Making the trek up north...

OK - so it looks like I'll be heading up north in a few weeks to try my luck up there. Not an easy decision to cut loose on a career that pays multiples of what I'll be earning flying GA, but I'm still quite excited. I do realise that many companies up there are still holding back the hiring and taking the 'wait and see' approach, but hey, as the ad for the NT says, "you'll never never know".

So, anyone think I'm a total idiot?

Use it or lose it !

Give it 12 to 18 months , if it doesn't work out you can always go back to your day job.

Good luck !

Assuming I haven't burnt all my bridges! Thanks for the encouragement though :-)
Now need to decide whether I should drive, or sell my car and buy one up there.... not to mention the rest of the logistics of cleaning out a house!

Question for those who have 'been there done that' or 'currently doing it'. What is a typical salary/wage/casual rate for a brand new CPL working in a crappy little town in the outback? I realise it's peanuts, and I'm not expecting more - I'd just like to plan my finances from the start.

Drive your car, they're woth a fortune out there, a mate of mine sold a 98 magna for $6500, they're worth about $2500 max in melb :P

Not sure about wages sorry.

eocvictim is this magna blue??? and in darwin??

haha no it was silver close to Darwin but a bit further east. I'm sure it would be well known along with the good bloke who owns it :ok:

Peanuts is spot on! I was working casually getting anywhere between 100-400 a week. Was supplementing this working in a local pub which kept me afloat and often included a free dinner after work!:ok:

Moved up pretty quick and the longer with the company the more flights and $$ I got. After eighteen months was full time on about $40k.

Only folks that would pay that for a Magna would be the Clearprop family
Plenty of good cars here

I wonder what became of my 1971 holden kingswood, bought for $750 with jesus loves you stickers on the back window and used on that first trek up to darwin in search of work(1981). If l recall , the gearstick broke in Alice so much time wasted getting that sorted. Got all the way north to be told to FO by a certain operator..and drove back to mel, to carry on cleaning factory shytehouses. Never gave up as an offer presented itself 6 weeks later in Dysart QLD on an aztec, so nothing changes!

hey hardNfast what company where you at mate? took you 18 months to ove up? what year was this?

Was in the last decade up North. Some moved up faster than me, others slower. Dependant on how the industry was going at the time.

I would say everybody who has tried their hand up north has managed to get what they deserved
A lot have got more than they deserved I'm sure :hmm::rolleyes:

Its a long trek but by far the best way to get a job and some decent experience. Be willing to work remote, its a great start and good hours, and usually free accom and vehicle, which is a blessing when you only make $300 a week! Present well and be persistant, then hang on for the ride...

.... and watch out for persistent ants....:hmm:

couple of questions
 

Hey I'm heading up from Perth up to Broome with a few stops in between. Looking like this March, not the best timing but had to apply for leave etc from my current job and cheapest tickets etc.. got a couple of questions for you guys (some of whom seem to be in the know about Oz - i'm a kiwi...)

Is the time of the year going to make quite a big difference??

Does having 500 hours make a significant difference to employment chances as opposed to a 200/250 hr fresh cpl?

MEIR will have lapsed...will this make a big difference?

Does it help to chat with them and see if there's a possibility that they'll give me a call if something comes up later in the year? Does this even happen??

Thanks for your help in advance, I'm trying to make the most of the time I have there so any advice is appreciated.

If i've posted in the wrong forum let me know and i'll remove and repost...

We won't hold that against you too much :}

Don't get there much later than March.

Any experience is better than none. There is also a thing as too much experience. 700 hours may have you out of the running for Leos, but well placed for BAS or BAV.

If you're expecting a multi engine job then yes. If not, then no.

No chance, especially when there are guys still there from last season. Get to town, find a non aviation job or find a tree to climb like the rest of the green pilots waiting for a chance at a start and wait it out.

thanks
 

cheers guys. thanks for the advice

Paperbag,

It is hard work mate, especially when you see some of the lucky ones get the dream run (9 months to C441 for example) but unfortunately its all about timing up in the top end.

Like so many people have said before me, your best best is to pick a location and settle in there, work a servo job or whatever to make ends meet, and keep pestering the operators until they give you a job...even an ops job is better than nothing some times because you have a foot in the door and you KNOW when they will recruit next.

Having less than 400 hrs is hard but there are operators that will hire you depending on their need for pilots. My suggestions for low time pilots:

Darwin:
Air Frontier
Barrier (maybe)
Charter (even less likely)

Jabiru:
AAA Charter
Kakadu Air Charter (Services maybe?)

Oenpelli:
Gumbulunya

Katherine:
Katherine Aviation

Hooker Creek:
Lajimanu (not the correct spelling)

Hope that helps mate. Chin up, we've all been there before but when you come out the other side you'll be better off for it and you'll have great stories to tell!

:ok:

thankyou to everyone who posted all this useful info, great for us noobs:ok:

Ok well if anybody cares I'm making my drive up north from Melbourne on Monday (21st)... bit late I know but better late than never

Will probably go up thru the alice, KNX and up to broome and then I think I'll check out as much of the west coast as I can. I dont think I'll sit around in KNX and Broome due to what I've heard... so HOPEFULLY theres something out there in other places

Will post once in a blue moon on here advising of my failures and eventual success (hopefully!)

:)