Tuna Spotting, tuna boat ops (incl Guam)
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Hi there guys
Is there any Kiwi pilots who have the contact details for Hansen & Tropic Helicopters in Guam?
I've looked all over the net, but haven't found any reliable contact numbers.
Any info will be greatly appreciated
Cheers #kiwikid#
Is there any Kiwi pilots who have the contact details for Hansen & Tropic Helicopters in Guam?
I've looked all over the net, but haven't found any reliable contact numbers.
Any info will be greatly appreciated
Cheers #kiwikid#
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Hansen Helicopters
Did a Google search & found this:
Hansen Helicopters Inc. - Guam
Contact Details
Telephone: +1 671 649 9580 Fax: +1 671 649 9582
Email: [email protected]
Hansen Helicopters Inc. - Guam
Contact Details
Telephone: +1 671 649 9580 Fax: +1 671 649 9582
Email: [email protected]
Join Date: Jan 2007
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Tropic Helicopters?
Hello #KIWIKID#, im a pilot and working with the Aerial Surveys Pty Unlimited dubbed as TROPIC HELICOPTERS, since they moved to Pohnpei from Guam early last year. If you're still available and interested in joining the trade try this email add [email protected], im sure they will entertian you!!I got a lot of KIWI friends here in the fishing grounds..see yah!!
Abatanboy
Abatanboy
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Robbies
There are no 500s on the V boats and starting pay would be around 3 grand and 2 or 3 dollars per ton. 10 grand would be for a pilot\mech who was very good and rare.
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Anyone thinking about tuna spotting in the Pacific these days should think twice about it.
Maintenance on the 500's is worse than ever due to increased running costs, and there are less fish out there than ever before, mainly due to overfishing and giant South American boats moving in because the tuna population in the Atlantic is basically fuc*ked. This means long long stretches out on the water and very stressed fisherman.
A mate of mine was killed out there 12 months ago almost certainly because of the dodgy maintenance. One company over there is worse than the other one, it still has'nt changed.
I know the heli companies are just trying to make money like the rest of us but I don't quite agree with it all.
Maintenance on the 500's is worse than ever due to increased running costs, and there are less fish out there than ever before, mainly due to overfishing and giant South American boats moving in because the tuna population in the Atlantic is basically fuc*ked. This means long long stretches out on the water and very stressed fisherman.
A mate of mine was killed out there 12 months ago almost certainly because of the dodgy maintenance. One company over there is worse than the other one, it still has'nt changed.
I know the heli companies are just trying to make money like the rest of us but I don't quite agree with it all.
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Tuna Spotter?
Marcelino:
I have current and valid contact info. regarding Aviatun s.a. in Venezuela.
Send me an PM.
I started to distribute the contact list (discussed earlier on this tread) about 10 years ago. The contact info. is more or less outdated and a lot of the Companies don´t even have a website. A lot of research is therefore needed.
My only tuna experience is with Aviatun. I had no problems what so ever with that Company. Good boats, crew, mechanic, chopper, management, payed every time..
Times have changed I´ve been told. You have to find out the latest about activity, pay, quota etc. Google as much as you can.
For those of you that has been in the industry, you are welcome to join my non-profit Facebook group: Tuna Spotter Helicopter Pilot, to post pictures, stories and more.
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I have current and valid contact info. regarding Aviatun s.a. in Venezuela.
Send me an PM.
I started to distribute the contact list (discussed earlier on this tread) about 10 years ago. The contact info. is more or less outdated and a lot of the Companies don´t even have a website. A lot of research is therefore needed.
My only tuna experience is with Aviatun. I had no problems what so ever with that Company. Good boats, crew, mechanic, chopper, management, payed every time..
Times have changed I´ve been told. You have to find out the latest about activity, pay, quota etc. Google as much as you can.
For those of you that has been in the industry, you are welcome to join my non-profit Facebook group: Tuna Spotter Helicopter Pilot, to post pictures, stories and more.
Login | Facebook
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Hef-
For the pacific fleet all you need is a current licence/ rating. The regulators don't tend to care too much about what goes on out there. The machines aren't alway's registered although they do tend to have some magic numbers plastered on the side. Your crewmens Visa is only a necessity if you don't have a return airfare. I would buy a return airfare as you may not like what you see! Good fun out there but definitely keep your wits about you.
Good Luck,
For the pacific fleet all you need is a current licence/ rating. The regulators don't tend to care too much about what goes on out there. The machines aren't alway's registered although they do tend to have some magic numbers plastered on the side. Your crewmens Visa is only a necessity if you don't have a return airfare. I would buy a return airfare as you may not like what you see! Good fun out there but definitely keep your wits about you.
Good Luck,
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From 'Big Eye vet' on another forum.
Sums tuna spotting up really, may be harsh but definitely fair.
Sums tuna spotting up really, may be harsh but definitely fair.
If anybody is thinking of applying to Hansen for a job:
ask these questions:
1) how many fatal accidents has your company had over the course of its history?
(it's a LOT!)
2) are you still using those OLD, OLD, OLD C-18 engines Johnny Walker got cheap by the dumpster full?
2B) And WHY did you pull perfectly good C20B engines out of your aircraft and replace them with underpowered, unreliable C18's?? That was the case a few years ago. It might have changed. Ask anyhow.
3) Are you comfortable landing on a slippery, rolling, heaving helideck?
4) Wait until there is fish in the net. Hanging over the port side. Now your deck will roll from side to side and really get your attention. Are you ready for this?
5) Your captain might be a grumpy old sod. Korean or Taiwanese. Some are good, some are bad, some are crazy, and don't give a damn. Do NOT expect him to turn into wind for you, or slow down, or speed up, or help you at all. Some are GREAT. Some really don't care. You MIGHT be on your own. Are you ready for this?
6) If you go in, don't expect a coordinated search and rescue. You may be a 1000 miles offshore. Dream on. You are going to be relying on your buddies to find you. They might be a few days sailing time away. I've been on those searches. Never found anybody.
7) You have JUST landed, the deck is soaking wet, and the captain or the navigator sees fish off the port beam. He hauls on the helm, and the boat turns hard. The ship rolls over VERY hard. You start sliding. The edge of the deck is coming up. It has a lip, or a navigation light, or some obstacle. You whack the throttle open hard, pull power in a snarling snatch, and lift off frantically just in time to avoid a crash. Nobody apologizes. You sense their minds are on catching fish, and the helicopter is just a tool.A flying speedboat. Out there. Somewhere.
Are you ready for this?
Sorry, I don't mean to sound like a grump, but it cracks me up to read this Bravo Sierra about "great opportunity for a young pilot". It's a great opportunity to get yourself killed. Unless you really know what you are doing.
ask these questions:
1) how many fatal accidents has your company had over the course of its history?
(it's a LOT!)
2) are you still using those OLD, OLD, OLD C-18 engines Johnny Walker got cheap by the dumpster full?
2B) And WHY did you pull perfectly good C20B engines out of your aircraft and replace them with underpowered, unreliable C18's?? That was the case a few years ago. It might have changed. Ask anyhow.
3) Are you comfortable landing on a slippery, rolling, heaving helideck?
4) Wait until there is fish in the net. Hanging over the port side. Now your deck will roll from side to side and really get your attention. Are you ready for this?
5) Your captain might be a grumpy old sod. Korean or Taiwanese. Some are good, some are bad, some are crazy, and don't give a damn. Do NOT expect him to turn into wind for you, or slow down, or speed up, or help you at all. Some are GREAT. Some really don't care. You MIGHT be on your own. Are you ready for this?
6) If you go in, don't expect a coordinated search and rescue. You may be a 1000 miles offshore. Dream on. You are going to be relying on your buddies to find you. They might be a few days sailing time away. I've been on those searches. Never found anybody.
7) You have JUST landed, the deck is soaking wet, and the captain or the navigator sees fish off the port beam. He hauls on the helm, and the boat turns hard. The ship rolls over VERY hard. You start sliding. The edge of the deck is coming up. It has a lip, or a navigation light, or some obstacle. You whack the throttle open hard, pull power in a snarling snatch, and lift off frantically just in time to avoid a crash. Nobody apologizes. You sense their minds are on catching fish, and the helicopter is just a tool.A flying speedboat. Out there. Somewhere.
Are you ready for this?
Sorry, I don't mean to sound like a grump, but it cracks me up to read this Bravo Sierra about "great opportunity for a young pilot". It's a great opportunity to get yourself killed. Unless you really know what you are doing.
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Agreed, a bit harsh but I would say okay for a young pilot so long as you have a couple of thousand hours before even attempting it. Being older now I certainly wouldn't go back.
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Have to concur
I worked for Hansen in '98. Winged Hunter's quote from "Big Eye Vet" is spot on. I had a horrendous experience with my drunken Captain who ended up attacking me..........Great story looking back!!
As I reflect though, the biggest concern would be if you actually got hurt. You are way down any list of priorities. Quite simply if you are several hundred miles from port you are fu@*#d. Even a minor injury can become major in a very short time.
Tuna boats used to be standard way to build time/experience/make some money. Why bother when you can get in an EC130 in the Canyon with barely 1000 hours, make some decent money and move on.
........but if you're looking for adventure; probably one of the few places left for a low time guy.
I do remember all those C18's stacked up outside though. Maybe thy've got through them all by now. Scarey!!
As I reflect though, the biggest concern would be if you actually got hurt. You are way down any list of priorities. Quite simply if you are several hundred miles from port you are fu@*#d. Even a minor injury can become major in a very short time.
Tuna boats used to be standard way to build time/experience/make some money. Why bother when you can get in an EC130 in the Canyon with barely 1000 hours, make some decent money and move on.
........but if you're looking for adventure; probably one of the few places left for a low time guy.
I do remember all those C18's stacked up outside though. Maybe thy've got through them all by now. Scarey!!
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I did a 12 month contract for Hansens's in 2001-2002. It was definately an experience but I don't think I will do it again. It make's you think (you have plenty of time) after you have an engine failure about 60 nm from the boat and about 600 nm from land.
That reminds me of a very 'pleasant' story...I had a Korean fisherman hold a very sharp knife to my throat after I refused to give him a cigarette (very long story), after about six weeks of very very poor fishing. A tuna boat is not a nice place to be after a few weeks of poor catches...
I worked for Hansen in '98. Winged Hunter's quote from "Big Eye Vet" is spot on. I had a horrendous experience with my drunken Captain who ended up attacking me..........Great story looking back!!
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Morality, C18 engines, and overfishing
Some interesting comments here. If you read some of the articles on sustainability of the tuna on tunaseinerscom it seems that albacore tuna in the Atlantic HAS been over fished, and that there is therefore a move of more fishing vessels to the Pacific. The question of morality in going fishing may well be increasingly coming into play. What do you guys think?
I don't know enough about it. My tuna fishing days are long since over. Check out the stories on tuna flying by Francis Moggy Meyrick there on tunaseiners website. There is a link on the front page where it says "Tuna helicopters". BTW I was just reading about a fatal accident in Ponopeh in 2007 (Tropic helicopters) and another just recently off PNG, on bladeslappers.com
Does anybody have a database or know of a database listing tuna helicopter accidents? I have tried the NTSB, but I got lost in the maze.
Also, I see that acidic comment from Big Eye Vet quoted above was on bladeslappers.com but it got a different response there than it did here.
Is he right? I wonder if we had better equipment and maintenance back in the 80's and 90' s than the guys are getting today? Same machines, just more worn out? And that whole business with the Hansen C20 engines being swopped out for C18 engines, what was all that about? Cost saving? What are they, military surplus or something? Can you still get them, or are they long since used up? Strange, strange business, this tuna flying today?
I don't know enough about it. My tuna fishing days are long since over. Check out the stories on tuna flying by Francis Moggy Meyrick there on tunaseiners website. There is a link on the front page where it says "Tuna helicopters". BTW I was just reading about a fatal accident in Ponopeh in 2007 (Tropic helicopters) and another just recently off PNG, on bladeslappers.com
Does anybody have a database or know of a database listing tuna helicopter accidents? I have tried the NTSB, but I got lost in the maze.
Also, I see that acidic comment from Big Eye Vet quoted above was on bladeslappers.com but it got a different response there than it did here.
Is he right? I wonder if we had better equipment and maintenance back in the 80's and 90' s than the guys are getting today? Same machines, just more worn out? And that whole business with the Hansen C20 engines being swopped out for C18 engines, what was all that about? Cost saving? What are they, military surplus or something? Can you still get them, or are they long since used up? Strange, strange business, this tuna flying today?
Last edited by Dysfunctional; 8th Jul 2009 at 02:25.
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They were C-10s, miitary versions of C-18s, and when i was there they had an exemption to operated them for 12 months. That was 10 years ago.
Good fishing 10 years ago too, all the boats had their own 500 and few diddle-head pilots or philly mechanics.
I hear its a bit different now.
Good fishing 10 years ago too, all the boats had their own 500 and few diddle-head pilots or philly mechanics.
I hear its a bit different now.
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Yeah, that's what I'm hearing and reading. A lot of accidents as well.
I would not go back to it, life is too comfy now, but it was fun.
Marys saloon/bar in Tarawa and the King Solomon in Honiara to mention but a few. We did a lot of flying,caught a lot of fish, and drank a lot of beers.
Do I miss that?Lemme see. Nah. Oh! Mebbe a bit. Wheres Bill Saathof these days?
I would not go back to it, life is too comfy now, but it was fun.
Marys saloon/bar in Tarawa and the King Solomon in Honiara to mention but a few. We did a lot of flying,caught a lot of fish, and drank a lot of beers.
Do I miss that?Lemme see. Nah. Oh! Mebbe a bit. Wheres Bill Saathof these days?
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When I was a kid it was fun going out to Ardmore and seeing all the 500cs and Ds parked outside Dalhoff & King while the boats were tied up alongside the wharves in the city.
Remember some cool looking boats such as Finnistere, Adriatic Sea, The Black Pearl, Capt M J Souza etc. That was also back in the days when Julius and Michael Zolezzi had a lot of the helos under their San Diego Helicopter Services banner. I think I still have some pics of the odd kiwi rego helo, one that springs to mind was "Big Jag" a yellow 500C flown by an American called Mike O'Brien I think it was.
Anyway just some past memories.
Ned
Remember some cool looking boats such as Finnistere, Adriatic Sea, The Black Pearl, Capt M J Souza etc. That was also back in the days when Julius and Michael Zolezzi had a lot of the helos under their San Diego Helicopter Services banner. I think I still have some pics of the odd kiwi rego helo, one that springs to mind was "Big Jag" a yellow 500C flown by an American called Mike O'Brien I think it was.
Anyway just some past memories.
Ned
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Moggy's Tunaboat Manual
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Ned. A friend of mine worked on the Fininistere. I'm not sure if it was that boat, or the next boat he worked, that he conned his way on to being the captain for a tour. Some of the stories from those boats and those days are just mind boggling. (sorry for thread drift)
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