East Asia Airlines - Sky Shuttle Macau
Sure, culturally it's pretty much the same pony it's always been, but operationally very different than the early days.
To their credit it's a pretty safe operation. Apart from the 222 that went over the cliff at Coloane, and the 76 that rolled over in the hangar, they've only ever dropped one helicopter in the tide in probably several hundred thousand flight hours over 20 years. And the flight crew pulled that one off pretty good.
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I can understand the high turnover of crew. I'm guessing that after a couple of months this 10-15 minute route must become a bit tedious?
Do the pilots with Sky Shuttle get the chance to do any other work, like charter for example?
These days do people fly between HK and China via helicopter, eg. HK to Guangzhou?
Do the pilots with Sky Shuttle get the chance to do any other work, like charter for example?
These days do people fly between HK and China via helicopter, eg. HK to Guangzhou?
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"...the 222 that went over the cliff at Coloane.." is a slight exageration, the helicopter was on an single-engine ground-run by an authorised and experienced engineer for troubleshooting. To this day he doesn't really know what happened but it is thought that he swung around in the seat to communicate with another engineer outside the helicopter and moved the cyclic too much resulting in the roll-over. Both he and the engineer outside of the helicopter (I believe they were making engine adjustments) were a little shaken and stirred but otherwise unhurt. The helicopter remained on the ramp a safe distance from the drop into the sea.
The atmosphere at EAA (as it was then) was indeed a bit 'agricultural' but it was very young and developing quickly under David Hill who was incredibly supportive. Remember, this was before the establishment of the AACM. When David Hill was repaced by the other two 'gentlemen' the mood changed overnight and then the revolving door began to take effect.
The atmosphere at EAA (as it was then) was indeed a bit 'agricultural' but it was very young and developing quickly under David Hill who was incredibly supportive. Remember, this was before the establishment of the AACM. When David Hill was repaced by the other two 'gentlemen' the mood changed overnight and then the revolving door began to take effect.
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East Asia Airlines Bell 222
Also, an interesting story here.
Pilot, Antonio Jose Oliveria Ladeiras, was suspended by the authority after landing his East Asia Airlines Bell 222 helicopter on an overgrown soccer pitch in Zhongshan.
'Because of low visibility ahead, the pilot decided to turn west to look for an area with better visibility. 'But because the situation had not improved, he turned to fly along the coastline in the hope of finding Macau. However, thick fog did not allow the pilot to proceed further and he decided to land on a suitable location next to a highway in China in the interests of the safety of the passengers and the aircraft.' It said the pilot had taken the appropriate action in the circumstances.
'Because of low visibility ahead, the pilot decided to turn west to look for an area with better visibility. 'But because the situation had not improved, he turned to fly along the coastline in the hope of finding Macau. However, thick fog did not allow the pilot to proceed further and he decided to land on a suitable location next to a highway in China in the interests of the safety of the passengers and the aircraft.' It said the pilot had taken the appropriate action in the circumstances.
Also, an interesting story here.
A very nice guy, last I heard he retired to the land of the baked sardine and sangria...
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If you start with-lets say-a JAA CPL, then convert it into an african license....you can easily "upgrade" to an ATPL.....then convert it back into a (now) EASA ATPL.....but this will be considered as a "conversion"-so you canīt "convert" it again into another license.....therefor you will need a "standalone" ATPL..
Despite the information given on their website:
They ONLY hire TYPE RATED pilots....
(Got in contact with their chief pilot last week, as a friend of mine was looking for a job with them....).
Despite the information given on their website:
They ONLY hire TYPE RATED pilots....
(Got in contact with their chief pilot last week, as a friend of mine was looking for a job with them....).
When applying for a Hong Kong Professional Pilot's License on the basis of conversion from a Foreign Professional Pilot's License, a license which was issued on the basis of equivalence by a foreign authority will not be accepted by HKCAD.
So in the example given, if the EASA ATPL was issued on the basis of equivalence of the African license I expect this will be annotated as such on the EASA license. In which case it won't be acceptable for conversion to a Hong Kong license.
So in the example given, if the EASA ATPL was issued on the basis of equivalence of the African license I expect this will be annotated as such on the EASA license. In which case it won't be acceptable for conversion to a Hong Kong license.
The thing is they have great flexibility to hire whoever they want for whatever reason they want. They are not hog-tied by external Aviation Advisors or clients or insurance companies setting pilot experience requirements (like most helicopter contracting providers are). SkyShuttle dance to their own music, they just need to work around whatever rules the two local regulatory authorities impose (AACM and HKCAD).
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Thanks for the answers guys. Don't mean to derail the thread. I was just wondering why the stipulation for unconverted. Seems like something of a scam deterrent? I know of someone that did something along those lines and their skills were regarded as poor.
I was looking at the ICAO website but don't see info about equivalencies.
Near term goal for me is Guam.
Although if someone said they'll rate me on a 139 if I gave them a twelve month commitment I wouldn't say no 
I was looking at the ICAO website but don't see info about equivalencies.
Near term goal for me is Guam.
Although if someone said they'll rate me on a 139 if I gave them a twelve month commitment I wouldn't say no
Just saying, for some guys it was the case, classic examples of right place right time.