RFDS Interview

[klhohnen]

Hi Friends,
it´s the first time i use PPRuNe and i am not sure if that is the right forum.
If not sorry.

I am a german commercial pilot (TT ca. 3000h, IFR MEP ca. 1000h) and since some years I wish to get a job by the RFDS in Australia. In the last years i visited several bases of this company. So I sent an application in April. Some days ago I get an invitation for an interview and for a simulator test. Now, i am very happy to get this chance.

So, if anybody can give me some tips it would be very fine.

Thanks for help

Klhohnen

[frigatebird]

Good Luck.

I am an Australian Commercial pilot, and wouldn't mind a job with them either..

Seems Australian operators prefer to hire from overseas these days - look at all the Kiwis here - so you should do well.

[MD_Attitude]

I have heard that they do their interviews in melbourne at the old ansett sim centre.the sim is very pitchy and so unlike actually flying a real king air.So there fore if u havent flown a king air then it shouldnt be any problem.
i would presonally suggest to go there a day in advance and book a sim time for an hour or if you got a mate who can share the sim with you then go for it.
they get you to do a ndb rwy 16 and the ILS. just make sure you know the approaches for melbourne and melb Essendon pretty good.It all happens very quick so make sure you know what to do.
its a half an hour sim check and sort of an hour interview by three guys.
know your IFR procedures thoroughly ,LSALT ,DR etc etc
all the best

[neville_nobody]

I'd be looking at non aid aerodromes, lighting and stuff like that as it is very applicable to the RFDS

[morno]

Which section?
Do you hold a CASA CPL?
Do you know the rules etc. for flying in Australia?

Good luck, it's certainly a brilliant job. But I feel if you aren't very up with the rules and procedures of flying in Australia, vs Europe, you'll be severely disadvantaged.

morno

[klhohnen]

Hi Aussie-Pilots,

thanks for the answers and help.
I have passed the Australian air-law test and have done some conversion training last year downunder.

Morno, you are right, the procedures and comm. are different in many details.
Now, I am preparing for australian IFR with some books from Bob Tait.
I think I will download the charts from Melbourne and Essendon to familiarize with those procedures.

Thanks
Klhohnen

[morno]

Sounds like you're all over it then, :ok:.

Good luck

[FourBalls]

Um...I assume he's applied for southeast section judging by the sim advice (did he say this?) Aren't those guys preparing to clean out their desks?

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

I am surprised that there is such a shortage of qualified pilots in Oz that we need to be sponsoring non-Australian/non-permanent residents to fill these positions.

Dr :8

[glekichi]

SE section is a lot bigger than just EN.
If klhohnen already has the right to work in Australia then best of luck to him/her. If a visa is being sponsored, someone in the rfds needs a solid kick up the behind.
If this is just an attempted wind-up, then the
tides must be all wrong cos noone is really taking the bait.

[Wally Mk2]

"MT D" yr advice is spot on:ok:

"eovictim" as you say ATPL is mandatory in the SE section (all bases) You don't "need' it but it's 'required'.

ANY pilot having the desired numbers (hrs) needs to be switched on to do well in an RFDS interview. The guys conducting those interviews are very switched on themselves. As that saying goes.....'chance favors the prepared mind".........don't turn up at an interview (if yr lucky enough to get asked to do so) without having a good knowledge of IFR procedures especially night Ops. & all the associated "why not's" that go with night Ops. Know yr WX Alt req's too. Those with good scans will do well in the Sim, free advice DON'T fixate on the one instrument/dimension under abnormal conditions, (easily done under stress) quickest way to stall the damn beast even though you nailed the Hdg:)

Good luck to anyone that gets a gig with the RFDS it ought to be mandatory to do a stint there prior to the big boys:ok:


Wmk2

[Towering Q]

Klhohnen, plenty of your fellow countrymen employed as doctors over here at Westops, they seem to thrive on aeromedical work.

[The Green Goblin]

Klhohnen, plenty of your fellow countrymen employed as doctors over here at Westops, they seem to thrive on aeromedical work.

There are some characters there for sure, old jingle bells used to get me laughing :ok:

[Harry Cooper]

Quite a few guys in the South East section don't have ATPL's or even the theory exams passed. It is a requirement for Sydney as part of the contract but not for the other bases. It is preferred in Essendon but not required but there is a nice bonus in the pay packet if you do have them.

[Wally Mk2]

"HC" technically yr correct ATPL is not req @ EN but will be come July 1 next year.
Perhaps I should have said they won't employ any new drivers without it.
Beats me why this is needed but contracts are often dreamed up by those that actually know very little of the nuts & bolts flying skills req'd.
It would be wise to have an ATPL to enter any RFDS section, just the way it is right or wrong. Glass exp is good too as that's the way of the future:-)




Wmk2

[Towering Q]

It would be wise to have an ATPL to enter any RFDS section, just the way it is right or wrong.

If an ATPL is not required to enter a particular RFDS section, why would it be wise to have one?

[pa60ops]

Because there is a pay bonus for having it. Unless you are happy to do the same job as the other pilots for less $$$:p

[Towering Q]

As far as I'm aware, an ATPL pay bonus doesn't apply to every section.

[Desert Duck]

Turnnat

Royal Flying Doctor Service (http://www.flyingdoctor.org.au)

[j3pipercub]

I've heard it's not much more than 32k. You could take my word for it, or go and do some research. All of the RFDS Sections EBA's are available online if you are a member of the AFAP... Why do I get the feeling you're not.

j3

[Jamair]

According to the AFAP site, the 4 different sections have different scales.... Qld is top with pilots starting about 90K, more for remote places; SE & West looks like about 85K.

[j3pipercub]

Nathan/turnnat

From what I have seen through my life, a position as an RFDS pilot requires a great deal of initiative and the ability to think for yourself instead of having it given to you on a platter.

In addition, I doubt someone who completed a CPL in mid 2008 would be anywhere near the minimums for the RFDS.

Also, just for the record, I don't criticise or mock legitimate questions. Yours wasn't.

Jamair, that info on the website is provided to members who pay a yearly fee. Why post it here? Why feed the leeches?

j3

[glekichi]

Or you can get them for free from the fair work Australia website, so its hardly giving away privelidged information.

[Wally Mk2]

I too can't see what the big deal is. As 'G' said it's all there on the Govt website.
For a Beech 200 Capt the basic award (Group 5) is around $55K plus allowances. Even at the basic wage that's a LOT more than the $32K mentioned here.

'turnnat' everybody starts out with zero hours, you get nowhere if you don't ask. The RFDS is the best GA job but will take many years to get there so good luck:ok:

It ain't too hard to find pretty much anything if you dig deep enough
Interesting no mention of the PC 12 in groups 1 thru to 9:}.....too scary to list!:)


Wmk2

[Centaurus]

and since some years I wish to get a job by the RFDS in Australia. In the last years i visited several bases of this company.

You must keep in mind that unlike European rules on medical flights, the RFDS fly single pilot only (that means solo - no first officer). I recall a few years ago the Aerial Ambulance Division based at Essendon hired a very experienced European national experienced on the Kingair.

He had flown medical flights all over Europe. But the Regulations over there require two pilot operation on turbo prop and medical flights.

After a few weeks of flying the Kingair solo from Essendon to various aerodromes at night in Victoria, he announced single pilot ops in a Kingair was too dangerous and he got out of there. He returned home to fly mid winter European ops with two pilots which he reckoned was far safer than single pilot night IMC stuff in Victoria.

He was probably right - recalling the fatal crash a few years ago of an RFDS Kingair in marginal visibility at night at Mt Gambier - single pilot. Maybe the presence of a second crew member would have prevented that accident which was CFIT Hats off to RFDS pilots in general for their gutsy flying when called for.

[backwardbrick]

So how did klhohnen go, have you had the interveiw yet?

[mustman]

Following up on backwardbrick.

klhohnen (http://www.pprune.org/members/206054-klhohnen), how did the interview go?

Any other useful information you can add to this thread?

[mustman]

Klhohnen I also want to know how it went?

Was the information on this thread still relevant? Anything else you can give?