RFDS Remuneration
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Check out the WA section site - it's a little less hard on the eyes and I think Qld is even better - and some of those places would have to be cheaper to live (with RFDS housing subsidies etc) than Sydney...
Join Date: Sep 2006
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It's contractual, EBA sanctioned, you won't get another cent! Accept for O/T & a few allowances.
Simply put there's not enough money in the Gov coffers for any more where it's a contract which is what the SE section is based upon.
CW
Simply put there's not enough money in the Gov coffers for any more where it's a contract which is what the SE section is based upon.
CW
Join Date: Sep 2006
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G'Day Kev9.
Not sure what the Dr's & nurses are on (money wise, not drugs) 'cause the RFDS have nothing to do with them in ML for Eg.
I know 63K for a C&T Capt is poor !
CW
Not sure what the Dr's & nurses are on (money wise, not drugs
) 'cause the RFDS have nothing to do with them in ML for Eg.I know 63K for a C&T Capt is poor !
CW
Base maybe $50 odd Gs, but add $5000 odd for IFR allowance, Roughly $3800 for ATPL allowance and $4000 roughtly for turbo pop allowance. Its actually about $65K base with those fixed allowances. Other allowances (incl O/T, meal allow, sal sac, extra days) and the package would be closer to $75 to $80 odd, wouldnt you agree Capt Wally. Best company I ever worked for.
Sprucegoose
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hughes Point, where life is great! Was also resident on page 13, but now I'm lost in Cyberspace....
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ps. Check and Training B200 Captain on $63k.
Not much compared to some, but a lot of people work at the RFDS for reasons other than money alone...
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Hi Ga Boy, I turst yr shinning that L/H seat looking out the window watching for sharks on yr way up the coast (Capt does it upon return)
Hasselhof I know I don't fly for the money alone, I actually enjoy it & would be happy to do it for free but we all know we need money so the tax man can keep the freeways open so I can get to work to make the money that I wouldn't have if I didn't need it the first place, (damn my glass is M/T !)..........it's a vicious circle
Being in the Aeromedical game the rewards are sometimes worth all the sadness that I/we see.
So how's it going with you "HH" ??
CW
Hasselhof I know I don't fly for the money alone, I actually enjoy it & would be happy to do it for free but we all know we need money so the tax man can keep the freeways open so I can get to work to make the money that I wouldn't have if I didn't need it the first place, (damn my glass is M/T !)..........it's a vicious circle
Being in the Aeromedical game the rewards are sometimes worth all the sadness that I/we see.So how's it going with you "HH" ??
CW
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Just to clarify what green gorilla posted - the Pearl aeromed base is not quite right. Firstly it starts at 65K and moves up with years of service -after 3 years your just nudging 69k and so on. Aeromed captains also receive a fixed annual premium of 10k. After that various allowances over the 12 months can add a further 2500+ depending on what you do and where you do it.
As HH said for some of us its not just the money - I love my job but at 3am in the morning it's hard to swallow that the guys and gals in the mine below me are doubling my money with many remote area and company benefits that make a grown man cry.
As HH said for some of us its not just the money - I love my job but at 3am in the morning it's hard to swallow that the guys and gals in the mine below me are doubling my money with many remote area and company benefits that make a grown man cry.
Sprucegoose
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hughes Point, where life is great! Was also resident on page 13, but now I'm lost in Cyberspace....
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Things are going good with me thanks Wally!
I have to say like Wally, I too enjoy the work!
I always dreamed of flying at the RFDS and finally got enough experience to join (which by the way is at least 3 times that required to get into any airline). The actual flying is what can only be described as 'full on', but at the end of the day it is extremely satisfying and rewarding.
There are many people who have worked at the RFDS for in excess of ten years and others who have been there for over twenty!: Not many other GA operators can boast that sort of longevity from their employees.
All in all the RFDS is a great job, but it's not for everybody, horses for courses I guess!
I have to say like Wally, I too enjoy the work!
I always dreamed of flying at the RFDS and finally got enough experience to join (which by the way is at least 3 times that required to get into any airline). The actual flying is what can only be described as 'full on', but at the end of the day it is extremely satisfying and rewarding.
There are many people who have worked at the RFDS for in excess of ten years and others who have been there for over twenty!: Not many other GA operators can boast that sort of longevity from their employees.
All in all the RFDS is a great job, but it's not for everybody, horses for courses I guess!
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...but at 3am in the morning it's hard to swallow that the guys and gals in the mine below me are doubling my money with many remote area and company benefits that make a grown man cry
I know several doctors that work out bush because of the mix of the mundane and the exciting thanks to 24/h on call periods with both GP, procedural and A&E work, though not a single one of them would be doing it if they were going to be earning 1/2 of their contemporaries in the city (medical and surgical specialties aside). I know personally that ED / ICU / HDU work can be both exciting, incredibly satisfying and at times emotionally challenging, but is there something else that RFDS type flying gives that you don't get in say a regional or major airline which in some way makes up for the pay difference?
Edit:
Sorry HH, I was writing my reply and missed your last. It seems as though its something that you try and either get addicted to or leave. Fair enough
I've got a bit of a medical background and would love to give it a go one day, but I don't think I'd ever consider it for life... but maybe I'll just have to wait and see
Sprucegoose
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hughes Point, where life is great! Was also resident on page 13, but now I'm lost in Cyberspace....
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Hasselhof, there isn't any 24 stand by anymore, well not in SE section at least! People seem to think there is some great impost on your social life, it is just not so!
Guys at the remote bases do 12 hour stand-by's, daytime at the base, night time at home. The less remote bases tend to work eight hour shifts as this is Government contract work. Probably the tough part are the night shifts, but you only get around two per fortnight and if there is no work, you sleep.
There is plenty of time off to have the odd ale or two, and at my base we fly around 500 hours per year, that is far less than those pounding the skies with regionals or low cost carriers!
All in all enjoyable work and a good lifestyle!
Cheers, HH.
PS The bub is going great thanks Muffin!
Guys at the remote bases do 12 hour stand-by's, daytime at the base, night time at home. The less remote bases tend to work eight hour shifts as this is Government contract work. Probably the tough part are the night shifts, but you only get around two per fortnight and if there is no work, you sleep.
There is plenty of time off to have the odd ale or two, and at my base we fly around 500 hours per year, that is far less than those pounding the skies with regionals or low cost carriers!
All in all enjoyable work and a good lifestyle!
Cheers, HH.
PS The bub is going great thanks Muffin!
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Sorry Hasselhof I didn't see your reply before and would have chucked something in earlier. Speaking from my own perspective - things I get out of this job - every day/task/job is different - from twiddling thumbs to running around like a blue ar$e fly - you don't know what the world is going to dish up - working closely with the medical staff - meeting the poor buggers that work in the community - and being part of a friendly team - using your skills to get a patient somewhere to give them a shot at better medical care - getting a thumbs up from the patient as they go into the ambo (unfortunately a bit rare to see this but hey its cultural) -lots of situational changes and challenges - a pretty good lifestyle generally - some do better with their time than others etc etc oh and a great aircraft to boot just wish it had some glass and talked to me a bit more. Can't see myself doing anything else
. Can't see myself doing anything else
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.....................but is there something else that RFDS type flying gives that you don't get in say a regional or major airline which in some way makes up for the pay difference?
There's no exact answer to that "hasselhof" other than to say YOU (as in the SP) makes all the decisions. It's pretty much straight forward most of the time & almost anybody in here could do it but, & this is why they (the RFDS) req higher mins than the majors.
It's 3 am, pooring rain & awfully dark, no moon, total cloud cover almost to the ground with TS in the area. The winds at ground level are fiece, rough as guts. Your the only pilot on board. You have 3 medical people with zillions of bucks worth of vital equiptment. There's a young child out in the bush somewhere who's been hit by a drunk driver (trust me we hear this all the time). The child is critical, the childrens hospital are desperate to get their med team to the outdated country town hosspital. You ride the bucking horse all the way to the strip & after making 3 approaches you get visual & fight the limiting x-wind. You land very exhausted, join the team in the hossy & wait for them to stabalize the child for flight. Your told that you we need a sea lvl cabin (due head injuries) thus potentially putting us in the thick of it on the way home. They fight to keep the child alive, we as a team struggle to load the child in the rain & secure her (girl, typical) to the A/C's stretcher. Once aboard the whole ordeal goes in reverse. Bouncing around trying to keep the ship steady isn't easy as they work hard to make it all happen back there in the cramped cabin.
........................we finally land back at the base airport after a wild approach. The girl finally gets the help she needs, this one survives ............not all do....................................perhaps that's 'the something else', that's why money doesn't come into it one bit !
......no it's not a 'story', it happens & all to often !
Sorry sounds like drama I know, but those out there,like me feel every now & then that flying is just being part of a much needed team where money has zip to so with it !
..............it's called "SATISFACTION", something that RPT rarely experience 'cause to most it's a just a job at the end of the day.
CW
There's no exact answer to that "hasselhof" other than to say YOU (as in the SP) makes all the decisions. It's pretty much straight forward most of the time & almost anybody in here could do it but, & this is why they (the RFDS) req higher mins than the majors.
It's 3 am, pooring rain & awfully dark, no moon, total cloud cover almost to the ground with TS in the area. The winds at ground level are fiece, rough as guts. Your the only pilot on board. You have 3 medical people with zillions of bucks worth of vital equiptment. There's a young child out in the bush somewhere who's been hit by a drunk driver (trust me we hear this all the time). The child is critical, the childrens hospital are desperate to get their med team to the outdated country town hosspital. You ride the bucking horse all the way to the strip & after making 3 approaches you get visual & fight the limiting x-wind. You land very exhausted, join the team in the hossy & wait for them to stabalize the child for flight. Your told that you we need a sea lvl cabin (due head injuries) thus potentially putting us in the thick of it on the way home. They fight to keep the child alive, we as a team struggle to load the child in the rain & secure her (girl, typical) to the A/C's stretcher. Once aboard the whole ordeal goes in reverse. Bouncing around trying to keep the ship steady isn't easy as they work hard to make it all happen back there in the cramped cabin.
........................we finally land back at the base airport after a wild approach. The girl finally gets the help she needs, this one survives ............not all do
....................................perhaps that's 'the something else', that's why money doesn't come into it one bit !......no it's not a 'story', it happens & all to often !
Sorry sounds like drama I know, but those out there,like me feel every now & then that flying is just being part of a much needed team where money has zip to so with it !
..............it's called "SATISFACTION", something that RPT rarely experience 'cause to most it's a just a job at the end of the day.
CW
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Just to clarify something here.
I am sure Capt Wally would agree(along with all the other drivers who do this type of operation).
The situation going on in the back or on the ground to where you are headed does not change the decisions that need to be made. I can guess that Capt Wally would have taken the fatigue/Wx/strip conditions and all the other requirements into account in his example. Being single pilot in these environments is at times a challenge. But as said above, there are times it is very rewarding.
I am sure Capt Wally would agree(along with all the other drivers who do this type of operation).
The situation going on in the back or on the ground to where you are headed does not change the decisions that need to be made. I can guess that Capt Wally would have taken the fatigue/Wx/strip conditions and all the other requirements into account in his example. Being single pilot in these environments is at times a challenge. But as said above, there are times it is very rewarding.
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Maxgrad yr exactly right there, perhaps I should have added to that rather dramatic post that there's nothing that would make us do that if ALL wasn't within the law as well as personal limits.
Fatigue is a grey area at times, what one pilot feels is ok to do the task another may feel it's beyond his own level of well being. There's no use 'trying' unless it's 'try-able'. Several dead is not an option/acceptable outcome. At times the stress level can be enormous,(another grey area) the decisions made can obviously mean life or death, but again nothing is worth going beyond an 'acceptable risk'. Flying in itself is a risk, it's a variable risk that can only be based & decided upon an individuals assement at the time. Aeromedical flying has been going on since Adam was a boy, where there's assistance needed we'll be there if at all possible!
CW
Fatigue is a grey area at times, what one pilot feels is ok to do the task another may feel it's beyond his own level of well being. There's no use 'trying' unless it's 'try-able'. Several dead is not an option/acceptable outcome. At times the stress level can be enormous,(another grey area) the decisions made can obviously mean life or death, but again nothing is worth going beyond an 'acceptable risk'. Flying in itself is a risk, it's a variable risk that can only be based & decided upon an individuals assement at the time. Aeromedical flying has been going on since Adam was a boy, where there's assistance needed we'll be there if at all possible!
CW