Is it happening again?

[solowflyer]

3x Adds in AFAP for jr drivers the latest from Gator. Last time that happened things started going nuts and the hiring spree took off.

[maus88]

Interesting to see Alligator advertising considering he's still got 40 odd potentials still hanging around with at least a handful easily meeting the min requirements ...

[geeup]

Perhaps just letting the drivers know where they stand :hmm:
Easily replacable :yuk:

[hardNfast]

Ok now that is 4 jobs all in a row for newbies on AFAP. This is stuff we havn't seen in a while. Especially mid dry season. Kakadu Air, Air Frontier, Alligator, Maningrida.

For all those who are looking for work if you don't have a crack at this your crazy!

[hueyshuffle]

RE: previous couple of threads - Why the hell are these guys advertising when there's so many potentials sitting around who have almost certainly been popping in regularly to say hello and ask about the job situation?

I'm not sure i accept the explanation of 'letting the current drivers know they're replaceable'.

As for this being the harbinger of the boom - from your lips to gods ears mate.

[CharlieLimaX-Ray]

Interesting times.

[Jetdream]

Almost seems to good to be true.

[solowflyer]

Looks like kak air actually want an office Dorris but can't get anyone to move to town so asking for a pilot to bring a woman. Bit like ol Kev B Wilson has in his song living next door to Allen "Bring a Flaggon and a woman there a party going on at my place":}

[The Green Goblin]

From what I can gather the guys hanging around are not suitable, around 7-9 guys still in town. Some without night ratings, others without retrac endos and of course a few Kiwis too :}

The gator just checked a couple of guys this week, all with contracts until the the end of the dry.

Interesting times.

[wishiwasupthere]

Some without night ratings, others without retrac endos

Who looks for work without a retractable endo???? Thats nearly the first thing I did after getting my PPL!

[The Green Goblin]

Kiwis :p

CPL in 152

CIR in PN68

CPL + IR = no retrac!

[no one]

Sorry for the quick tread drift but Kevin B Wilson's lyrics is "bring a flagon of woobla there's a party at my house!"
And as he describes it on one of his live C.D.s flagon is the bag it comes in and woobla is sort of a cross between a really bad claret and un-leaded petrol.

Anyway good luck to all seeking that first flying job, best way to go about it IMOA (going north).

[FOD_Hazard]

Sling recruited back in late April early May, they have therefore been able to train their new guys and provide approx 20+hrs ICUS to each thus ensuring that the new low timers at least have a bit of a clue before being let loose on the Bungles. Any strugglers would have been identified long ago and either replaced or further training is put into them.
Kendricks method is much different. Why recruit and train pilots in anticipation of the busy times! Lets just wait til it gets busy, shake the closest tree and any pilots that fall out we will put in an Airvan. I am not aware of any gator pilots that have ever had anywhere near 20hrs ICUS, The real strugglers might get 10-15.

Perhaps just letting the drivers know where they stand http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/yeees.gif
Easily replacable http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/pukey.gif

If they were easily replaceable then the add would not have appeared on AFAP. Mid July is usually real busy up that way and to be down a few pilots can be very costly.

[Roxy_Chick_1989]

Out of curiosity, when you say "Strugglers" what exactly are they struggling with? Do you mean struggling with living north or struggling with handling a 210?

[Nose wheel first]

Roxy....

The term "Struggler" refers to someone who is slow on the uptake, does dumb things, makes crap radio calls, makes radio calls that last half an hour while they tell the entire world all about their life, someone who conducts a bungles commentary on CTAF, someone who tells the DC3 which is at the NE TIP that they are in a 210 overhead Bow River Mine and they believe they are traffic for them (at least 30 nm separation)..... etc etc........ someone who just generally struggles. Everyone gets called a struggler at some time during their time up north. It's just that some struggle WAAAYYYY more than others. :)

Re Gator ...... perhaps they are having trouble getting pilots because the new guys and girls in town are finally waking up to the fact that it's a less than desirable place to work and they are looking elsewhere. I doubt it but it's possible.

I wonder how the CASA audit went .....:hmm::hmm:

[splinter11]

Kendricks method is much different. Why recruit and train pilots in anticipation of the busy times! Lets just wait til it gets busy, shake the closest tree and any pilots that fall out we will put in an Airvan. I am not aware of any gator pilots that have ever had anywhere near 20hrs ICUS, The real strugglers might get 10-15.


This is exactly correct, at gator the economic dollar is far more important than safety. There is no planning for training, and what ends up happening is they rush pilots through with a few hours icus and say now go do a bungles. Of course so far under RK's regime it has worked out since in his mind he is incident free(Until a few weeks back). But this type of thinking will only last so long until the inevitable happens, and it will all end in tears.


I wonder how the CASA audit went


Im sure they managed to pull the wool over CASA's eyes, as i understand they were frantically hurrying to sweep things under the carpet prior to the audit....eg flight and duty times etc...

[geeup]

There was a time may years ago where Dingair would do 20hrs ICUS and Gator did 2hrs ICUS... That same year Dingair lost 4 machine in the space of 10 months.
Maybe its quality of training not the amount.
My money is on as usual CASA finding nothing wrong with Gator and business as usual.
I'm not defending Gator at all its a sh*t setup but history has shown us nothing will change.
Get your hours and move on there are many struggers that have moved on to green pastures all over the world.
Most of us remember the good times and forget the sh*t times.

[mates rates]

With VB, jetstar,skytrans,alliance,cobhams and probably others all recruiting, there has got to be some holes at the bottom end.That's why we are seeing jobs on the AFAP website.

[Ipecac]

Anyone care to comment on what these companies are like to work for. Looking at some of the posts Alligator Air sounds a bit dodgy. What about Air Frontier, Kakadu Air and the others? I've put in my CV, don't really expect to hear back but would like any advice on what flying you can expect if I do get offered a job.

Cheers:ok:

[solowflyer]

Would be most unlikley you would be offered a job sitting in NZ really need to be up there on the spot and ready to go.

Depends on who you work for but expect plenty of hrs, crap pay, Bad smells from a certin demograph of pax, oh and don't forget the spew mop up. If you doing charter plenty of variety of locations if doing Scienics pretty much the same thing over and over again.

There will be bad times and good but you will alwas look back and say those where the days.

[FOD_Hazard]

Well said regarding the struggler definition NWF. Much better job than I could have done.


Re Gator ...... perhaps they are having trouble getting pilots because the new guys and girls in town are finally waking up to the fact that it's a less than desirable place to work and they are looking elsewhere. I doubt it but it's possible.


Definitely a less desirable place to work but we both know that they will always get low hour guys to fly the planes. No matter how bad things get there are always low hour guys willing to work for next to nothing some will even offer to work for free.

I enjoyed my time in the Kimberlies, great memories, great mates, awesome fishing and amazing scenery. Long days, max duty times, flying aircraft that I would not go near now now that I am older and wiser. 90-100hrs a month, fast progression onto twins (not the case down the road at sling).
Used to love sitting out the front of the hanger at the end of a long day beer in hand watching the sunset and chatting to the other lads about their days flying. Watching the last flights just scraping in before sunset. Or the real big days where the boss would put on a whole load of beers and pizza after flying had finished just to say thanks to the crew for a big effort. Cheers to you CM.


My money is on as usual CASA finding nothing wrong with Gator and business as usual.


Agreed, esp since they employed the services of an ex ex ex CP to spend a few days up there prior to the audit just to make sure everything was squared away. Am sure he would have concealed all the F&D discrepancies. Dont know how though.

[mic310]

Was the ex ex ex CP. PW???

[Nose wheel first]

No Mic, PW was the ex, ex, ex, ex, ex. The ex, ex, ex was BM. 5 CP's in just over 5 years.

[geeup]

I rest my case :mad: :ugh: