be able to make contact with somebody who had the information I seek. If not, fine. Maybe such a pool does not exist, maybe it is not possible but maybe it does exist or there are other people out there who can make it exist. If you are one of those people please reply to this thread or private mail me.

If you want to talk politics, start a new thread and I will lurk and muse because I am not interested!

[Hompy]

Right. I'm half way there and I'll google it. Thanks. Splendid. So, no ideas then.

[md 600 driver]

Hompy

i hope your not just wanting to get a free type rating on the mil 17 at my donations expense ????

[tecpilot]

I feel grasp with Hompy, but if he is real a professional pilot, he will understand that nowhere in this world an ad-hoc operation is possible. It´s much easier to drive a load of volunteers and meals into such an area, than to organize an airlift.

It will take weeks to be typerated, you need the ships, the crews-able to speak together a common language, local experiences, fuel, papers and... and... and...

[Hompy]

I don't speak Burmese flungdung and I wouldn't lose any sleep getting a Mil type rating at your expense md600.

I'm not Aberdeen based but as I didn't die in World War One I'd feel a little uncomfortable putting a quote from a sonnet written about dead soldiers as my location on an aviation forum.

However, and thanks to the only person who pm'd with a serious suggestion, I repeat:

Anybody know how I could get involved with disaster response units?

That doesn't mean 'How would you organise a response with a helicopter if you were the boss for a day?'. It doesn't mean 'What problems do you envisage, were you to try to organise a helicopter disaster response unit?'.

It means(and I'm really not sure why am bothering): Does anybody know how I could get in contact with somebody who would be interested in utilising my licence privileges and experience to help out/boost numbers/act as non licenced/licenced military/civilian commander or copilot in fishing people out of water or from a nasty place to hospital after a big disaster like the ones we have watched and are watching on TV?

It's funny, but reading some responses on pprune, I get a mental picture of Harry Enfield's characters the grumpy old gits but with an added dash of pomposity. It's like Viz meets Mr and Mrs Hamilton.

[Revolutionary]

Hompy, to recap, your idea consists of parachuting into a disaster zone with your SAR-certificate flapping in your breast pocket; grabbing the keys to the helicopter from the board marked 'volunteer pilots needed' in the airport lobby; climbing into the shiny (but mysteriously empty) SAR helicopter sitting idle on the ramp and then pulling ten helpless natives out of the water over lunch before jetting back home in time for tea & medals. Brilliant.

[mini]

Hompy,

I cant speak for all NGO's but the UN Agencies (such as UNICEF) use a centralised system for air assets.

The UNWFP (Rome based) are the agency with the experience and expertise here, under their wing the UNJLC (UN Joint Logistics Center) has a branch called UNHAS (UN Humanitarian Air Service) these guys usually run airops on behalf of all UN Agencies on a shared cost basis.

If a UN Agency wishes to contract its own air assets it must get the approval of the UNASU (UN Air safety Unit) also part of UNWFP, this is the ultimate authority in terms of UN civvy air ops, they check AOC's, crew qualifications etc.

Most large air ops are contracted out to pre-qualified suppliers, local ad-hoc time/trip charters must be approved by the ASU.

It would be highly unlikely that such contracts would not include crew.

If you would like to get involved, you could register an interest at [email protected] If you're interested, your skills could be useful in a ground based role.

Cheers

[Hompy]

Thanks mini, maybe it was a good idea after all...

[nocarsgo]

Hey I'd like to do that too. I don't have the hours yet but there is a company that I'd really like to work for at least for a time that does exactly what you're talking about.

Definitely have a look at their website: http://www.airserv.org/

After you look at the Working With Us section, their From the Field photo gallery pictures of especially their tsunami relief are amazing.