From 206's to 145's...HA's New MPT Twins

[kapilots]

Finally some sense has prevailed in age old debate of Single vs Twin in the Australian MPT world.

After about 10 years of talking about it and many SMS concerns later, Rio Tinto and Helicopters Australia have agreed to move from the good old B206 series to brand new EC145's for the Karratha MPT contract.

HA, who currently operates three B206's night and day under the NVFR, soon will be upgrading to two IFR EC145's. The first of the 145's is currently in Perth conducting conversion training whilst also getting modifications for the MPT type work (floats, jettison doors etc). We expect the first machine to be operating in Karratha in December sometime. The second machine is due in Oz in December and we expect that to be in KA around January.

Over the next twelve months or so the operation will move from NVFR to IFR as the pilots become qualified. :D

The upgrade to the new machines has been greatly applauded by the Heli and Marine Pilots alike :D

We hope to have some pictures soon and will post as the machines are introduced.

KAPILOTS :)

[dodgy1]

No more Single NVFR in an IFR World...hope the rest of Oz catches on !?!?!
Good one guys...common sense prevails!!:D:D:D

Are you guys looking for pilots? What package/salary are they offering?

D1

[bladebanger]

dodgy1,
As for the rest of oz catching on, I think you will find it will take some poor soul's death until they change there ways at other ports. Just like the Queensland EMS situation was when they were operating singles at night under IFR conditions.

Great for us all that this is going to happen.

Banger

[kapilots]

Dodgy 1

Yes we are looking for pilots at the moment...both touring and full time.

They advertised awhile ago and i think they asked for ATPL 500 multi command with MECIR with 3 renewals.

Salary package is as follows and iincludes all allowances(ATPL, area, CIR, NVFR etc)
Year 1. approx $82000 for Multi VFR Command and...
Year 1. approx $98000 for Multi IFR Command.
This increases about $1500 per year

Add super on top of this and all housing and utilities is paid for if you reside in KA. If you tour, it is a 2 wk on 2 wk off rotation and you can add DTA ($16000 per year) on top of the above. Currently they only tour from Perth.

Hope this helps

KAPILOTS

[integrity]

...and what of the existing pilots?

Surely if they are recruiting with 500 multi and 3 x CIR renewals, some, if not all of the existing staff will not meet spec. What happens to the guys who "braved the black" for so long? Any ideas?

[Plonkey]

I think you will all find it has more to do with the new CASR Part 133 requirements than any goodwill.

The Mackay and Gladstone contract has led the way and I would expect all MPT operations to follow with the renewal of contracts.

Perhaps HA is just getting in early so they will have some aircraft and crews to be 2 steps ahead of the opposition at the next tender.

And yes I now how slow CASA is and the likelyhood of Part 133 being in before the next millenium.

PP

[leading edge]

The Mackay and Gladstone contracts are going twin, initially, as a result of an aviation safety audit carried out on behalf of two mining companies, not as a result of pending CASA legislation.

Occasional empirical weather events, night MPT requirements and the potential exposure for Marine Pilots who realized that the existing fleet was limited led to a recommendation to go to a modern IFR capable light twin.

To be very fair to the QLD Government Department responsible, they embraced the recommendation, paid for their own review and as a result were prepared to tender the requirement and pay the successful tenderer to provide new aircraft. Deck hatch size and rotor disc clearance were also major factors in the evaluation.

Its a positive for the industry, helicopter and Marine Pilot and will hopefully lead to the adoption of equivalent standards in all MPT operations in Australia which is long overdue.

[Heliringer]

KAPILOT, is this a SPIFR role or Multi Crew? What about the AW139's are they heading for Karratha too? You'll need a bigger shed!

[kapilots]

The KA operation is also going ahead to twins because of a self imposed safety audit brought upon by also weather related concerns and others that leading edge has said below.
Great to hear the other side of the country is going to twins as well...will the Gladestone and Mackay op's both be moving IFR or will they continue with NVFR?
What will be the requirments for the new twins? Single pilot? Hours Etc?
And what conditions/pakages $$ are on offer over there?
It will be interesting to compare the two companies with similar sorts of operations.


Integrity,

Existing pilots are being given an exemption but will have to meet certain criteria by a certain time, of which, is all still to be determined. It is a nice reward for braving the black for so long though:ok:

Heliringer,

The Rio Tinto guidlines are calling for two crew night ops and will be single pilot during the day and good weather. As far as hangar space in concerned, we think a new facility is in the pipeline but we are unsure of what is going to happen here???