PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - RFDS feeling effects of global pilot shortage
Old 2nd Apr 2024, 02:51
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OutbackDan
 
Join Date: Sep 2023
Location: Queensland
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I can only speak for QLD section and agree with Morno.

The remote bases (Mt Isa and Charleville) certainly do the best mix of flying, combining the 'good ol' station flare landings along with plenty of trips into the tertiary Hospitals closer to the coast. Allowances at remote bases also means you will also earn 25-30k more then the coastal bases. Rosters are good, 14 shifts in 28 days, usually 4 on, 4 off. Half day shifts, half night and home pretty much every night unless there's an AOG or occasionally a priority task means you'll end up away from base. Coastal bases do the fairly mundane Hospital to Hospital transfers which is not overly exciting. Expect much more challenging and exciting taskings out of Charleville/Isa/Cairns.

FRMS is 700 flying hours a year. Flying hours vary between bases, Expect to fly between 400-600 hours a year, Townsville, Rocky and lately Charleville have been hitting 600 and over. If you fly over 600 you will earn an extra $260 for every hour over 600 paid annually. New Aeromed pilots start on around $135,000, Clinic pilots about $105,000. Both those figures to change shortly as a new EBA is up for vote very soon.

Minimums are always advertised as having 4000 hours total, however Aeromed pilots are getting in with 2500 or so. The Remote area mentoring program (RAMP) pilots have been getting in with around the 1500 total hour mark.

Aeromed is not everyone's cup of tea. It's busy, tiring, sometimes emotional and sometimes traumatic. Taskings can sometimes do your head in and waiting hours for an ambulance to come collect you patient can be beyond frustrating. But that odd job that comes in where you truly make a difference makes up for it. The highs certainly outweigh the lows though and I loved my time at RFDS and reflect very fondly on some of the jobs I was part of and relationships I made.
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