Information regarding the Top End
 

Hello fellow Aviation enthusiasts,

As i am heading up to the Northern Territory/ Western Australia mid next week i would like to get some information about a couple of things.

I am after information in regards to Accommodation, Aircraft hire, Means of Travel, Dining, Aero Clubs and all those hideaway places jobs as a low hours pilot could be found.

I have so far planned to head for Darwin and make my way down to Kununurra, Derby, Broome, Karratha, Alice Springs, Kalgoorlie.( Pretty much anywhere Big or small which an aviation service can be found)

Any information about places which could be a possible target would be much appreciated.

Just a reminder that i am as like most of us starting out on a budget.

Also if there are people who would make good contact please PM me as i am looking to meet and greet as many people as possible..

Thanks, Sky Pilot :ok:

Not sure if you have received any pm re the above thread but here is some info.
Not too sure of the current scene in Darwin but there used to be a pilots watering hole called the 'institute'i think it is near the flying school(s).

There is an aeroclub in Alice so that would be a good starting point there.

Kununurra,once again not sure but they have an active scene due,in part, the bungles also don't forget Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing,and Broome and Derby while i am at it.

Karatha KFS not sure there.
Kalgoorlie should still be okay due the gold mining(prices of gold still high),the operator there is GAS .

Do not underestimate the distances involved,not sure if u have wheels or not but consider a small tent and camp at van parks otherwise there is the trusty old backpackers.

Try and ring a couple of the operators and you may get a feel for what lies ahead.

I realise i have not given you a whole lot but have mentioned a couple of places that you may not have considered.

Max:ok:

Darwin

Hardy Aviation
Chartair
Direct Air
Air Frontier
Av8
Australasian Jet
Pearl
Vincent
Airnorth
Pel Air

Jabiru

AAA Air Charter
Kakadu Air Services

Alice Springs

Australasian Jet
Chartair
Pearl
Alice Springs Aero Club

Kunus

Alligator
Slingair
Shoal Air

Wyndham

Wydham Air Charter

Halls Creek

Broome Aviation base
Broome Skyways

Derby

Bushflight/Reeflight
Golden Eagle
RFDS

Broome

King Leopold Air
Broom Aviation
(several float plane operators)

Port Hedland

Polar Aviation
RFDS

Karratha

Karratha Flying Services
Tropic Air Karratha Base

Exmouth

Norwest Air Services

Carnarvon

Tropic Air

Shark Bay

Shark Bay Air Charter

Kalbarri

Kalbarri Air Charter

Geraldton

Shine Aviation Services
Geraldton Air Charter
Batavia Coast Air Charter

Kalgoorlie

Goldfields Air Services

There are a couple of smaller operators that I have more than likely forgotten but the vast majority are there.

great effort
 

Goblin wish you were around with that list when I started!

If i may I'll highlight the ones that would be most likely to employ young mate? Maybe if others could fill in the bits i'm not sure about..?

Green - 200-300 hr applicants
Red - 350-700 hr applicants
Blue - 1st twin job (700 - 1000 hr)
Black - 1st Turbine (1000 - 1500)
? - don't know

Basically you'll be black and blue by the time you've got your 500 multi!!:}
Bourketown

Savannah

Mt Isa

Air Mount Isa

Darwin

Hardy Aviation
Chartair
Direct Air ?
Air Frontier
Av8 ?
Pearl
Vincent
Airnorth
Pel Air

Jabiru

AAA Air Charter
Kakadu Air Services

Alice Springs

Australasian Jet ?
Chartair
Pearl
Alice Springs Aero Club ?

Kunus

Alligator
Slingair
Shoal Air ?

Weipa

Weipa Air

Wyndham

Wydham Air Charter ?

Halls Creek

Broome Aviation base ?
Broome Skyways ?

Derby

Bushflight/Reeflight ?
Golden Eagle
RFDS

Broome

King Leopold Air
Broome Aviation
(several float plane operators)

Port Hedland

Polar Aviation
RFDS

Karratha

Karratha Flying Services
Tropic Air Karratha Base

Exmouth

Norwest Air Services ?

Carnarvon

Tropic Air

Shark Bay

Shark Bay Air Charter ?

Kalbarri

Kalbarri Air ?

Geraldton

Shine Aviation Services ?
Geraldton Air Charter ?
Batavia Coast Air Charter ?

Kalgoorlie

Goldfields Air Services

Mr.Hat- Great manifest, when the time comes I'll be using it..I think we all owe you a beer :ok:

:uhoh: oops green goblin I ditto my last comment for you too!

Broome Aviation , you can start as green and come out black :ok:

As I have said many times on here before you are best off to dig into a location with a high chance of employment. Driving around is an option in the odd chance you are Johnny on the spot, but in days gone by it was a waiting game.

I'd be going to Kunus and digging in, working at the servo particularly the shell road house as most of the pilots get their luncho pies from there (god I miss 'em) and wait it out.

I'd then crack the tonne and head to Hardy in Darwin if the opportunity
presents although there are other options also.

It really is the wrong time of year though to be starting out, most of the hiring has finished and in another few months the firing will begin with the scenic operators or leave issued for the wet season to the guys that they want to come back the following year (and more and more will return as last seasons guys are not moving onto multi engine gigs and the multi engine guys are not moving onto turbine gigs, who in turn are not moving onto jets). The more senior guys (last seasons returners) fly the wet which is the most interesting time of year to fly. In days gone by you would need a couple of VFR wets before you had a crack at a multi engine job in Darwin (and 3000 single), that requirement was overlooked over the last couple of years but I'd bet my Christmas lunch it will rear its head again next year.

I'm all for guy's starting out, we have all been there and it is an adventure that only those who have left the city can understand. The flying is great, the conditions can be lousy but they make for far more interesting cockpit tales later down the track.

Keep me updated via PM (I extend that offer to all newbies) and I'll keep my ear to the floor at what is happening around the place and may be able to help you secure a start somewhere.

The list is all the work of the Green Goblin.

I agree with Goblins advice but add that you should be keeping the other locations on the "boil" as well if you can. I used to save up and plan trips that were combined with the occasional follow up call just to touch base once I had met the Senior or Chief pilot. Its not hard to keep your name close to the top of the list in many different companies like this.

A fellow I met right at the start of my journey told me to treat it like an adventure as opposed to a chore. However sometimes the getting changed and shaving in service stations started to feel a bit chore like after a while!

Added a couple to the list not sure if they are still running though...

I'm happy to update it if people know the details of the ones I'm unsure of.

Quite often helps to rock up with 20 hours on a 200 series cessna at a lot of these places. If it's your first job, odds are that's what you'll be flying.:ok:

A checkride is sufficient.

Chances are you'll be flying an Airvan these days, 210 is the carrot being dangled in front of your face if you behave and don't break too much.

I have over 400 hours in the Airvan, my arse is still sore!

Many thanks for the list guys...helps a heap with personal job research! cheers

Good luck guys and what a great list Goblin. :)

Whats with the Airvan seats? I'd rather be in a C152 any day when it comes to comfort...now thats saying something.

Our op still uses 206 and 210s (and a G1000 182:E). Not airvans, although agreed, they are becoming more common.

When I was looking around (admittedly many years back), most of the low time employers required the 20 hrs on type for insurance (if not 400TT) although you'll probably do at least this during your initial ICUS. Is this still the case?
GG?

You forgot a few operators in the NT. Katherine Aviation is pretty big these days, last time I heard they had around a dozen aircraft, probably more now as they took over all the Ausjet bases, Groote, Gove, Ngkurr etc.. Further south you have Helimuster at YVRD, they operate a 206 and even further south you have Lajamanu Air.

Hmmmm Ayers Rock Scenic Flights at Alice.... Gundabalya (sp?) Air Charters up at Oenpelli, Broome Air Services in Broome.. probably a few more.

You usually do about 5 hours ICUS for VFR and 10 for IFR before being let loose. It also depends on the insurance requirements for the operator.

Usually a checkride will be 0.5ish consisting of a few circuits in different configs (flap, half flap, flapless etc) they'll pull the power on you ATO and ask were you are going to land and perhaps later in the circuit see you conduct a glide approach from late downwind. (If you're flying a wide circuit cause you are not used to the speed of a 210 you won't make it) You'll then get a route check with the CP and do a few ICUS legs with the senior guys before being let loose on your own.

250TT used to be the ticket when I started, and 520/540 time is pretty good. If your school has a 182rg use it for your CPL as it has a 540 and retract with similar performance to a 210 (although the 540 is no 520 thats for sure)

Jandakot Flight Centre have a 210 (VH-MVQ) which they are happy to check you out on and may even give you some ICUS. (They do Perth to Shark Bay a few times a week) If you are from the East Coast you are best off to fly into Perth, buy a car, do a checkride on the 210 and drive up the West Coast. Cars in Darwin are over priced (2k will get you a $500 car) and they are even worse off in the country towns. Buy a cheap reliable (no Hyandai or the likes) 4 cyl with Aircon like a Toyota Corolla, Nissan Pulser etc chuck a spare set of belts in the back, cheap tools some oil/coolant and a spare water pump and hoses just in case.

This time of year it gets pretty cold at night in the tropics especially inland around Kununurra so don't make the mistake I did, take jumpers and jackets!!

Oh and never rock up in Pilot Uniform for an interview - dress to impress (no thongs flip flops or jandels) Take 3 blue shirts and 3 white (Alligator wear Khaki now, I believe and they look like Steve Irwin RIP) Invest in a GPS (Garmin 96/196/296 are the way to go)

There were lots of guys that didn't get work in Kunus this year (mainly Kiwis from what I heard) so don't take it to heart if you don't get work. If you are patient it will happen just don't lower your standards and work for below the award. Know your entitlements and if quized about what you would like to be paid always reply with the award.

GG

GG you seem to be pretty knowledgeable with these operators up north and your last post regarding shirts sparked up a question. Do these operators mind you wearing long sleeve shirts? I know this must sound like an extremely stupid question, but looking through photos etc they all seem to wear short sleeve and shorts.
My arms and face look like this guy after five minutes in the sun ---> :\

Cheers.

Wear sunscreen!

I'm sure no-one will mind you wearing long sleeves, however your face will still be bright red as it gets damn hot during the day! (especially during the build)

This thread seems very informative and some good info for newbees maybe the moderators could make it a Sticky.

The most informative thread on Pprune

Seconded for sticky!:ok:

Why not just bookmark it in your Firefox/Internet Explorer?

For those guys heading north and don't want to make the drive, I have a good reliable car up in Darwin I would like to get rid of. PM me for details

Sorry for the stupid question, but when exactly is the wet season? And is this when the flying gets busy due to the roads being flooded and therefore a greater need for flying in to and out of the remote townships?

Politically_Blonde, you obviously don't know, do you? I read somewhere you don't even have your PPL. May be you can add something useful to this website once you have some flying qualification? :rolleyes:

Julie,

Before you hit someone else with sarcasm, think about how you come across.
If you have not done CPL or ATPL Meteorology, fair enough. If you have, then I'd dive back into your theory notes.

To answer.

The "Wet" pertains to the Wet Season in the northern part of Australia when the good ol' ITCZ shifts south bringing monsoonal conditions. Lots of rain, lots of thunderstorms and the occasional cyclone to spark things up.

Which month this happens is the talk of the locals "up north", but "Summer" is a reasonable answer.

Also, I punched in "When is the wet season in Australia" into Google and got a few hits.

The flying rate overall is less than in the "Dry" because of fewer tourists. However, many communities are cut off because of rising flood waters or washed out roads. So, for the crews that remain during the Wet, they are still busy. It is more challenging and requires a bit more experience.

Dunno if the bush fire smoke (viz) may not be a bit more challenging for a tyro in the dry Reddo?
But I supppose nowdays yer just read them GPS things?

If you poke your nose into something wetty and bumpy you're nuts anyway.

Tinny,

I know what you're saying and it definitely has some truth. However, I found that if you had the altitude to play with, just drop down 1-3 thou' feet and the viz improved considerably. Trying to bash your way through the smoke haze close to the inversion layer was hard work. :ugh:

From my experience the worst of the smoke haze was about 8,000' (inversion dependent) or so, therefore, a drop to 4 or 5,000' wasn't difficult nor too great a fuel penalty. :D

GPS's are useful for sure, but they can't solve all the problems.
Agreed re wet and bumpy stuff.. :ouch:

If you believe everything in the media, then we're in for an absolute shocker this year with an El nino event forming already .. hmmmm .. I thought it awful last year. :bored:

Build up.
I have my mad pills ready beside me bed.

redsnail, thanks for your answer (and thanks to those who PMed me as well). That's the sort of info I'm looking for. Info from people who have been there done that and got the t-shirt. This is the reason why me and a lot of other newbies come here to Pprune. .. to get quality information and advice .. not to be laughed at for simply asking a question.

And yes, I have done ATPL Met but I can't recall every single detail that was covered in the syllabus and I'm sure I'm not the only one either. :)

Thanks again ..

What kind of experience, if any, would typicaly be enough to land you a job or interview over the phone or by email? Im in a situation where I have a trickle of work and dont want to risk loosing it and alot of cash travelling in the hope I might get a full time job. I have done the door knock thing a couple of times and, well, it doesnt give me much confidence that its going to work any better some place else :}

JulieFlyGal if I may add to redsnails comments.

Some places in the Top End, particularly Arnhem Land, the wet is infact the busier season. Due to what redsnail and yourself illustrated, the closing of roads.

This is of course for the places that don't have tourist clientele, lovely remote aboriginal communities.

Try AAA Charter, Kakadu Air, Gunbalanya Air Charter, Maningrida Progress Association, MAF, Air Frontier, Katherine Aviation & Chartair for bases in Arnhem Land.

Nav.

Welcome to the wonderful world of aviation....:rolleyes:

People....your first job will be the hardest to get. You need the hours to get the work and you need the work to get the hours.

You have a much better chance of getting work if you turn up in person rather than have your resume circularly filed.
At least arrange an interview with a group of operators and schedule to catch a burner up to DN, hire something useful and plan a route over a few days that will get you in front of as many potential employers as possible.

May not be the ideal plan but you gotta start somewhere.:ok:

I plan to do this soon, however I see that the aeroclub in Darwin has closed.

Anyone know where I can hire a C172 in Darwin?

Is the Darwin Flying School still running?

I don't think he meant to fly around these places. Driving would be the affordable option.

If you flew all it would take is one crappy radio call and you won't even have to bother landing.

Adding to what johnny said you may find yourself standing on a strip in the middle of nowhere with no way of contacting anyone to come pick you up if you plan on just dropping in, not all operators offices are at the airfield. Best to drive up and go see them.

Darwin 172 hire
 

Training Wheels, try AV8 if they are still going in Darwin. You could hire a 172 when I was there in Jan:ok:

AV8 no longer hire their aircraft out unless and instructor is with you.

just remember to call and arrange a convienent time to meet with the CP as alot of CP's are out flying and the last this you want to do is end up at an office without anyone to talk to till 5pm

For those of you who have driven up north from the cities... in search of a job, do you recommend it? or like someone said before - catch a plane to darwin, hire a car and drive around that way, see if you score anything - if so, fly back home, pack your car and drive back up?

Or would it be better just driving there with a full car and going from place to place or sitting around some larger location working at coles until luck comes your way?

I'm in Melb and I'm just wondering what the hell the drive up there is like... the roads... fuel stops along the way... what one would need, etc, how many hours say from Melb - Darwin or Alice Springs