Mining FIFO flying.

[Dynamite9585]

Hey all
I have been thinking the FIFO jobs might be a bit of fun, but cannot find anything on it.

hoping people more in the know might be able to answer a few questions.
Is the flying usually done by the company or contracted to a charter outfit?
Anyone have a point of contact (even just a website) for me to check out and get some more info?
what are the conditions generally like? i have heard the horror stories of being pressured to fly unsafe hours and aircraft.

Thanks.

[Horatio Leafblower]

i have heard the horror stories of being pressured to fly unsafe hours and aircraft.

Mining clients are far more demanding than normal charter clients and I reckon if any FIFO company tried to pull the above, they would find themselves out of work real quick.

Cheers

[Dynamite9585]

thanks for clearing that up.
wasn't entirely sure if the stories were true

[outnabout]

I agree with Horatio - the mining companies that the boss has dealt with have stricter requirements than CASA. And if a charter company doesn't meet them, then the charter company is out of a job/s, quick smart.

[The Green Goblin]

Mining companies require greater experience levels for FIFO pilots flying a piston twin than airlines require for FOs.

It's not an hour building job like it used to be in most cases.

[lk978]

Con
- The guy you went to school with who got kicked out with no skills or training is making more than you and sitting down the back

Pro
- You don't have to stay at the destination for more than a few hours

Con
- It's hot as hell at every destination

Pro
- You don't usually overnight

Con
- Ugly smelly pax

Pro
- Pretty hot FA's making there way into the line ups, Skippers would have to push virgin now in terms of ratio

[AerocatS2A]

Dynamite, the work is typically contracted to a charter company. Just to get you started, the bigger operators include Alliance, Cobham, Skippers, and Network.

[Dynamite9585]

thanks for that aerocat. will have a look into it.

If mines FIFO isn't the hour builder it used to be, any suggestions for the 300 hours pilot?

[The Green Goblin]

Kununurra or Broome, scenic flying, avoiding telling the locals how much better you think NZ is.

[Dynamite9585]

thanks will look in to it.

have found a couple of places on the east coast (preferred option as i have family there)

[The Green Goblin]

No chance for a low time guy unless you're an instructor at a sausage factory on the east coast.

[Dynamite9585]

bugger, sounds like the same story as over here at the moment.

[damo1089]

Heard a story of someone employed up around Darwin way that works at a charter with a FIFO contract.
The mine 'requires' two pilots to be in the aircraft at all times, even though the plane is certified for single pilot ops. They just sit there and don't touch anything, or log anything, all incase the PIC carks it.

[Trojan1981]

Yep, I know someone currently doing that in WA on a King Air. No hours logged, only gets to fly the radio; and he's got 1000+ hours :hmm: .

[Calldepartures]

Dynamite,

Maybe have a look at parachute Ops. If you can get onto a 206 for a while, get up to the 500 mark, you will look a lot better. (Cessna 200 series time can help land a job)

Calldepartures

[Eddie Bauer]

lk978, I'm one of those SLF down the back and I am very upset about your ugly, smelly pax comment! I may not be the best looking bloke around (some would go so far as to call me neanderthalish!), but I always wash and wear deodorant when I fly!:cool:

[john_tullamarine]

I reckon if any FIFO company tried to pull the above

I used to be involved with FIFO audits both in Australia and Indonesia.

My experience was that the typical operator did its reasonable best but, often, was hampered by operational and engineering ignorance.

For instance, during one particular audit, during a delay waiting for an aircraft I had an idle look over some performance charts for the particular FIFO aircraft operation being audited. To my surprise, my back of a fag packet sums come up with dramatically (lower) RTOW figures than the operator was using. A couple of double checks to convince myself of the delta soon revealed the problem - the operator's ops eng folk had somewhat made a hash of the calculations and omitted the critical limiting case. A quick call to the (mining) customer elicited a response along the lines of "put the audit to one side and fix the problem".

Interestingly, some years later I ran a 737 endorsement course for a group of that operator's pilots. My previous reputation/history was known to them and caused them all to be very attentive during the ground school and sim work when it came to performance aspects.

Likewise, often the mining folk responsible for FIFO contracts had next to no idea of what they didn't know about aircraft. Many was the time I sat in a boardroom briefing this or that management group about different certification and operating standards.

I understand that things have smartened up a tad in recent years ?

[Dynamite9585]

Calldepartures:
I would love to do meat bombing, i was even looking into getting my jump license to make me more employable. but the course was $18k by the time i bought all the equip, so decided to give it a miss.

John:
I had a friend that was out west flying a light twin, my understanding it was for the mines but i'm not sure, her father was telling me she was worried about the hours she was being asked to fly

another thought i had was to be a contract pilot, but i'm not too sure if aussie law would allow it, basically was thinking, i could work as a contractor to a couple of operators.

[baswell]

It's not just when the mining company themselves are chartering the aircraft.

An acquaintance told me the story of how a group of locals in his far-from-a-big-airport area, all contractors at the same mine, were sick of the long time it took to get there and decided to charter some piston twin to transport themselves.

When asking permission from the AD operator, the answer was a resounding NO. Twin pilot and twin turbine or you are not welcome with workers here.

(Private pilots in SE aircraft on business not related to the mine are allowed to fly in.)

[Azzure]

Hi John. Only recently have the larger resource companies pushed to employ aviation specific employee's. I know BHP have advertised last year for a principal adviser, the same with Chevron and Woodside albeit slightly different names for the positions. Most the positions required a minimum of a CPL which is a step in the right direction.

Up until this, the guys making the decisions, well in one case that I know of was a housing department manager who's entire aviation experience was founded on paxing... and that would explain the poor choice of aircraft :ugh:

[mostlytossas]

Oympic Dam is as baswell describes I believe. Even private/ business op's they want you to arrive and depart outside RPT times. As said previously far above any other CTAF requirement. But I suppose when you own the airport you make the rules. I have always found them obliging though.

[Calldepartures]

Dynamite,

You can get a parachute gig without your jump licence. A lot of drop zones will actually put you through a first jump course. I think that is now a requirement for the issue of an APF jump pilot authorisation. It is good flying, best head to your local drop zone and have a chat.

Calldepartures

[baswell]

But I suppose when you own the airport you make the rules.
Which is a shame, because in allowing them to build an airport there (supporting a growing town, I might add) the regulators and governators could stipulate that for the privilege of doing so, they must not place unreasonable limitations and costs on, and instead rather encourage, other users so it benefits the area as a whole.

Much the same as the friend who was only allowed to build a strip for personal use on his property if he built it to a standard (and maintained it as such) that the fire bombers could use it.

One rule for them, one for the rest of us, I guess...