State of the Industry
The tender submitted to win the contract on which you are currently flying. (For “a little bit less”)
ATSB have released the final report on the winching incident:
Investigation: AO-2017-095 - Winching event involving Sikorsky S92A, VH-IPE, near Broome, Western Australia, on 26 August 2017
Investigation: AO-2017-095 - Winching event involving Sikorsky S92A, VH-IPE, near Broome, Western Australia, on 26 August 2017
ATSB have released the final report on the winching incident:
Investigation: AO-2017-095 - Winching event involving Sikorsky S92A, VH-IPE, near Broome, Western Australia, on 26 August 2017
Investigation: AO-2017-095 - Winching event involving Sikorsky S92A, VH-IPE, near Broome, Western Australia, on 26 August 2017
As a result of this serious incident, the operator .......... appointed experienced personnel to new search and rescue management positions
Shows poor design of the hi-line on two counts:
1 - The weak link used a commercial nylon snap buckle.
2 - The line used was elasticated and hence allowed the load that built in the line to release and recoil.
Other experienced SAR operators in Australia use mil-spec cord for the weak-line which has a defined break strength. Use of commercial products like this always runs the risk of the supplier changing the design of the product without alerting the end user. From the report looks like they 'improved' the buckle then making the end ring the weak point.
Looks like Priority One is still selling these:
https://priority1airrescue.net/produ...way-weak-link/
Someone in Australia should set up a one-stop SAR shop to sell this equipment to the rest of the industry. Maybe we should call it SARQUIP.
1 - The weak link used a commercial nylon snap buckle.
2 - The line used was elasticated and hence allowed the load that built in the line to release and recoil.
Other experienced SAR operators in Australia use mil-spec cord for the weak-line which has a defined break strength. Use of commercial products like this always runs the risk of the supplier changing the design of the product without alerting the end user. From the report looks like they 'improved' the buckle then making the end ring the weak point.
Looks like Priority One is still selling these:
https://priority1airrescue.net/produ...way-weak-link/
Someone in Australia should set up a one-stop SAR shop to sell this equipment to the rest of the industry. Maybe we should call it SARQUIP.
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http://www.helicopterinvestor.com/ar...covenants-097/
This is a very interesting story, as it is the continuation of the downstream distress from the CHC bankruptcy. The reluctance of the Principals to further invest, and the inability to divest the business are pretty hard indicators of the current status of this sector.
This is a very interesting story, as it is the continuation of the downstream distress from the CHC bankruptcy. The reluctance of the Principals to further invest, and the inability to divest the business are pretty hard indicators of the current status of this sector.
Looks like Babcock are trying to get out of offshore crew change. From their results yesterday:
This process will continue in the second half of this year, where we expect to exit our powerlines business in South Africa. We will also reshape our oil and gas crew change business to improve performance while ensuring we meet customer needs. We will provide an update on these activities with the announcement of our half year results in November.
The call transcript had the CEO saying it was still profitable for them but they are clearly looking to sell. Note nothing was said about the onshore EMS business.
This process will continue in the second half of this year, where we expect to exit our powerlines business in South Africa. We will also reshape our oil and gas crew change business to improve performance while ensuring we meet customer needs. We will provide an update on these activities with the announcement of our half year results in November.
The call transcript had the CEO saying it was still profitable for them but they are clearly looking to sell. Note nothing was said about the onshore EMS business.
It wasn’t from their results, it was a market update. Here’s what he said when asked directly about the crew change business:
“Second, one was the crew change business. Sorry, yes. Yes. I mean, I think it’s quite early days. I mean, we signaled -- we clearly signaled at the year-end when we put the focus -- when we cleared this up and put our focus in defense, emergency services, and nuclear. The crew change, the offshore oil and gas business was not seen by us as a kind of a critical part of the business. So, again, that, I guess, kicked off an exercise that says, well, what happen to that business? Do we -- how do we operate it? It’s a reasonable-sized business. It’s still profitable. And I think all the segment here is we’re going to look at what we can do with it in terms of making it the best we possibly can, whilst of course, still maintaining top priority and safety and meeting our customers’ kind of needs. But, we do feel that the business is -- the oil and gas business overall in our sector has stabilized, although somewhat still not great. But, I think we want -- we --- the business will be there. Questions of what we do with it in the long term. Again, the exercises we’ll do in the moment may lead us toward some kind of conclusions here. Then the first instance is all about us taking actions around about making sure that we’re making the best of that business that we possibly can at the moment.”
So something was said about the onshore EMS business - it falls within one of Babcock’s main focus areas - emergency services.
Ah well, at least crew change is profitable. I wonder if the same can be said of some of its competitors....
“Second, one was the crew change business. Sorry, yes. Yes. I mean, I think it’s quite early days. I mean, we signaled -- we clearly signaled at the year-end when we put the focus -- when we cleared this up and put our focus in defense, emergency services, and nuclear. The crew change, the offshore oil and gas business was not seen by us as a kind of a critical part of the business. So, again, that, I guess, kicked off an exercise that says, well, what happen to that business? Do we -- how do we operate it? It’s a reasonable-sized business. It’s still profitable. And I think all the segment here is we’re going to look at what we can do with it in terms of making it the best we possibly can, whilst of course, still maintaining top priority and safety and meeting our customers’ kind of needs. But, we do feel that the business is -- the oil and gas business overall in our sector has stabilized, although somewhat still not great. But, I think we want -- we --- the business will be there. Questions of what we do with it in the long term. Again, the exercises we’ll do in the moment may lead us toward some kind of conclusions here. Then the first instance is all about us taking actions around about making sure that we’re making the best of that business that we possibly can at the moment.”
So something was said about the onshore EMS business - it falls within one of Babcock’s main focus areas - emergency services.
Ah well, at least crew change is profitable. I wonder if the same can be said of some of its competitors....
If onshore want to recruit and retain pilots in the future they will seriously have to look at paying more than what is being offered! There are way fewer guys leaving the forces, and depending on their original joining date with H.M., will not have immediate access to their pensions to boost their pay...there's a huge number of guys reaching 60 soon, offshore is picking up, the airlines are booming, HEMS day VFR ops going into IFR, night, and unsociably hours than before but expecting to pay the same....and for the first time onshore is using types 145/169 that offshore is now using...lots of guys defected already from SAS/Babcock to go offshore doing the wind farm work with unifly/wiking etc as they get a substantial pay increase, and ironically only work day vfr??? Just shows how poorly paid our Hems is!!
Banging my head against a brick wall trying to recruit onshore....with the usual excuses from management but even they acknowledge we are going to have to do something drastic soon, as vacancies being left unfilled for far too long, and it is not going to get any better..
B.
Banging my head against a brick wall trying to recruit onshore....with the usual excuses from management but even they acknowledge we are going to have to do something drastic soon, as vacancies being left unfilled for far too long, and it is not going to get any better..
B.
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If onshore want to recruit and retain pilots in the future they will seriously have to look at paying more than what is being offered! There are way fewer guys leaving the forces, and depending on their original joining date with H.M., will not have immediate access to their pensions to boost their pay...there's a huge number of guys reaching 60 soon, offshore is picking up, the airlines are booming, HEMS day VFR ops going into IFR, night, and unsociably hours than before but expecting to pay the same....and for the first time onshore is using types 145/169 that offshore is now using...lots of guys defected already from SAS/Babcock to go offshore doing the wind farm work with unifly/wiking etc as they get a substantial pay increase, and ironically only work day vfr??? Just shows how poorly paid our Hems is!!
Banging my head against a brick wall trying to recruit onshore....with the usual excuses from management but even they acknowledge we are going to have to do something drastic soon, as vacancies being left unfilled for far too long, and it is not going to get any better..
B.
Banging my head against a brick wall trying to recruit onshore....with the usual excuses from management but even they acknowledge we are going to have to do something drastic soon, as vacancies being left unfilled for far too long, and it is not going to get any better..
B.
Personally I've ticked the box with exams, built up hours to get above the minimum for carrying out the practical part of the CPL course, but now I've stopped. I don't want to instruct to the 2,500hr point before I'm eligible for another type of job, typically as I don't see a great rush of fresh PPL(H) students on the sideline, so the 2,500hrs may well take years, and those years would be spent earning around £40-£50 an hour whilst flying, everything else for me as an instructor would be "free". I don't know if it's worth gaining my CPL/ATPL anymore. I've often been tempted to approach operators such as SAS or Babcock etc to ask about acting as supernumerary crew, but I don't think this could even be possible in today's heavily legislated industry.
Personally I think as an aside to the pay, the whole experience criteria in the UK specially needs some attention. I'm not suggesting putting a fresh 185hr CPL on to a type rating course and letting them loose, but in reality if a HEMS pilot needs 2,500hrs plus 135/145 type rating, plus significant low level experience, plus winching experience etc etc where are these going to come from if not ex-mil? If pay is well below par, where do companies expect to get pilots from?
Personally I've ticked the box with exams, built up hours to get above the minimum for carrying out the practical part of the CPL course, but now I've stopped. I don't want to instruct to the 2,500hr point before I'm eligible for another type of job, typically as I don't see a great rush of fresh PPL(H) students on the sideline, so the 2,500hrs may well take years, and those years would be spent earning around £40-£50 an hour whilst flying, everything else for me as an instructor would be "free". I don't know if it's worth gaining my CPL/ATPL anymore. I've often been tempted to approach operators such as SAS or Babcock etc to ask about acting as supernumerary crew, but I don't think this could even be possible in today's heavily legislated industry.
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Any flying becomes boring after multiple thousand hours. Trust me. Don’t get me wrong I’d rather do this than sit in an office, but it will eventually just become a job to you. Go with the money and the jobs... ie Fixed wing. Rotary self financed just doesn’t make sense.
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And Offshore flying isn't mind numbingly boring?
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Plank wing would be an option, if I simply wanted to fly for a living without care for what I was flying; however I don't I want to fly helicopters. I flew planks (kind of) as an instructor for the Air Training Corps some years ago, and it just did not & does not hold the magic of helicopters.
I'm not in anyway deluded enough to think that I'm going to walk into any type of HEMS captaincy role, and that CHC are magically going to call me one day and say "Hey there, we read your moaning on PPRUNE and you're right, you deserve a break, your S92 type course starts next Monday....."
But FW guys new to the industry do get a leg up in some ways, there are avenues out there for them where they can enter and join the party, but in the RW side of things, it looks like there is only instructing or nothing - surely if we want to encourage new blood, and young blood at that to keep our industry alive then we need to have something to get people interested and keep them interested? cadetship, First Officer, Supernumery Crew, there *could* be many ways if we used our collective brain powers and not presenting problems for all solutions?
I'm not in anyway deluded enough to think that I'm going to walk into any type of HEMS captaincy role, and that CHC are magically going to call me one day and say "Hey there, we read your moaning on PPRUNE and you're right, you deserve a break, your S92 type course starts next Monday....."
But FW guys new to the industry do get a leg up in some ways, there are avenues out there for them where they can enter and join the party, but in the RW side of things, it looks like there is only instructing or nothing - surely if we want to encourage new blood, and young blood at that to keep our industry alive then we need to have something to get people interested and keep them interested? cadetship, First Officer, Supernumery Crew, there *could* be many ways if we used our collective brain powers and not presenting problems for all solutions?
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I never wanted to be a pilot....
Plank wing would be an option, if I simply wanted to fly for a living without care for what I was flying; however I don't I want to fly helicopters. I flew planks (kind of) as an instructor for the Air Training Corps some years ago, and it just did not & does not hold the magic of helicopters.
I'm not in anyway deluded enough to think that I'm going to walk into any type of HEMS captaincy role, and that CHC are magically going to call me one day and say "Hey there, we read your moaning on PPRUNE and you're right, you deserve a break, your S92 type course starts next Monday....."
But FW guys new to the industry do get a leg up in some ways, there are avenues out there for them where they can enter and join the party, but in the RW side of things, it looks like there is only instructing or nothing - surely if we want to encourage new blood, and young blood at that to keep our industry alive then we need to have something to get people interested and keep them interested? cadetship, First Officer, Supernumery Crew, there *could* be many ways if we used our collective brain powers and not presenting problems for all solutions?
I'm not in anyway deluded enough to think that I'm going to walk into any type of HEMS captaincy role, and that CHC are magically going to call me one day and say "Hey there, we read your moaning on PPRUNE and you're right, you deserve a break, your S92 type course starts next Monday....."
But FW guys new to the industry do get a leg up in some ways, there are avenues out there for them where they can enter and join the party, but in the RW side of things, it looks like there is only instructing or nothing - surely if we want to encourage new blood, and young blood at that to keep our industry alive then we need to have something to get people interested and keep them interested? cadetship, First Officer, Supernumery Crew, there *could* be many ways if we used our collective brain powers and not presenting problems for all solutions?