scrole,
So this got me talking to a couple of friends of mine who've gone the Tuna way, and they tell me they have seen several foreign pilots working on the boats, but most of these were hired in the U.S. by Mexican Companies based in San Diego and then they just fly an N registered helicopter with an FAA license, but unfortunately they take advantage of the low time pilots and pay much less than the normal companies.
I looked a little into the subject and found out the following
The countries who with the highest capacity are: (most ships)
1.- Mexico with about 52,000 cubic meters, about 65 large ships
2.- Ecuador with about 48,000 cubic meters, about ? ships
3.- Venezuela with about 30,000 cubic meters, about 24 large ships
The rest of the countries in Central/SouthAmerica have really small fleets and capacity (less than 8,000 cubic meters) they tell me Panama is just a stopover for many tuna boats but few pilots come from there, most arrive with their pilot already.
They tell me the large mexican tuna companies operate the Bell 206, or the MD500, but most others have R22's or B47's the smaller companies are not so strict about the requirement for "high" time pilots. Spanish in Mexican Boats is almost a must, not many people speak english.
These guys rent helicopeters for tuna spotting although they are rather small, only ones I know that have a webpage.
http://www.helicopterosafelio.com
this is one of the largest tuna fishing companies in the world, (bad pic included) in their webpage they have a cool animation on how they fish the tuna.
http://www.pescaazteca.com
Also on the Robinson webpage you can look up the R22 dealers/shops here in Mexico and other countries and contact them, R22's in Mexico are used exclusively for spotting I have never seen an R22 used for anything else over here, (due to elevation all helis are turbine) so these companies know and this is where the spanish might help.
Found this, it sounds like a nice helicopter to fly during tuna spotting. . . . .
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Another Tuna Boat Company Buys Two R44 Helicopters
Torrance, CA ó PESCA AZTECA, based in the Port of Mazatlan, Mexico, has purchased two
R44 Clipper helicopters for fish spotting. The company has the largest, most modern fishing
fleet in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean comprised of ten superseiners with holding capacities of
9,500 cubic meters. Each boat is equipped with state-of-the-art maritime electronics and
satellite systems, plus a helicopter to help locate its catch of yellow fin tuna. PESCA AZTECA's
annual catch is approximately 50,000 tons of yellow fin tuna. It exports fresh frozen tuna and is
the largest tuna supplier of its affiliate company, PINSA.
The two Robinson R44 Clipper helicopters are painted bright orange for high visibility
and have tie down rings on the nose, belly and frame for securing the helicopter to the vessel's
helipad when the aircraft are not flying. Both helicopters have the latest marine and aviation
radios for communication and navigation, including a Ross DSC 500 Marine Radio with Garmin
MAP 225 GPS Plotter, plus two FM radios and a scrambler to prevent interception of
transmissions when the helicopter communicates the tuna's location to the vessel. Other
options selected specifically for the helicopter's fish spotting role include rotor blade supports,
wind deflectors for doors-off flights, and an emergency life raft with survival equipment
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/he...toAlbum15.html