Yep, got my dates through yesterday evening. Time to get the (now extremely dusty) maths and physics revision books out from the loft I think.

Good luck to everyone who got through to Stage 2, hope to see some of you down there.:ok:

Brass et al, I think you misunderstand me!!
I am delighted this sponsorship exists and was saing that 9 years really is no biggy for what you are getting(in my opinion!).

Brass I meant that pilots entering the mil (RAF) at the moment are on Permanent Commissions of 18years, or at least thats what my AFCO think!:ugh:

Anyhow Good Luck everyone, I'm going to call up for me dates now!

Buzz

Oh no problem.....

Good luck Buzz:ok:

Indeed, the new Mil boys might be getting asked for 12 to 18 years, but it's not comparable. Lets face it, Her Maj isn't asking you for thirty grand of your hard earned money to join:}

Fair comment Chukka, I guess you pay your money and take your choice..!!

If anyone else has not had their dates yet fear not, I spoke to OAT yesterday and they said they were calling people in batches and expect further dates over the next few days.

Buzz, it's a fantastic opportunity, and if I was the right side of 30, I'd have went for it myself.

Thirty thou is a LOT of money for a young guy of 21/22 to find though, or it would have been for me at that age. Maybe I'm just getting old. The fact these guys can lay their hands on that sort of cash must show some sharps to the interviewers if nothing else. Most of the 21 yr old Pilots I knew when I was Mil couldn't have found £30 if you'd pressed them for it:}

Kudos to Bond though for running the scheme, and it'll be interesting to see if others in the trade follow suit to get some more new blood in.:ok:

Chukka, Tell me about it!

If I am lucky enough to land this scheme I will find it hard to find that kind of cash, I will however have a damn good go!!!
I know I for one am expecting after todays news stories, to be laughed out of a bank having asked for £30k to fly helicopters!
I actually know a chap who funded his motor-racing career by selling shares in himself....he raised quite a bit!:)

But you're correct it is no doubt the best chance to come a lot of peoples ways and you'd be mad not to grab it with EVERYTHING!

Has anyone been through the stage 2 selection yet?

Nope I'm on Sunday....would be interested to hear how many people are getting chopped on the first day though!

Just arrived here at OAT, and i must say that the accomodation is really very nice!!

Anyone else kicking around here tonight?

Snowy Owl - Was hoping to stay but ended up commuting. Might see you if you're there tomorrow though.

Buzz - Just completed day 1 and 6 out of 16 are going through to day 2. I don't know how this compares to other days???

Wow 10 people didn't get through to day two! My day 1 starts tomorrow at 13:00.

Good luck guys, I've had to pull out for unfortunate family reasons and am devastated.

Snowy, PMR, Buzz etc. - all the best. Let us know how you get on.

Regards,

L A

Snowy, nice edit! I wonder if you're nervous about the maths tests now!!!!
L A, thats terrible news, I had to pull out of a similar scheme a few years ago due to the same reason. Hopefully other schemes will start popping up to allow you to try again.
Hope the famiy stuff sorts itself out.
Buzz

Good Luck to you all.:ok::ok::ok::ok::ok:

Pffft what maths lol.... Today was really enjoyable, surprised how i did on COMPASS test, so i guess i need to read what bond's all about for tomorrow.

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Has anyone got through??????????????

Just a quick question for you guys applying for the sponsorship with Bond. Are you applying for the sponsorship because of financial restraints or has it got to do with the course/company/training involved. I am a 21 year old trainee but self funded and im just wondering what made you guys go down that route?

Yeah, for me it was the potential of a job with Bond after the training, and in the grand scheme of things £30k for what is on offer is a bargain!
I got through to day 2 despite a shocking Physics test result:ugh:, had a good interview score, but mediocre team excercise results, so I am not expecting to be called to final interviews.:{
I was surprised to learn there were only c150 initial applications!

Out of interest, is this what the Bond representative told you on Day 1?

Bravo,
We didn't meet anyone from Bond. Oat gave us a short chat at the start of Day 1, but this was just to talk us through the tests. We were not given any info about the Sponsorship,funding or bonding periods, plenty of rumours flying about but nothing of substance.

Buzz34/Laggie,

Thanks for the feedback.

I know that it's not what you want to hear but please bear in mind that operational requirements are often far, far removed from wannabes' aspirations.

If the company has gone to the effort (and especially the cost) of training you to operate a particular aircraft in a particular way (ie multi-crew, AS332/EC225) then it is very unlikely that, in the short term, they will go to extra cost to train you on to a different aircraft in a different environment (ie SPIFR EC135). I'm not saying that it's impossible, just very unlikely. (I don't want to sound patronising but are you even aware that a multi-pilot IR is different to a single-pilot IR?)

Also please bear in mind that there will already be a queue of offshore pilots in front of you who would also like to come onshore. I imagine that seniority will get preference.


Best of luck with the process though.

Bravo,

If I got this sponsorship I would be more than happy for Bond to put me wherever they flipping well liked, offshore,onshore,Single crew, multi-crew, I can assure you I would not be complaining either way!

Laggies info seems to good to be true to me.
£500/week whilst training. Surely thats going to be £500 a month??

Hi Guys its 500per month.

Laggie,

I suggest that you do a lot more research about the work Bond do. (This is the second time that you have mentioned 'vip'. I know that they mention it on their website but, FYI, Bond Air Services are currently not very big players on the onshore UK charter market.)

Pay particular attention to what each job actually involves and how keen operators are to have specialists for certain jobs, not 'generalists'. Also have a look at the different payscales for Bond Offshore and Bond Air Services. Then, maybe you'll start to understand why few pilots actually want to make the move from offshore to onshore.

IIRC, one of the Bond Offshore pilots posted earlier on this thread. Maybe he can help you out with your research...

Bravo 73 you seem to be contradicting yourself in that you state that there is a queue of offshore pilots who wish to go onshore and will get preference through seniority then in your next post say that they probably won't want to because of the different pay structures!
There is no queue!

Whilst 'currently not big players in the onshore UK charter market', Bond Offshore have flown several VIP trips, unless personages such as the Prime Minister don't fall into your category of VIP!

OK, here goes for what it is worth! A very small amount of inside knowledge and an awful lot of my opinion, so no guarantees.

If you are selected for this scheme, I suspect that you already know that you will be expected to put in an absolute minimum of 100% effort during initial training. On completion of the basic training in the USA, I believe you will be doing an EC135 conversion and IR with Bond Air Services at Staverton. This is a huge leap in technology and workload, if you work your socks off and are a reasonably switched on cookie, there will just be sufficient time to get up to the standard for the IR! Feeling tired yet?

OK, quick breather then start next conversion onto another machine. Obvious choice is the 332 for offshore work, but who knows what the next couple of years will bring! Up to this point it will be important to smile, be keen, perform well, keep cheerful – reports from your instructors will almost certainly have some affect on your future career path.

Now, settle down to a few years of work as a co-pilot and learn the trade. Don’t upset anyone, you will meet some people that will wind you up beyond belief, it happens wherever you go – just smile and get on with the job. Take every opportunity to volunteer for work that is out of the ordinary. North Sea Operations do not lend themselves to variety so when a chance comes up grab it. In the days of ‘Old Bond,’ pilots tended to move from ‘BAD’ (the big helicopter division) to ‘SAD’ (the small helicopter division) once they had proved that they could cope without a home life, stay happily in a dubious hotel without throwing a tantrum, and function out of site of management for a couple of weeks without screwing up!!

At some stage, I suspect that future options will be discussed. Some may stay as a co-pilot for a bit longer, some may progress to North Sea command (and a hefty pay rise) and some may get the option to transfer to BAS to work HEMS/Police/Lighthouses and whatever else we are doing. The transfer to BAS would not produce much of a pay rise I suspect, but this is the best time to make the move so that you do not get used to the Stratospheric North Sea Captain’s pay scales! These choices will be very much decided by your aspirations and your performance/attitude over the next few years, so make sure you start off committed and keep going. Oh, by the way, you can enjoy it too!

I look forward to seeing you in the crew room sometime.

Good luck.

TeeS

You're right. On reflection, I should've said 'if' any pilots want to come onshore.

I guess that you're refering to the electioneering trips from a few years ago. Laggie's mention of 'onshore, maybe vip' hardly encompasses those very rare trips. (You'll also notice that my original post actually states "Bond Air Services are currently not very big players in the...". No mention of Offshore on my part.)


All I've tried to do is inject a sense of reality in to what would appear to be several wannabes' dreams of the future. The bottom line is that the cadets are going to go straight on to NS crew change duties. After a couple of years, some of them might get moved onto Jigsaw. And, as TeeS has outlined, after a few more years, some might be given the opportunity to move onshore. But there's certainly no chance of '2 years here, then 2 years there then 2 years over there'.

From your profile, Fully Coupled, it looks like you might be a current Bond Offshore pilot. Are you?

Unable to attract qualified applicants?
 

I have been reading this thread with some interest. In Norway CHC HS have not problems attracting qualified applicants. The normal minimum level of qualification is 1.000 flight hours in helicopters, including the ATPL H theory exam passed.

The background of our applicants is varied, with a mix of military and civilian from within the EU/EEA. Flight hours typically ranging from 1.000-2.500hrs. In some isolated (2-3) instances HS have accepted applicants with 700-800hrs.

HS have hired 28 pilots the last 1 1/2 years, and 15 more applicants have been invited to join the company, with a planned recruitment of an additional 70 pilots in the next 27 months.

What might the reason for Bond needing to establish a recruitment regime like the one discussed on this thread? It seems it would involve lots of work and resources for the company?

The main difference between Bond and the other operators in the North Sea is that Bond does not have a recognized pilot union nor a collective labour agreement between BALPA and the company , as far as I know. Many European pilots would consider this a disadvantage, for a number of reasons:

1. The pilot does not have protection in matters of harassment or unfair delays in upgrade to the position of Commander, unfair change of base, type or operation. Spending money on laywers out of your own wallet is not an option for most people.
2. Terms and condition will change or not change, depending on management desicions, not negotiated agreements. Bond would typically shadow Bristows and CHC Scotia?
Bonding is fun when you get started, but grows old after a few years, so deliberate carefully before signing the dotted line.
How many pilots does Bond plan on recruiting each year through this scheme?

I believe that this is a one-off scheme recruiting 12 people in the end. The difference with the process is that Bond get to have the pilots trained from Ab-Initio to their requirements and standards.

Also from this selection they can chose who will potentially make the best pilots, as (no offence to anyone) sometimes the experienced pilots may not have the better aptitude and handling of the helicopter.

Just my thoughts on that! - Plus its a huge oppertunity for someone to get a helicopter job who could otherwise not afford it!

*edit* - Just adding to this instead of writing a new post -

How many people do you think will have got through to the Bond interviews? - i guess that 48 people got through to the second day at OAT (unless anyone was on a selection period where less than 6 people got through) - so do you think they'll half that again for the Bond interviews, and then systematically half that for the 12 candidates?

I have watched this thread with interest over the past couple of weeks.

Great opportunity for those wanting to be pursue a career in aviation, and Bond would seem a good fit, shame about the personalities there.

How do you mean?

Does anyone know if Bristow or CHC plan to follow suit?

Hey Chic, my analyst says that both of my personalities are fine, thanks very much!! :}

Laggie, my post was not intended to put anyone off, far from it. The deal is an excellent one, but the learning curve will require plenty of late nights.

TeeS

TeeS's post has got it right.

This is an excellent deal for those who want to join the offshore world, but don't confuse Bond Offshore with Bond Onshore they are 2 different companies albeit owned by the same family.

Compared to CHC - Scotia and Bristows Bond Offshore, for whom the cadets will be working, are relatively small having 5 offshore 332L2s and 2 SAR config 332L2s. They mainly work for BP.

Your work will be radial bashing out of Aberdeen for maybe 5yrs before anything else happens to you. The chance of becoming a EMS/Police pilot will be slim mainly because you won't have any experience apart from loads of straight and level auto pilot in hours. If you are lucky you may do about 100 rig landings a year (800hrs max/yr - 4hr average trip - if lucky get half the landings!)

I wish you all the best of luck but don't expect excitement as the passengers don't like it:E. It is very rewarding when you do the job in bad weather to the laid down limits but be prepared for 4hr+ conversations about trivia when it is sunny and you are used to the flight routine;)

332M

If you are struggling with your research, Laggie, have you tried either searching or asking on here? This sort of info is one of PPRuNe's great strengths.

But my own very basic analysis is as follows:

Bond Air Services (Air Ambulance) - Big 'player' in the UK market.
Bond Offshore - Small/medium 'player', but growing.
Bond Air Services ('Executive Charter') - Very small 'player'.

This is, of course, just IMO though.



And FYI, SAR and EMS are 2 very different disciplines. They shouldn't really be grouped together.

should read

Bond Air Services ( Air Ambulance, Police and Lighthouse Support)

as well as air ambulances all over the country Bond also have contracts with Strathclyde Police, South Wales Police, Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board

How many through stage 2 then ?
 

Hi All,

Just wondered how people have been getting on, any idea how many have passed stage 2.

All the best.

No, it shouldn't. But thanks anyway. :ok:


Edited to add: But, if you do want to put words into my mouth, how about this:

Bond Air Services (Air Ambulance) - Big 'player' in the UK market.
Bond Air Services (Lighthouse Support) - The only player(?)
Bond Offshore - Small/medium 'player', but growing.
Bond Air Services (Police Contracts) - Small 'player'.
Bond Air Services ('Executive Charter') - Very small 'player'.

:ok:

Snowy Owl.........................

Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!!!!:eek: Oh dear. With experience comes spare capacity to deal with young fellow 'm' lads like you!

But at the end of the day good luck and think about what you are about to do not the future. Bond are doing this for a reason. CHC don't need too and Bristows who knows........

At the end of the day look after your work force and pay them enough and they will stay!