Australia - How long from CPL to job?
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 60
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From: That Bit up the Top Down Under
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...
Last edited by chopperpug; 30th April 2006 at 10:32.
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 224
Likes: 2
From: Depends on the day!
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
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
From: australia
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
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
From: australia
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
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,957
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From: Australia
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.
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 943
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From: Gold Coast, Queensland
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.
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,957
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From: Australia
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!
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,697
Likes: 71
From: Wanaka, NZ
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.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
From: Australia
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 !
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 163
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From: somedays in a helicopter, other days in a fixed-wing....
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
