Originally Posted by
TiPwEiGhT
Can anybody tell me what Era is like to work for and also what the EC120's are used for?
Cheers, TiP
The EC120s are used to move 1 - 3 people and smaller tools and cargo (no external load). Some contracts will keep an EC120 offshore for days at a time (Era policy requires the ship comes in every third night for inspection). They might also be used for crew change for smaller rigs/platforms. Most times you won't go too deep, although you might go out 100 miles at times. They are definitely weight-range limited, and on high DA days, every takeoff is an instrument takeoff (eyes glued to the FLI).
From the pilot standpoint, Era is a young, busy, fairly cheerful, somewhat tactically disorganized company. If you have a desire to move up in aircraft, the next two years will be good as the huge stack of new aircraft come on-line. After that things will slow down a bit (more like PHI or Air Log). Pay is competetive, benefits are excellent, and at least for the last year or two, there has been no mandatory workover - most times there are more folks looking for workover than is available. So if you don't mind a little chaos, Era is a good place to be.