Just seeking info on Chart Air. I see they have advertised for line pilots for Alice Springs. Anyone with any info on what they are like to work for, current aircraft types, hours you actually fly per month etc... Please post or pm. All advice greatly appreciated.
They operate 210, 208, Beech Baron, C 310 and C 402/404's
Knew a guy who know's a guy who works there and mentioned that he get's around 500-600 hours a year
I tried applying for a charter position hoping to get on the 210's but unfortunately i received a email response saying "thank you for your interest in working with chart air, but no positions are available right now" In other word's you dont have the sufficient hour's too meet our insurance policy..
Mate Chart Air are a big company up in the NT. Main base is Darwin. They tend to start you off in a C210. Just hired two guys for their Katherine Base. Both pilots left and went to Q-Link.
They are/were looking for guys with 300 hours multi for twin flying to meet their contract requirements. Chart Air also have just got two Conquests. This made Katherine Aviation a little sad because they have a shiny King Air sitting in Katherine now as Chart Air has the contract they were after.
They have the works, C210 (IFR Capable), Barons, Caravans, 402, Conquest. Think I'm missing something... C310.
Their CP is Cameron. You will hear good and bad stories about him. I personally didn't mind him and like him but have heard he was fired from a few companies as he didn't like the way they were doing things. My friends work at Chart Air and they said they make them work out a 3 degree descent path when descending. I personally just lower the nose but you will find he likes things done his way or no job. I guess its not a bad thing to learn some new things.
Head office is Darwin, the main base is Alice Springs - there is a difference - Alice was where most of their work and maintenance was done. Aircraft were, in my experience, well maintained and worked hard (2 of their C210s' were the highest time 210s' in the world).
There were some issues there but that was nearly 4 years ago so who knows now? T & Cs' were in accordance with the GA Award, as is the legal minimum in the NT.
DropYourSocks, Directair are much the same as Chartair but smaller. Their head office is Essendon, their main base in the NT is Darwin where most of their NT work is done. They advertise an Alice Springs base but when I was last there it was another company operating under Directair's AOC. That may have long since changed.
All good info thanks! Just wondering about the flying hours now. I'm only getting about 35 hours per month on a chieftain where I am so I'm thinking I may be better off at Chart. But probably not if I'm going to start on a 210. (I already got over 300 on the chieftain)
Cheers
Last edited by Calldepartures; 23rd Feb 2012 at 19:22.
But grounding 180kts (say a 402), that'd be about 900ft/min. A bit excessive for the poor pax.
Absolutely, a Load of nonsense. Maybe the person who suggested this above missunderstood, and the CP meant to carry out approaches at 3 degrees, that would make sense, but descent, just rubbish.
The CP wants descents flown during approaches at 3 degrees.
Enroute descents in such aircraft, unpressurised, are done at CA along a more approximate "6 x" profile. Easy to calculate and looks after the punters (ie 8000 feet to descend, start 40 nm out).
The techniques learnt at stage of a pilot's career should help when they "move up". I'm sure there's T&C Pilots out there who pull their hair out when newbies on high performance aircraft can't even derive a simple enroute descent profile through onto an instrument approach...
From what I have heard from a few mates, the Chief Pilot at Chartair is actually doing a really good job. The management has tried really hard to pick up the image of the company latley, and this includes looking after the pilots. The standard of the pilots is increasing, and its no longer a company where you would get 300 hours on a 210 then move off to Hardys.
They would be one the highest paying companys in NT (possibly even GA) for multi-engine piston pilots. There is no dodgy MR crap like you will get in other GA companys!
If you are willing to go remote for 6 months, then move to the big smoke, build the all magical 500 M/E then Chartair is a good company to work for. They even recently aquired two conquests as others brought up.
