Originally Posted by
Macaco Norte
Amount of flying depends upon where you’re based. Most bases, you’ll be lucky to get a dozen hours a rotation, as most bases are what they call IFT or Inter Facility Transfers, Air Ambulance tasking if you like. Some are REMS/HEMS & at these bases you might get anywhere between 30-60 hrs per rotation. Busiest in Riyadh, where all flying is below 500’ because of airport.
HEMS is much similar to what you’ll find in the UK, apart from the traffic & traffic management. You will almost never close down the aircraft on scene. A 2 lane highway suddenly has cars 7 or 8 abreast as they try to route around each other, or even cross into the opposite carriageway driving into oncoming traffic to minimise their wait.
once you’ve lifted they’re off, they’ll pass within metres beneath the aircraft, stealing any chance for you to reject.
IFT is a joke. You fly to your local airport to wait the arrival of your patient. It’ll be an hour. Get them onboard & fly them to the usual next level hospital & wait another hour for the ambulance to arrive, even when you pre warn the ops cell, they take no advice. You could be sat with a patient dying in your aircraft unable to supply AirCon because it’s too hot to go ground run for longer than 30 mins.
Thing to remember is you’re on duty for 42 days, no days off. Shifts are sunrise to sunset. Some places you’ll have the luxury of a decent hotel some you’ll have much less luxurious accommodation. Aircraft are parked outside all day, every day.
The staff responsible for accommodating you only do so for 2 weeks at a time & you’re therefore locked out of your room every 2 weeks until it’s been rearranged. Your hire car may be in your name, may not, it may be insured, it may not.
Your flights home will be what’s easiest for them not you, even if yours makes much more sense.
When you first get in country you’ll do what they call ‘on boarding’, where you do various medicals for Bupa(only covers you at work), ID & aviation medical. Almost 30 work orientated tests, your ELPT, HUET & a GACA ATP & AIP exams. Supposed to be done in 4 weeks but that rarely happens & however long it does take will then have your line training & first rotation added to the end of it.
6/6 roster ain’t too bad. Medics work 8/4.
The local attitudes are the hardest thing to accept. You can send email after emails & get no reply. They all have massively slopey shoulders & will never accept blame, so will never make a decision. Nothing gets done on Sunday as it’s the first day back to work or Thursday because they’re knocking off for the weekend.
Have a feeling this may be a bit late but hope it helps😜
Hi Macaco. Thanks so much for taking the time to fill in some blanks. No too late at all! As you know things move incredibly slow in the desert, so still waiting, and besides this will no doubt be very helpful to others contemplating working there. Like I always say, the grass is not always greener on the other side....just a different shade of green...