RFDS feeling effects of global pilot shortage
These things help to keep them safe and makes their operations more efficient. Amazing enhancements to situational awareness.
Don’t anyone start with ‘its too distracting they forget the basics blah blah blah...’ there are plenty of good pilots out there using this stuff. You’d be a bad pilot if you didn’t.
I bet their wizz wheel forefathers would’ve put an iPad in their flight bag if it had been available to them.
Young pilots find it hard to stick it out in GA with bad pay and dodgy employers for enough time to make RFDS minimums. In the meantime airlines often offer a quicker path to stable employment.
Back in the old days progression into the airlines was harder and the RFDS was a good option for a pilot who had served his bush apprenticeship but missed out on QF/Ansett/TAA. It was a more secure and better paid option then charter or night freight. Due to the poor conditions in GA, it wasn't difficult for the RFDS to offer a better deal. A stable job with an employer who wouldn't go bust was a big attraction for an older pilot with a family and a mortgage.
These days GA is drying up and new pilots are spending far less time up north and out west before moving on to a better job. Even good employers are having difficulty in attracting and retaining the sort of pilots they want, the bad ones who previously got away with paying below the award just get laughed at.
The pool that the RFDS previously looked to recruit from has shrunk, they aren't competing with third level operators for pilots now and need to improve the package.
These days GA is drying up and new pilots are spending far less time up north and out west before moving on to a better job. Even good employers are having difficulty in attracting and retaining the sort of pilots they want, the bad ones who previously got away with paying below the award just get laughed at.
The pool that the RFDS previously looked to recruit from has shrunk, they aren't competing with third level operators for pilots now and need to improve the package.
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I wonder if when the wizz wheel was introduced people decried its use as only by those who could not handle a little real arithmetic and hence were not as good in the arcane art of piloting an infernal device from one place to another.
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A year working for the RFDS was a good experience, but it changed me and by the end of it I no longer had any desire to fly commercially ever again. I went back to my old job (non aviation) and now I have a much better life and so many more prospects and opportunities. I no longer have to deal with all the negative things about commercial aviation in Australia and I no longer have to worry about putting food on the table and being able to leave something for my kids.
Only 9 months have passed but I will never look back. I have no class 1, no IPC, no ASIC. Things couldn't be better.
The RFDS has a lot of problems but they are their problems, not mine. Interestingly, soon after I left 2 more pilots left from the same base. They both went back to their old jobs.
"The best job in GA" , well maybe. That is for the individual to decide.
A year with the RFDS cured me of my aviation sickness (or addiction)
Only 9 months have passed but I will never look back. I have no class 1, no IPC, no ASIC. Things couldn't be better.
The RFDS has a lot of problems but they are their problems, not mine. Interestingly, soon after I left 2 more pilots left from the same base. They both went back to their old jobs.
"The best job in GA" , well maybe. That is for the individual to decide.
A year with the RFDS cured me of my aviation sickness (or addiction)
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A year working for the RFDS was a good experience, but it changed me and by the end of it I no longer had any desire to fly commercially ever again. I went back to my old job (non aviation) and now I have a much better life and so many more prospects and opportunities. I no longer have to deal with all the negative things about commercial aviation in Australia and I no longer have to worry about putting food on the table and being able to leave something for my kids.
Only 9 months have passed but I will never look back. I have no class 1, no IPC, no ASIC. Things couldn't be better.
The RFDS has a lot of problems but they are their problems, not mine. Interestingly, soon after I left 2 more pilots left from the same base. They both went back to their old jobs.
"The best job in GA" , well maybe. That is for the individual to decide.
A year with the RFDS cured me of my aviation sickness (or addiction)
Only 9 months have passed but I will never look back. I have no class 1, no IPC, no ASIC. Things couldn't be better.
The RFDS has a lot of problems but they are their problems, not mine. Interestingly, soon after I left 2 more pilots left from the same base. They both went back to their old jobs.
"The best job in GA" , well maybe. That is for the individual to decide.
A year with the RFDS cured me of my aviation sickness (or addiction)
RFDS central
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Hi Everyone,
My post recently was one of a general experience in aviation but I would like to clarify now that I have had many jobs and the 1 year I worked for the RFDS South Eastern Section was the worst job I have had in my life. I have been fortunate to work for some fantastic individuals who have helped me progress in the industry and trusted me with their machines, their livelihoods and their reputations. Many of these jobs I have had have been very low paid financially. The RFDS job was a higher paying job, but I paid a much higher price with the way I was treated. When I compare back to the early days there is no comparison for me. Chalk and Cheese. If something ever happened to me one day whilst I was on the clock for the RFDS I know just how shafted I would be. It is not a comfortable situation to be in.
After 6 months in the job I told them to get stuffed and gave them 6 months notice. They left me alone for 6 months and I walked out the door on the last day my instrument rating was valid.
It is a small industry and mates look after each other.
Don't go and work for these clowns.
I used to donate money to the RFDS. I could not bring myself to do that anymore.
Very disappointing.
You have been warned. If anyone would like information please PM me.
I am not on here very often so please be patient with replies
Cheers
My post recently was one of a general experience in aviation but I would like to clarify now that I have had many jobs and the 1 year I worked for the RFDS South Eastern Section was the worst job I have had in my life. I have been fortunate to work for some fantastic individuals who have helped me progress in the industry and trusted me with their machines, their livelihoods and their reputations. Many of these jobs I have had have been very low paid financially. The RFDS job was a higher paying job, but I paid a much higher price with the way I was treated. When I compare back to the early days there is no comparison for me. Chalk and Cheese. If something ever happened to me one day whilst I was on the clock for the RFDS I know just how shafted I would be. It is not a comfortable situation to be in.
After 6 months in the job I told them to get stuffed and gave them 6 months notice. They left me alone for 6 months and I walked out the door on the last day my instrument rating was valid.
It is a small industry and mates look after each other.
Don't go and work for these clowns.
I used to donate money to the RFDS. I could not bring myself to do that anymore.
Very disappointing.
You have been warned. If anyone would like information please PM me.
I am not on here very often so please be patient with replies
Cheers
Seasonally Adjusted
moving to places like Meekatharra and Kalgoorlie etc to fly single engine turbine with the experience that RFDS are chasing is becoming harder to justify. Most guys with that time have already done the country stint and it would be a backward step career wise. HR types and insurance companies are still all about ME time. Jets aren’t for everyone but living in those towns isn’t for many either
Meekatharra, population just over 1000, high crime rate, 2 pubs, 1 supermarket. Not much to do, and a long drive to Geraldton or Perth to get to the coast.
Kalgoorlie, population over 30 000, plenty of places to eat out, good sporting facilities, 4 hours from Esperance, 6 from Perth. It's basically an inland city, without all the traffic and hassles of Perth.
I lived in Kal for 15 years and had a great time. The town does go through its ups and downs, according to the mining cycle, but it's still a great place to live. Oh, and don't believe all that BS on Kalgoorlie Cops!
In Westops, Kal was usually the second favourite base, after JT. Broome has probably secured that spot now.
Hi Everyone,
My post recently was one of a general experience in aviation but I would like to clarify now that I have had many jobs and the 1 year I worked for the RFDS South Eastern Section was the worst job I have had in my life. I have been fortunate to work for some fantastic individuals who have helped me progress in the industry and trusted me with their machines, their livelihoods and their reputations. Many of these jobs I have had have been very low paid financially. The RFDS job was a higher paying job, but I paid a much higher price with the way I was treated. When I compare back to the early days there is no comparison for me. Chalk and Cheese. If something ever happened to me one day whilst I was on the clock for the RFDS I know just how shafted I would be. It is not a comfortable situation to be in.
After 6 months in the job I told them to get stuffed and gave them 6 months notice. They left me alone for 6 months and I walked out the door on the last day my instrument rating was valid.
It is a small industry and mates look after each other.
Don't go and work for these clowns.
I used to donate money to the RFDS. I could not bring myself to do that anymore.
Very disappointing.
You have been warned. If anyone would like information please PM me.
I am not on here very often so please be patient with replies
Cheers
My post recently was one of a general experience in aviation but I would like to clarify now that I have had many jobs and the 1 year I worked for the RFDS South Eastern Section was the worst job I have had in my life. I have been fortunate to work for some fantastic individuals who have helped me progress in the industry and trusted me with their machines, their livelihoods and their reputations. Many of these jobs I have had have been very low paid financially. The RFDS job was a higher paying job, but I paid a much higher price with the way I was treated. When I compare back to the early days there is no comparison for me. Chalk and Cheese. If something ever happened to me one day whilst I was on the clock for the RFDS I know just how shafted I would be. It is not a comfortable situation to be in.
After 6 months in the job I told them to get stuffed and gave them 6 months notice. They left me alone for 6 months and I walked out the door on the last day my instrument rating was valid.
It is a small industry and mates look after each other.
Don't go and work for these clowns.
I used to donate money to the RFDS. I could not bring myself to do that anymore.
Very disappointing.
You have been warned. If anyone would like information please PM me.
I am not on here very often so please be patient with replies
Cheers
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I have to agree with you there Morno, I've got a few mates that have been thru the SE section of the RFDS, best job they ever had they always mention so something doesn't add up with that one post?
Join Date: May 2006
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I ask you WHY do the RFDS allegedly have a problem employing and then retaining pilots for their operation? 130 or so earlier posters have gone back and forth on this topic, most of whom probably have no idea of what it's like to work for the RFDS TODAY.
Then a fairly recent past-employee posts about the experience and you and a couple of others are happy to suggest that there is something relevant he/she is not telling us. I would have thought that the post in question makes it clear that there was a personality clash, but you want to imply there was something more sinister at play. After all, who wouldn't want to work for the RFDS because "a few mates reckon it was the best job they ever had", really, when was that and how irrelevant is that?
There is also a current employee posting, trying to tell us of how it is TODAY, mostly in negative terms, but no he/she is considered a malcontent who "wants it all"
If you know something, I for one would like to hear about it.
Déjà Vu,
I know several people who currently work for that section and I definitely do not hear comments like that about working there. In fact the comments are so far from that posted by the previous poster that it does make me wonder if maybe there was something else at play that isn’t being told.
What was possibly so bad that they were left tainted forever? I know some people may not always enjoy working for particular companies, but what could possibly happen that they would get onto a public forum and bash them to that extent?
I have several years of working for one of the sections of the RFDS, but it probably wasn’t recent enough that I could give any valid commentary on their current retention problems.
However, aviation in Australia*as a whole is also very different than what it was 10-15 years ago. There’s a different generation of pilots who just want to skip over all that GA stuff and move straight to a jet. Most of these will never return back to GA and fill roles in companies like the RFDS. Also, at least when I worked there, the job is not the same as it was 20+ years ago, when people were happy to retire in that job. It was a busy, hard job. Sure you got lots of days off generally, but when you were at work, the duties were often 12+ hours, and the additional tasks you carry out just helps add to that fatigue. There’s a lot of night flying, most years I was there, at least 50-55% of my yearly total was night hours.
Flying part of it aside, yes there was some administrative changes over the whole organisation that probably made it less of that friendly company it was 20+ years ago, but I certainly wouldn’t say that I despised them to the point of getting on here and bashing the **** out of them.
I know several people who currently work for that section and I definitely do not hear comments like that about working there. In fact the comments are so far from that posted by the previous poster that it does make me wonder if maybe there was something else at play that isn’t being told.
What was possibly so bad that they were left tainted forever? I know some people may not always enjoy working for particular companies, but what could possibly happen that they would get onto a public forum and bash them to that extent?
I have several years of working for one of the sections of the RFDS, but it probably wasn’t recent enough that I could give any valid commentary on their current retention problems.
However, aviation in Australia*as a whole is also very different than what it was 10-15 years ago. There’s a different generation of pilots who just want to skip over all that GA stuff and move straight to a jet. Most of these will never return back to GA and fill roles in companies like the RFDS. Also, at least when I worked there, the job is not the same as it was 20+ years ago, when people were happy to retire in that job. It was a busy, hard job. Sure you got lots of days off generally, but when you were at work, the duties were often 12+ hours, and the additional tasks you carry out just helps add to that fatigue. There’s a lot of night flying, most years I was there, at least 50-55% of my yearly total was night hours.
Flying part of it aside, yes there was some administrative changes over the whole organisation that probably made it less of that friendly company it was 20+ years ago, but I certainly wouldn’t say that I despised them to the point of getting on here and bashing the **** out of them.