RFDS Positions

[wilburworm]

Has anyone heard or know of people that have heard regarding the RFDS position advertised last month?Has anyone heard what is happening with the Air Ambulance contract in Sydney?

[swab]

Apparently they received a couple of boxes full of applications and so it took them a while to sort the wheat from the chaff.
They were about to send out responses on Thursday 26th. Sept. although possibly only to the wheat.
So, if you aint heard by mid next week, you aint gunna!
:(

[Echo Beech]

Last I heard was that most of the current staff will be offered to stay on

[wilburworm]

Echo Beach , what do you mean about staff staying on.Which base are you talking about.

[Echo Beech]

Staff at the Sydney base currently employed by Pearl will be offered positions on the new contract, or so I am led to believe

[wilburworm]

Thanks Echo Beach! Does that mean RFDS won the contract for the Air Ambulance in Sydney?

[Echo Beech]

at this stage yes it does, how ever there are some conditions that need to be met and it is yet to be officially released

[Pass-A-Frozo]

What sort of hours were they looking for etc. (sorry, missed the add - just curious).

PAF

[Aussie Freight Dog]

Wilburworm, got a letter in the mail today saying that there are currently no positions and that i am on the active hold file.

AFD;)

[wilburworm]

well done AFD, hope it happens for you. Just out of interest , what type of hours and experience do you ( or anyone that got a letter)have ,to give us an insight what they are looking for?

[Echo Beech]

To get into the NSWAA side of the contract the pilot experience requirements are outside the control of the RFDS. The Ambulance service require something like 3000TT 1000Twin Time 500 Turbine, 100 on type, 100 at night, 3 renewals, ATPL and all pilot names must go before the AA before they will take you on. But that is off the top of my head and from memory the hours may differ slightly but not much. The bottom line really is, if the NSWAA staff don't like you or how you fly, then you will be gone. In the two years I have been there I have seen two pilots go with 24 hours notice. The contract states that the Ambulance service do not need to give the contractor a reason as to why they do not want a particular pilot on line. They ususally do give a reason though. So just because you are the ace of aero space does not mean you will keep your position on line. It is amazing the power of the flight nurses union. If they don't want you, you don't stay. But if you do get in, it is a great place to work. Very demanding and high workload at times but very satisfying

[alky]

If it is the RFDS that take over, I would suggest that there standards of recruiting are equal to if not more demanding than those of the NSWAA.

Although there minimum requirements reflect less hours, the new recruits always well and truely exceed them and with the number unemployed out there at the moment, if holes need to be filled, there's plenty of quality to choose from.

The RFDS will abide by the employment conditions of the new contract, but they will want a pretty strong argument from AA as to why they want someone, who meets RFDS standards and has been successfully checked to line after a great deal of time and money has been invested in them, to leave the base.

Echo , just out of interest, how many guys in your base do you think will move on, if any, or not be given a start by the new contractor?

Good luck to all in Sydney. If they get it, the RFDS on the whole is a pretty good mob to work for.

[Echo Beech]

Not sure at this stage, it is all dependent on the money that the RFDS are going to offer. At this stage to my knowledge, no one has been contacted. We were all up for a new EBA with some increases in salary :cool: but know one knows what is going to happen yet :rolleyes:. I feel that for some, the cost of living in Sydney will kill off a few if they don't come up with a similar package and some will move over to Qlink if they can get in. I just hope it all comes out in the wash in the long term. ;)

[wilburworm]

Thanks ECHO BEACH for all the info. I got the same letter as AFD, probably a standard letter to all that applied.Echo could you tell us when the Pearl contract finishes and the RFDS is due to take over.

[Sum Ting Wong]

Hope that all the new "wheat" are ready for the job if they get posted to SSY, the job is no walk in the park, its one of the toughest gigs in the country. Its a damn shame to see a company that has pioneered the flying in SSY AA lose the contract to an organisation that goes in cheap, enjoys tax breaks and handouts and after 12 months begs for donations. I sincerely hope that they do the right thing and keep those men and women currently in SSY who do a very professional job and have standards which RFDS can only dream about.

[Echo Beech]

1st Jan 2003 but it is yet to be officially signed off. We will just have to sit tight and see. I'm sure some of the current pilots may move on to other pastures yet, lets wait and see

[Beech Boy]

Sum Ting Wong:
Quote:
"Pioneered the Flying in SSY" - maybe you could give a brief history of their long pioneering involvement in SY NSWAA???

Quote:
"an organisation that goes in cheap, enjoys tax breaks and handouts and after 12 months begs for donations. I sincerely hope that they do the right thing and keep those men and women currently in SSY who do a very professional job and have standards which RFDS can only dream about."

There is a gem for you:
In one para. you have created a picture of anti competitive financial stature, impropriety, defrauding donors, and professional incapacity- well done!!!

Maybe the ATO, ACCC and CASA would be grateful for your information and insight.

STW, spare a kinder and more balanced thought for all the very professional hard working RFDS crews all round Australia that you have so blatantly slurred and berated. These people are worthy of much more credit than your post indicates.

Your brief summary of a very fine organisation is inappropriate and highly inaccurate.

So.........STW, I take it that you won't be making a donation this year HUH!!

[alidad]

The RFDS must decide if it is a charitable organisation or a commercial one. It is WRONG that they able to 'win' these contracts against commercial operators, then the next day go to the public, cry poor, and bludge more money from them.

PARTICULARLY WHEN THE QUEENSLAND SECTION ALLEGEDLY HAS
$20 MILLION PLUS surplus to requirements invested while doing the 'tin rattling'.

[Ivana Tinkle]

alidad

You might want to check facts first before making those accusations.

Any commercial operation that the RFDS enters into has to be able to support itself without the help of charity.

Fundraising is for traditional ops. that genuinely need the money to keep those services running. They don't cry poor for no reason.

Let me make this crystal clear to you now. The RFDS, like any other commercial operator competing for these contracts, would have no problem pulling out of the tender process if it found the contract to be unviable but it will also be very competitive. Why the he!l shouldn't it be?

[Echo Beech]

somebody's touched an open wound :eek:

[wilburworm]

I agree Echo , its a pity that this kind of thread turns out to be a bun fight when some of us are trying to get some honest/good info.
Back to what was being discussed,Does any one know if the RFDS are going to use Kingairs or PC12,s for the SY Ambo contract.

[goneferrying]

We've been told it'll be B200s.

PC12s have been ruled out by the NSW government.

I dunno much about PC12s, so I'm not bagging them. I have had to shut down a donk in a B200 though, and was glad I had another!

[Echo Beech]

The original tender called for B200's less than 5 years old or X number of hours, must be old age I forget I think it was 2000HTT but the revised tender (lol) called for brand spanking new shiney ones :D
As for the PC12's I'm sure they are a nice AC, how ever when boeing bring out a single engine AC to travel SY-LAX and I get a promise that the engine won't fail late at night over Katoomba (lets face it trying to glide between the Three Sisters at night would be no fun) :eek: then I may be convinced. I guess that is why some one came up with a redundancy plan with two engines for AC a long time ago ;)

[alky]

After some debate, I believe the govt decided it was more appropriate to have twins rather than singles on govt contracts, as a requirement for twins has apparently been a policy for some time now in carrying of public servants. The tenderers and suppliers of the s/e aircraft were not happy.

[wilburworm]

Good luck to all the current AA pilots, I hope you guys and girls get the first bite of the cherry in the new shinny machines! If I was in your position I would be in the Ambulance bosses ear telling them you guys were loyal to them for the past years , so they should in turn look after those crews.In the new contract are they going to stay with the same number of Aircraft?

[Echo Beech]

Thanks wilbur :D same number of AC but mate I can tell you that there are very few general aviation companies that look after their employees on a financial scale, unfortunately the power of the mighty dollar and the willingness for other less experienced pilots looking to further their careers and prostitute themselves out for a short term loss in GA for a long term gain the the majors costs the rest of the GA community in the long run. But that's life and I guess it's supply and demand. It would be nice to find an employer with the moral fibre to change that, but in charter in particular if they try then the other charter companies the bleed their crew for money get the jobs. As I said, the power of the almighty dollar. It would be nice to see someone like the AFAP with some balls and power again to help us, as if every company increased the pay of the crew that would be passed on the the consumer in a global move, thereby allowing the playing feild to remain the same :( :( but then I think I saw a pig at FL180 yesterday lol
I am led to believe that if a company like Easterns (for example only) were to have won the contract they were going to be asked to make sure that any pilots coming through the AA would have to stay for a minimum of two years before being allowed to go into the airline leg. When East West and Sky West had the contract it was good breeding ground to train their pilots up. Most pilots that have moved on from the AA in SY have found good jobs, I guess as if you can survive single pilot IFR out of SY you could survive in any airspace in the world. IMHO

[wilburworm]

Any movement at the station, It has all gone very quiet!

[Echo Beech]

nope still waiting to hear, if something happens I'll let you know

[wilburworm]

Zed , Have you been given an interview or just interested in the process. I have talked to alot of people and no one seems to know exactly what proceedure they follow.

[wilburworm]

Are all the Pilots getting interviews Kingair endorsed? If you find out could you post to keep us informed.Thanks

[Relaxed Redback]

WA and Southeast branches have both advertised for hold positions.
Any word on Qld branch requirements ? How often do they recruit ? Do they have much of a turnover.? It would be good to hear from anyone working there.!

[swab]

RELAXED REDBACK;

Apparently RFDS Qld doesn't advertise. Turn over since Ansett collapse appears to have slowed movement of pilots.
They've just filled 2 positions recently at their inland bases.

With regard to SE section, I understand that ambo's may be on interview panel with tech. questions being the norm as well as scenarios such as "If a doctor/paramedic insisted that you needed to land at an aerodrome due to a critically ill patient, but this was against your better judgement (e.g. weather/fuel/strip condition) what would you do, knowing that the patient may die if you didn't land" etc..

[wilburworm]

Do the Pearl Aviation Pilots have to go through the same process?
Can anyone else that has got an interview let us know what hours experience etc they have. Good luck to all the Pilots that have interviews, and hopefully they will require more soon.

[Relaxed Redback]

I have heard that the experience / standards required are very high.
(Never heard a bad word said about the RFDS Qld.They do a great job.)
Good luck to all those with the required experience.No doubt ,one of the best jobs in Australian Aviation.

[Echo Beech]

Wilburworm, for experience levels, please see post that I placed at the start of this thread. The RFDS may have more strict rules regarding experience but I don't think so. It is the NSWAA contract that states the levels or experience etc:)

[FDI]

Relaxed Redback,

The Qld RFNS don’t need to advertise because of the ample supply of exarmy aviators being available for the positions that come up. So unless you are an exarmy aviator or belong to a religion that precludes you from working for an airline, then your chances are very low. Unfortunately another example of a boys club in aviation. As far as the experience requirements go they are constantly changing to suit the applicant at the time or to exclude an applicant.

After all this the turn over of pilots is very high for a supposedly ideal job in GA. Sad really, it is such a good use of an aeroplane.

N - Nursing.

[wilburworm]

Thanks Echo,
How are you Guys and Girls fairing so far?I was interested in my last post to see if the Pilots getting interviews were already Kingair endorsed.Only one person has responded so far, so if anyone else knows someone that has an interview could they let us know.The reason I ask is that I have double all the requirements that are required,but not a Kingair endorsement.

[Echo Beech]

Wilburworm AFAIK interviews were completed at the base on Friday, some of the current staff are moving on and I am led to believe there will be some on active hold having interviews in the next week. Mate, its a good job, you work hard but its a good job, put in an application can't hurt. :cool:

[wilburworm]

Probably a silly question,but what does AFAIK stand for.

[Crash & Burn]

AFAIK = 'As far as I know'

[AMRAAM]

Echo B

I have heard that a short black cappachino is moving on to Easties.

Can you shread any more light on were the others are going? or how many are trying to stay in the with the NSWAA contract?

Thanks, and what of yourself?

[Echo Beech]

Yes one has already left for Easterns, I know that one has left to fly a desk somewhere, but that remains to be seen. Another looks like flying real aircraft OS but also to be confirmed. Other than the one who has actually left the rest at this stage are unconfirmed rumours, I mean hey, that's what this industry lives on. As for me, I'll stick it out for a while and see how the water sits after a while. Bare in mind that no official offers have been made to anyone to my knowledge as yet. I am expecting to hear sometime with in the next week or so. They can't leave it too late, I believe penalties for dropping shifts in the new contract are quite severe. Lets hope five crew don't come down with the flu all in one week lol :rolleyes:

[Echo Beech]

Keep an eye out in this Fridays Australian:)