Queenstown operators/job opportunites

[Jbrownie]

Gdday,

I'm nearing the completion of CPL and will finish with about 350TT (I did a bit of flying when I was younger).

What are the chances of getting a job in Queenstown with these hours? I see the main two operators are Glenorchy Air and Air Wakatipu. Do I require a SEIR/MEIR? Will I have to pay for a typerating? What sort of job pay/conditions can I expect? Only reason I am asking is because I can imagine Queenstown would not be the cheapest place to live.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thankyou

[c100driver]

You best do some more research if you think these two are the "main operators" in ZQN! Air Wakatipu is the charter arm of the Aero Club and does bugger all flying and is usually the preserve of its instructors. They used to require that you had to complete their "mountain flying course" before you could fly charter for them. They used to say that you had to complete 50 hours in the area before they would let you fly commercial work.

ZQN is a difficult place to find work flying aeroplanes. The amount of GA flying is in steady decline in the area though it is probably still the number one for NZ.

Few, if any twins left in ZQN. IFR is non existent for the light GA.

[On Track]

Air Wakatipu is your best bet. It is the smallest operator but it's not true to say that it does "bugger all flying." It also has a tradition of mentoring novice commercial pilots.

Other operators will normally expect you to have local knowledge and experience, and all of them have in their ranks pilots who were trained by the aero club and flew initially for Air Wakatipu.

An instrument rating is not a requirement as it has no practical value in the mountain environment.

The whole business of gaining local knowledge has become problematic because the Queenstown Airport Corporation has done its best to eliminate flight training from NZQN.

However there are other options and I recommend that you contact Peter Daniell at Air Wakatipu. He's the best source of up to date information and will give you an honest appraisal of your prospects.

[Konev]

c100 driver you had best do some more reserch as your information is about 3 years dated.

As On Track has mentioned, most operators would most likely to prefer to see some milford time and good area knowledge. Give U-Fly in Wanaka a call or the Alexandra Aero Club. The Wakatipu Aero CLub got kicked off Queenstown Airport due to overzealous carpark and rental car expansion dreams.

Along with JKs accident this means that the local 50 hour course and the immense experience that ran it is now gone, U-Fly and Alexandra are picking up the reigns but they have very big shoes to fill. Short story is that there is no single source for pilots any more so the area is easier to get into.

Air Wakatipu is your best bet, they have had very busy summers and this one is looking even bigger. They have the best new person friendly fleet of c172s, a c206 and a GA8 airvan

Milford Sound Flights, situation unknown in regards to pilot jobs. never been one to hire fresh CPLs but you might get lucky with the right attitue and Airvan time.

Glenorchy Air, and Air Milford has taken in new pilots with the right attitude, pop in and talk and have a good yarn to the owners.

best thing to do is visit each company and see what they are after, a cold call to the desk is much more effective than an emailed CV. Airvan time is also an advantage as most operators have or are ditching the 206/7s for the GA8.

[On Track]

Some good info there from konev.

However, just to clarify, the Wakatipu Aero Club still exists even though it was kicked out of its home.

The commercial arm, Air Wakatipu, is operating from different premises.

For reasons that are too involved to recount here -- and which you might find hard to believe -- there is no flight training happening from NZQN just at the moment.

However basic and advanced mountain flight training can still be organised through the aero club.

In particular those North Island training organisations that used to send pilots to Queenstown for mountain flying training should not jump to the conclusion that it's all over now.

The club can put you in touch with instructors who are legally current and also still involved in commercial ops in the region.