Australia: Training, Licence Conversion, Job Prospects
Rotaryman,
I concur, while many speak of such a thing, a 'low level endorsement' is but a figment of an over-zealous imagination. It's no more than a rating, by no means an endorsement.
I have an entry in my logbook stating that I have a 'Low Level Rating' but it doesn't warrant an entry on my endorsement page!
Anyway, back to the topic, it was 7 months of hangar ratting from completion on of CPL(H) and B206 rating until full time work, but it soon pays for it's self, once the right work comes along.
I concur, while many speak of such a thing, a 'low level endorsement' is but a figment of an over-zealous imagination. It's no more than a rating, by no means an endorsement.
I have an entry in my logbook stating that I have a 'Low Level Rating' but it doesn't warrant an entry on my endorsement page!
Anyway, back to the topic, it was 7 months of hangar ratting from completion on of CPL(H) and B206 rating until full time work, but it soon pays for it's self, once the right work comes along.
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: australia
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
employment
lol any ways chopperchick i can help u with a mustering endorsment ,a mate of mine needs a mustering pilot fast so if u have had the plesure of chasing cows let me know .
You must have in your log book low level.
You must have in your log book low level.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
How About Cairns?
Hi Rotorchick,
There is a company in Cairns, Great Barrier Reef Helicopters, they've had a few dramas in the past but are the biggest in the Far North of Qld. They operate R-44, B206III's, Squirrels and a Long Ranger.
One of the pilots (R-44 last I heard) is a female, and one of the co-owners is a female, and to be quite frank, would probably be interested in the fact that another female pilot with an R-44 endorsement and keen attitude is looking for work. Mind you this is just a shot in the dark, but can't do any harm, if you haven't already sent them your resume.
Best of luck and good hunting,
LCT
There is a company in Cairns, Great Barrier Reef Helicopters, they've had a few dramas in the past but are the biggest in the Far North of Qld. They operate R-44, B206III's, Squirrels and a Long Ranger.
One of the pilots (R-44 last I heard) is a female, and one of the co-owners is a female, and to be quite frank, would probably be interested in the fact that another female pilot with an R-44 endorsement and keen attitude is looking for work. Mind you this is just a shot in the dark, but can't do any harm, if you haven't already sent them your resume.
Best of luck and good hunting,
LCT
Join Date: May 2004
Location: That Bit up the Top Down Under
Posts: 60
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Definately head North
Also hearing round the camps up here that Albatross are looking for a 44 driver out of Litchfield. Not sure how many hours a season they do up there, but given the amount of water we've just had.....its going to be a big one. Last time i checked the bloke to speak to was Mark Grosvenor. Also not sure on the...uummmm......pay...if you can call it that. Beautiful spot...and not to far from darwin. But there is also a lot of other operators up here with 44's, and its the best place to be. To answer your first question.....2 months, and 8500km to get my first job. And they even started paying me straight away. enough to buy beer at anyrate....(everything else was included.....if you can call a shipping container accomodation.
Not fitted out with anything.)
I came up here for a year three years ago, just never got around to leaving. Its some of the best flying you will ever do, and some of the worst...
but you don't get freedom like this anywhere else .
Just turn up at their door and don't leave...they get used to you after a while and just start assumming that you must work there.
edited to please Bellfest (and any of those CASA blokes... :o) and make sure that the young ones don't go out and get in to too much trouble early on. But just so you know....its out of MY system now...
Not fitted out with anything.)I came up here for a year three years ago, just never got around to leaving. Its some of the best flying you will ever do, and some of the worst...
but you don't get freedom like this anywhere else .Just turn up at their door and don't leave...they get used to you after a while and just start assumming that you must work there.
edited to please Bellfest (and any of those CASA blokes... :o) and make sure that the young ones don't go out and get in to too much trouble early on. But just so you know....its out of MY system now...
Chopperpug
It is probably not the best idea to make comments about "running amock and getting it out of your system" when you are giving an aspiring young aviator advice about starting their career. Stay disciplined and keep the good habit of flying steady. Try to be graceful. Get it out of your system at the pub.
Keep the engine judging what the helicopter can do and not the helicopter judging what the engine has to do
It is probably not the best idea to make comments about "running amock and getting it out of your system" when you are giving an aspiring young aviator advice about starting their career. Stay disciplined and keep the good habit of flying steady. Try to be graceful. Get it out of your system at the pub.
Keep the engine judging what the helicopter can do and not the helicopter judging what the engine has to do
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: australia
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great Barrier Reef Heli were recently looking for a 206 pilot (see AfAP) but if its your fisrt job im sure the housr are a bit far away just at the moment, its true one of the owners is female and one of the pilots is female not only on the r44.
Their only R44 however is to pick up the extra work only, and the majority of the time one of the engineers with his cpl takes care of it when its required.
I do believe like somelese posted that being a female will help and as long as you can fly the machine above all else in a safe manner male or female means nothing.
It took me 18 months of giving up almost every weekend at my training school as a hangar rat to get a start, be patient and you'll have no regrets. You will be able to feed yourself and of course the beers are a nessecity but don't expect to live to lavish early on.
All the best keep it in the green
Their only R44 however is to pick up the extra work only, and the majority of the time one of the engineers with his cpl takes care of it when its required.
I do believe like somelese posted that being a female will help and as long as you can fly the machine above all else in a safe manner male or female means nothing.
It took me 18 months of giving up almost every weekend at my training school as a hangar rat to get a start, be patient and you'll have no regrets. You will be able to feed yourself and of course the beers are a nessecity but don't expect to live to lavish early on.
All the best keep it in the green
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: australia
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mr selfish i worked as an electrician for 12 years before i started flying full time, if i wanted to earn money i'd still be doing it.
Regardless enjoying what you do and what makes you happy was my goal
Regardless enjoying what you do and what makes you happy was my goal
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,957
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
electrician
One of my first mentors, an OZ, scrounged his first licence dollars by being an underground electrician in one of OZ's famous northern mines.
He got to fly super sabres with the great Frank Minjoy (spelling?) in the RCAF doing amongst other things very black night intercepts during the cold war over the North Pole where you would - "run format on a blow pipe and if he got shot down shoot," twenty minuites later sitting down to eggs and soda-parp for breakfast.
He also had a couple of K hours in a PBY4 taxiing along the Brahmaputra and delta (spelling again) on electromagnetic surveys. had a total of 18K fixed wing and acheived his 2k in rotary and 20K total the day after i turned with a brand new licence, he said to me "Say, you got your licence take it for a fly!".
He was one of only very few oz rotary pilots in those days that had an ATPL,
took me a while to figure out what he was on about.
He got to fly super sabres with the great Frank Minjoy (spelling?) in the RCAF doing amongst other things very black night intercepts during the cold war over the North Pole where you would - "run format on a blow pipe and if he got shot down shoot," twenty minuites later sitting down to eggs and soda-parp for breakfast.
He also had a couple of K hours in a PBY4 taxiing along the Brahmaputra and delta (spelling again) on electromagnetic surveys. had a total of 18K fixed wing and acheived his 2k in rotary and 20K total the day after i turned with a brand new licence, he said to me "Say, you got your licence take it for a fly!".
He was one of only very few oz rotary pilots in those days that had an ATPL,
took me a while to figure out what he was on about.
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Gold Coast, Queensland
Posts: 943
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Merciless Ming! Haven't heard of him for years. We used to live in the same block in Sydney when he was the General Manager of Helicopter Utilities in the 60s. Quite a character & an excellent pilot.
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,957
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nigel Osborn
It was easy to be inspired by one and all of the HUPL crew.
One who also inspired me to go take the rotary step and who would have been cooking had he been in the same domicile with you, was the late , Monsieur Pussycat. A thorough gentleman.
If my memory serve me correctly, previously a sqdn leader in the french navy of a dozen or so anti-sub S61's.
I had better sign off before we clog the system!
One who also inspired me to go take the rotary step and who would have been cooking had he been in the same domicile with you, was the late , Monsieur Pussycat. A thorough gentleman.
If my memory serve me correctly, previously a sqdn leader in the french navy of a dozen or so anti-sub S61's.
I had better sign off before we clog the system!
I was fortunate enough to walk straight into a co-pilot job as soon as I got my CHL, but only because I did a turbine endorsement, NVFR and IREX as part of my flight training course. My first employer paid for my S76 and B412 endorsement and instrument rating, and I was paid the Award salary plus allowances from day one. Very lucky I had a tick in all those boxes as when jobs come up there can be very little lead time to fill the position. Highly recommend anyone else contemplating the CHL do the same as it worked for me, and it's worked for many others I know as well.
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Australia
Age: 53
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dual rated, pilots ?
G'day all, I'm a high time F/W pilot, with a basic heli CPL. Any ideas on how operators look at people like myself. I have applied for a few jobs around the place, with not much luck so far. I am still employed as a F/W pilot, but I would like to get into the heli flying. Are there any operators with F/W and R/W aircraft who may look at dual rated pilots (CPL) favourably. I also have a F/W instrument rating and heaps of turbine command hours. Any help would be great.
Have a nice day !
G'day all, I'm a high time F/W pilot, with a basic heli CPL. Any ideas on how operators look at people like myself. I have applied for a few jobs around the place, with not much luck so far. I am still employed as a F/W pilot, but I would like to get into the heli flying. Are there any operators with F/W and R/W aircraft who may look at dual rated pilots (CPL) favourably. I also have a F/W instrument rating and heaps of turbine command hours. Any help would be great.
Have a nice day !
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: somedays in a helicopter, other days in a fixed-wing....
Posts: 163
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
www.heliwest.com.au
They have 5 jetrangers (approx.) 1 R22, 1 schweizer 300,
Your best bet would be heli-work / sling-air they operate FW & RW
www.slingair.com.au
FW - cessna 206
cessna 207
210 & 208B
310 & chieftan & navajo
RW -
jetranger
long ranger
B47
R22
R44
Kawasaki
JF
They have 5 jetrangers (approx.) 1 R22, 1 schweizer 300,
Your best bet would be heli-work / sling-air they operate FW & RW
www.slingair.com.au
FW - cessna 206
cessna 207
210 & 208B
310 & chieftan & navajo
RW -
jetranger
long ranger
B47
R22
R44
Kawasaki
JF
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Sh*t Im lost again!!!
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Converting a FAA licence to CASA
I see there are alot of aussies out there, I am wondering if any of you can shed some light on my question.
I am looking at heading to Aus and am trying to find out how much is involved in converting a FAA ATP or Commercial to CASA and of course the esiest route to undertake.
I am looking at heading to Aus and am trying to find out how much is involved in converting a FAA ATP or Commercial to CASA and of course the esiest route to undertake.
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Australia
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
O
Just moved to OZ and converted my FAA CPL. I had to take a written CPL test - Air Rules and Flight Law only (there are a handful of different written tests pilots have to take here) and a flight test. Due to cost (all cost figures in this message are in Aussie dollars. Multiply .75 to get US), I did my test in an R22 ($390 per hour) and had to get current in the heli again. It had been two years since I had flown one and I was amazed how different it felt.
I did a couple of cross countries with my Aussie instructor and maneauvers until he was satisfied I could pass the test. In total, I think it cost me $5,000 to convert the CPL. I couldn't believe it, but aviation is more expensive here.
Also, you'll need to get a Night VFR rating here. For some reason, it's not included in your CPL training. Even with over 100 night hours and the training I received (and gave as a CFI) in the states, I had to take a flight test for the night VFR rating. I got off cheap borrowing a friends R44 at $580 per hour (schools charge $880 per hour)(finding an R22 configured for night flying was very difficult). Total cost ended up being $1400. Once again, I couldn't believe it.
I have an FAA instrument rating still to convert. I have an FAA CFII in helicopters, an FAA instrument airplane rating and around 55 simulated instrument hours. The requirements to convert are an instrument written and a flight test. Of course, I'm not current so I'll have to sit in the sim for a while before my flight test. The kicker though is CASA (FAA in OZ) requires IFR training be completed in an IFR approved machine. That eliminates R22s and R44s. The cheapest IFR approved aircraft I can find is a Jetranger at $1500 per hour. Ouch!! The flight test will probably be a couple of hours so I'm looking at $3500 to $4500 total to convert the rating. I can't believe it. How much it would cost someone getting their initial instrument rating here in OZ? It's no wonder most civil heli pilots do not have their instrument rating here. Side note: this is only for a single engine instrument rating. The Aussies classify multi-engine instrument as a different rating!
Don't even get me started on the job prospects! OZ has not experienced the pilot shortage the US has started to feel. Multi-engine job without multi-engine experience? Forget about it or stand in line for six years or more!
My suggestion is to remain in the US until you have all of the experience you need to get the job you want in Australia. The good news is the pilot shortage is headed to OZ in the future. When it hits, those who already have the experience will be in a really good position. Cheers!
I did a couple of cross countries with my Aussie instructor and maneauvers until he was satisfied I could pass the test. In total, I think it cost me $5,000 to convert the CPL. I couldn't believe it, but aviation is more expensive here.
Also, you'll need to get a Night VFR rating here. For some reason, it's not included in your CPL training. Even with over 100 night hours and the training I received (and gave as a CFI) in the states, I had to take a flight test for the night VFR rating. I got off cheap borrowing a friends R44 at $580 per hour (schools charge $880 per hour)(finding an R22 configured for night flying was very difficult). Total cost ended up being $1400. Once again, I couldn't believe it.
I have an FAA instrument rating still to convert. I have an FAA CFII in helicopters, an FAA instrument airplane rating and around 55 simulated instrument hours. The requirements to convert are an instrument written and a flight test. Of course, I'm not current so I'll have to sit in the sim for a while before my flight test. The kicker though is CASA (FAA in OZ) requires IFR training be completed in an IFR approved machine. That eliminates R22s and R44s. The cheapest IFR approved aircraft I can find is a Jetranger at $1500 per hour. Ouch!! The flight test will probably be a couple of hours so I'm looking at $3500 to $4500 total to convert the rating. I can't believe it. How much it would cost someone getting their initial instrument rating here in OZ? It's no wonder most civil heli pilots do not have their instrument rating here. Side note: this is only for a single engine instrument rating. The Aussies classify multi-engine instrument as a different rating!
Don't even get me started on the job prospects! OZ has not experienced the pilot shortage the US has started to feel. Multi-engine job without multi-engine experience? Forget about it or stand in line for six years or more!
My suggestion is to remain in the US until you have all of the experience you need to get the job you want in Australia. The good news is the pilot shortage is headed to OZ in the future. When it hits, those who already have the experience will be in a really good position. Cheers!
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Aus
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
VISA
I was under the impression that training for a CIR in Aus can be completed in an IFR trainer (R22/R44/H269), but the test must be taken in an IFR aircraft.
Don't forget that little old problem of a working permit (visa).
Don't forget that little old problem of a working permit (visa).
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Aus, Europe & everywhere in between
Posts: 391
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Rocker
Either your instructor gave you bogus information or you haven't read the regs.
1. You do not need a night VFR rating to fly in Aus. You obviously need it to fly at night.
2. To gain an Aus command helicopter instrument rating, you must complete the IREX theory examination and complete 40 hours of instrument dual instruction. 20 of these hours may be completed in an approved simulator. The other 20 hours must be done in a helicopter (does not have to be an instrument rated aircraft). I did all mine in an R22. The flight test must be done in a IFR certified aircraft with an ATO (Authorised Testing Officer) or CASA inspector.
If you hold a FAA helicopter instrument rating and meet the flight requirements (ie. 40 hours dual instrument instruction), you will need to pass the IREX theory exam and then go for a flight test.
Basically in Australia, a RATING requires a flight test (ie. night VFR, instrument, instructor, etc)
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has a pretty good explanation of what is required. Look at the link below:
http://www.casa.gov.au/fcl/overbr.htm
It's all on the website. Good luck!
Either your instructor gave you bogus information or you haven't read the regs.
1. You do not need a night VFR rating to fly in Aus. You obviously need it to fly at night.
2. To gain an Aus command helicopter instrument rating, you must complete the IREX theory examination and complete 40 hours of instrument dual instruction. 20 of these hours may be completed in an approved simulator. The other 20 hours must be done in a helicopter (does not have to be an instrument rated aircraft). I did all mine in an R22. The flight test must be done in a IFR certified aircraft with an ATO (Authorised Testing Officer) or CASA inspector.
If you hold a FAA helicopter instrument rating and meet the flight requirements (ie. 40 hours dual instrument instruction), you will need to pass the IREX theory exam and then go for a flight test.
Basically in Australia, a RATING requires a flight test (ie. night VFR, instrument, instructor, etc)
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has a pretty good explanation of what is required. Look at the link below:
http://www.casa.gov.au/fcl/overbr.htm
It's all on the website. Good luck!