Melbourne, Vic advice

[max cont]

Hi all

I am British but married to a 'straylyn and we plan to move permanently to Oz in 2 years time (perhaps less). We are starting to make our plans for what we need to do when and I would appreciate any advice from people in the know around Melbourne. This is not a dressed up job search, I am just after some general info please. Visa/work permits should not be an issue.

Market. How is the rotary aviation market in Vic? Are there any particular types that are more prevalent - for instance internet searching suggests that there is less twin ac than in SE UK? I am thinking which way to push my civil experience in the UK, but I should arrive with 3000 hrs military, virtually all twin and procedural IR and with EASA CPL(H) and a bit of civil flying.

Location. The busiest airports seem to be Moorabbin with a bit at Essendon. Is the work located here or is it in reality distributed more widely? I know there is the offshore work from Sale, but not sure how that industry is performing. I am not committed to flying, if there is management stuff elsewhere.

Living. I would like to wean the wife away from spending every waking moment on Australian realestate websites (you know the one). However, we are committed to living anywhere around Melbourne and the area to the east for family reasons and the wife's work. We would also prefer to move into an area when we arrive and then stay there to save moving the kids schools several times. Obviously I don't know exactly where I would be working, but any top tips on areas that work?

Anything else to consider? Thanks in advance.:ok:

[havick]

If you've got twin time and instrument time, give Australian Helicopters a call. THey're currently looking for a Bell412 HEMS captain at their Warrnambool base (about 3 hours drive west of Melbourne). Obviously you'd have to live there.

Google them and contact them at the Brisbane head office.

Otherwise Melbourne is a bit of a dead end for helicopter jobs unless you want to work for smaller operators that generally don't pay too well.

[ppng]

Could you "tour" on a two-week on, two-week off roster? If so, call CHC Australia in Perth and live wherever you want. :D

[havick]

Toll Remote Logistics are look for touring pilots at the moment. 3 weeks on 3 weeks off. They'll tour you from anywhere you want to live.

[parabellum]

Get in touch with Australian licensing too, ten years ago your licence would have been more or less a straight swop, air law and IR Check ride excluded, but I think you may have to do all the exams now.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Licences and Registrations (http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_91489)

[John Eacott]

Max,

I'd suggest that you should need an ATPL(H) for a decent job here: the CPL(H) would not get you a command job in any of the companies suggested so far.

But with the right credentials and an approach to the right people you could finish up having a good, well paid job touring. If, however, you want a local job and home every evening then the choices will be slim and the pay not so good. Moorabin would be your nearest gig, and there you would have Professional Helicopters (mostly training), HeliServ (air work/charter) and Microflite (aerial work/charter). Microflite have a lot of new machines and appear well marketed for work these days, HeliServ have a lot of nice blokes to work with as do PHS.

Essendon is not so busy for helicopters these days, but there are always opportunities popping up as entrepreneurial types have a go at the industry ;)

Re the managerial option: generally a case of right place at the right time. And with the current proposed Carbon Tax only 2 months away I suspect that we will see an enormous cutting back of spending in Australia, with associated reductions in hiring :sad:

[mickjoebill]

Some general $$ advice that I've paid for by UK/Oz specialists.

General consensus is that the Oz dollar in relation to pound will drop back over time, to the historic average of above 2 A$ to 1 £

Set against UK property prices you'll find oz housing not particularly cheap.

Having just moved our UK pensions over to oz there is one point worth mentioning in relation to the exchange rate... it is now possible to transfer a UK pension pot and hold it in cash sterling within an ozzie self managed fund and or invest in equities in sterling within the fund, whilst you wait for the pound to recover.

A point worth noting in respect to UK property investments, it is possible to buy a property abroad and hold it in an oz super fund. When you retire it can be withdrawn from the fund and you can live in it.

For those not already asleep...Oz super is not taxed as income if you draw on funds when you are over sixty.

Any yearly growth in the fund is taxed at 15%.



Mickjoebill

[max cont]

Thanks for the great replies. Far more information and less banter than I was expecting!

A good reminder about checking the licence equivalency - I was working on advice from a few years ago that it was easy going from Uk to Oz. The route here to gaining your civil licence from military experience only delivers a CPL(H) until you complete an IR and a type rating on a twin pilot civil ac, even though you meet the criteria in other ways and are qualified in the military sense. So you are left in a bit of a chicken and egg situation - you don't get the ATPL until you do the training and you dont get some jobs unless you are an ATPL. I can't currently see any way in which I will get the EASA ATPL before I emigrate.

A couple of follow up questions if anyone can answer:

Has the offshore work from Sale dried up if people are touring from there to elsewhere in the country? I have seen 'Red Dog' - is Karratha still 2 weeks of lounging in Y-fronts and knitting?

Broadly what is the pay range for the touring jobs so I can compare it to the charter option. Childcare may become a player.

Really appreciate your time:ok:

[2leftskids]

Here is a link to the current CHC EBA

http://www.fwa.gov.au/documents/agreements/fwa/AE881075.pdf

The work at Sale is still there. Some of their pilots have just chosen to work elsewhere :cool:

[industry insider]

With both of the "large" operators having head offices in Perth, I would head West before East. Although you seem to want to be in VIC, it may not be the best place to work. Jobs are thinner on the ground and less well paid because the economy isn't as good as the West, neither is the weather.

Do you have to go to VIC? Two years is a bit of a long look ahead. If it were more imminent, it would be easier to advise you. I used to fly with a few ex Army people on the North Sea many years ago. I liked them because they always worked hard and didn't sit around looking for excuses not to fly. There is room for people like that in Oz.

[CYHeli]

Victoria Police (Essendon) take direct entry pilots. Make contact to see what you will need to be in with a chance. All twin work, including NVG.

[Epiphany]

Max, I am surprised that no one has broken this to you before now but you may have to do what the majority of helicopter pilots do and that is spend some money on training. You won't get a decent job without an ATPL(H) and IR.

[parabellum]

Epiphany - See posts #6, #7 & #9.

[Epiphany]

Parabellum. I did and don't see anyone suggesting that he fork out some money to obtain an IR and ME type so that he can obtain an ATPL(H) and then be in a position to apply for a job which is what most people have to do these days.

[PO dust devil]

Sale is a thriving helicopter community and will prolly remain so. I know a guy with a v. nice home for sale there as he is now overseas.;) PM if you want his contact details.