Flying hours / years
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Flying hours / years
I'm sure this subject has been aired before, but going through my loft and finding my old log books, I note I've been flying for a little over 24 years and now have 8000 hours to show for it. The first 2 years were PPL stuff, so not much there per year, then onto 13 years with Bristow, mainly SNS, so lots of landings, and not much flying time, and then 9 years HEMS with BAS, so again, not a lot of flying hours, but lots of handling and landing.
How do other Ppruners compare for years flown vs hours in the air?
How do other Ppruners compare for years flown vs hours in the air?
Ask some of the oldtime Bristow guys about hours....in one crew room with six of us one time we came up with a total of about 75,000 hours....high timers were at the 17-18,000 hour level. The amazing thing was there was but a single accident among us and that was a mechanical failure that was clearly not pilot error. Some of those guys are over 20,000 hours now and are finally beginning to retire with accident/incident free records.
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South Island operations in NZ for me are returning a whopping 30 to 35 hours a month at best during the summer, probably half that in the winter. Glad I don't own a chopper!
Last edited by dragman; 19th May 2010 at 00:00. Reason: hungry baby
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Been flying for about 40 years and just broke 24,000 accident free hours. The last 10 years have been kind of slow only averaging about 350 hours a year. So for the first 30 years I averaged about 700 hours per year.
Griffo....as I recall we had to throw rocks at you to get you to fly!
Avoid imitations
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Isn't posting on this thread a bit like boasting about A...y M..y's L.....y W......s? 
These days I just prefer to fly as little as possible for the money, practicing for retirement.
These days I just prefer to fly as little as possible for the money, practicing for retirement.
Agree with the first part of your reply, Shy - I'm surprised no-one's trotted out the "onshore 1000 hours is a 1000 hours, offshore 1000 hours = 1 hour flown 1000 times" mantra yet. Having joined the 'autopilot' set a while back, I can't use the "9700 hours, all-hand-flown" line either - must've had George do the work for me for at least - ooh - 3 of those. That's got nothing to do with LNAA - different George.
Can't agree with the second part yet, though (btw don't let the spelling Gestapo see your 'practicing'). This flying malarkey still makes me want to wake up and go in to work every day (or night). Best way to take your camera to places most folk won't see outside a telly documentary, I reckon. Just wish I could be in Griffo's part of the world...
Can't agree with the second part yet, though (btw don't let the spelling Gestapo see your 'practicing'). This flying malarkey still makes me want to wake up and go in to work every day (or night). Best way to take your camera to places most folk won't see outside a telly documentary, I reckon. Just wish I could be in Griffo's part of the world...
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I soloed on my 16th birthday and now I'm 49. A little over 20,000 hours in 33 years. I sure wish I would have kept a journal. At the time it seemed kind of dumb;but, looking back I'd like to have a written account of some of the things that happened without the time filter factored in. 
crop duster,
Respect..... I only beat the bugs to death for 3 years and managed one spectacular acrobatic arrival (me in seat, aircraft scattered over 2 acres)
The trouble with our job is that at the end of the day, when you have retired with 10, 20 or 30 thousand hours, nobody will give a ****... you will get the same respect from fellow beer drinkers if you had been a plumber for all that time
We all become has beens too soon, which is why I say it is all about the ride...
Take care mate, those aphids can be deadly..
Respect..... I only beat the bugs to death for 3 years and managed one spectacular acrobatic arrival (me in seat, aircraft scattered over 2 acres)
The trouble with our job is that at the end of the day, when you have retired with 10, 20 or 30 thousand hours, nobody will give a ****... you will get the same respect from fellow beer drinkers if you had been a plumber for all that time
We all become has beens too soon, which is why I say it is all about the ride...
Take care mate, those aphids can be deadly..
Griffo....amazing how many wires there are when you are flying really low weren't it! Darn things are darned hard to see and keep a track of....especially the wee skinny ones that run out to the pump house or gennie shed!
Retired plumbers have a leg up on us....they can fix leaks and fix crappers....and the ladies know it!
Retired plumbers have a leg up on us....they can fix leaks and fix crappers....and the ladies know it!
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12yrs, 1500h 
, hand flown 
military, sar, firefighting, soon desert & mountain, Insha'Allah
, hand flown military, sar, firefighting, soon desert & mountain, Insha'Allah
Last edited by zlocko2002; 20th May 2010 at 17:29. Reason: spelling
SAS,
I have spent/wasted a lot of my life trying to get ladies to leak with very limited success...
That's why I stuck to flying..... badly
Oh yeh, thread....... 10,300 hours
I have spent/wasted a lot of my life trying to get ladies to leak with very limited success...
That's why I stuck to flying..... badly
Oh yeh, thread....... 10,300 hours
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I guess all those hours mentioned above were legit! But what about abusing the system? What's the worst case of improper logging of flight hours you have come across?
In recent years I have seen:
Hours logged that were never even flown (guy got the boot when the boss found out)
Hours logged as TRI whilst occupying a seat in the cabin (they said it was legal but difficult to believe)
Hours logged as 'IFR' on the basis of having filed an IFR flight plan even though no IMC was encountered and flight conducted at altitude (not FL).
Hours logged as 'flight time' when occupying the intructor's seat in a flight sim.
Suspicious log book entries - guy was invited to move on.
Am I just unlucky to come across such activity or does it go on a lot ?
PS. Well done those 20,000 hour guys - respect. You must have a flat backside by now and probably several other symptoms of too much time in a goon-bag and being too close to a turbine - pardon! What did you say?
G
PPS - 40 years and 12,500 accident free hours if I'm allowed to count my SFI time - bit of a slacker
In recent years I have seen:
Hours logged that were never even flown (guy got the boot when the boss found out)
Hours logged as TRI whilst occupying a seat in the cabin (they said it was legal but difficult to believe)
Hours logged as 'IFR' on the basis of having filed an IFR flight plan even though no IMC was encountered and flight conducted at altitude (not FL).
Hours logged as 'flight time' when occupying the intructor's seat in a flight sim.
Suspicious log book entries - guy was invited to move on.
Am I just unlucky to come across such activity or does it go on a lot ?
PS. Well done those 20,000 hour guys - respect. You must have a flat backside by now and probably several other symptoms of too much time in a goon-bag and being too close to a turbine - pardon! What did you say?
G
PPS - 40 years and 12,500 accident free hours if I'm allowed to count my SFI time - bit of a slacker
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In my short 3 years, about 1500 hours doing Corporate, VFR odds and ends, EMS and Offshore stuff.
As far as logbook cooking goes.... don't even get me started. Some crooked mother truckers out there! But man is it great when they get caught, and they always do.
As far as logbook cooking goes.... don't even get me started. Some crooked mother truckers out there! But man is it great when they get caught, and they always do.
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You don't need IMC to be IFR flight, and to my knowledge, you can be below transition level in IFR flight (for instance in Croatia first FL 100, but you can fly 4000ft, you have to be above minimum altitude for that route or sector)
Zolocko,
In Australia we can only log IFR if we are flying in IMC. So you could do a 2 hour sector on a IFR plan but only log .4 IFR due to the rest of the flight being VMC.
In Australia we can only log IFR if we are flying in IMC. So you could do a 2 hour sector on a IFR plan but only log .4 IFR due to the rest of the flight being VMC.
'morning Thud. Did I hear my name?
I always thought the flying pay we got in the military was 'danger money' because flying was potentially very dodgy!
...so I quite like getting paid mainly for hanging around, chilling out, waiting to fly (you know; sar, police, hems) rather than clocking up 1000's of hours boring dodgy holes in the sky!
..hence only about 270 hours a year. (30 years though!)
That's got nothing to do with LNAA - different George.
I always thought the flying pay we got in the military was 'danger money' because flying was potentially very dodgy!
...so I quite like getting paid mainly for hanging around, chilling out, waiting to fly (you know; sar, police, hems) rather than clocking up 1000's of hours boring dodgy holes in the sky!
..hence only about 270 hours a year. (30 years though!)