Hevilift Png
 

Anyone got the scoop on whats happening at Hevilift png at the moment?
I see they are looking for a new CEO & Chief Engineer among others.

thanks in advance

SL

Hevilift PNG ??
 

Apart from the mentioned there have been 7 pilots resign in the last month !!
Happy camp ?,I think not.

Thanks L1.
Certainly doesn't sound too good

Anyone know the reason why?,
and where are all these guys going?

cheers
SL

Thanks FD,
Yeah..., I see where your coming from.

Just trying to see whats happening at Hevilift..... reasons etc. People of that number don't leave for no good reason.
Also wondering where they might be going?

I've seen quite a few job ads in Aus recently, and wondering whether they might be going to Aus or somewhere else.
I know in my flying career to date, I've spent more time out of Aus than in.

It's a big wide world out there when you start looking. Thought a few guys at Hevilift might be onto something.... you never know.
It would be good to know though.... would'nt it?. I'm sure I'm not the only one that would be interested in finding out.

Perhaps someone out here might have a bit more info..... if they feel like sharing.
Much appreciated.

cheers
SL

Why are people leaving Hevilift? I will give you a BIG clue.
The company must have the only (so called) Financial Director who planned to give Multi crew IFR Twin heli pilots a pay CUT!!!! :=
This after a pay raise was due last April.
He was somewhat surprised at the lack of warm fuzzy atmosphere when he attempted to explain this to the pilots concerned at the two IFR bases!!!!
Obviously he has no idea of the lack of pilots out there.:uhoh::ugh:
One pilot went within a few days of the Grand Plan Announcement.
Another VERY long term pilot was given the DCM after giving ( while bottle fatigued) vent to his VERY explicitly descriptive thoughts on the integrity of the FD. The company was already short of pilots and is now more so.
2 more have interviews to go onto nice shiny new 139s.
The future is looking shaky.:*

Thought they were looking for pilots in Timor and Solomons and an onshore oil contract in PNG? Is there a mass exodus on the cards and is it pay cuts in the ME division only?:ooh:

Damn. And I just wrote them about a month-on/month-off gig. Ah, well. It's not like they're going to write back or anything.

Probably another case there of the well tried and tested management technique of every so often marching the unsuspecting suspect infront of the firing squad in order to keep all the suspecting suspects in line.

Hey 47.
From what I hear, you forgot a couple of items that highlight the standards of Hevi Lift PNG. I hear there is an INSURANCE problem as well. With your Solomon and Timor base being in support of peace keeping efforts, the usual insurgency civil disturbance but not actual war, it is a bit “sad” of Hevi Lift to have dropped insurance cover if crew are hurt / dead due to any thing but a “routine” accident. Kept this info to themselves as well.
Don’t even think about loss of license or normal PA insurance for world cover, etc. etc. I hear that the casualty evacuation plan is a LOT vague.

It must be inspiring to have a NON FLYING IFR Chief Pilot and deputy CP. Especially with a pilot shortage. Hmmmm, if I come back to Hevi Lift maybe I can get a non flying pilot position?:rolleyes:

They might not be able to afford the war risk insurance premiums if rumors are true that the taxes deducted from the staff pays over the past X number of years (allegedly) haven't been remitted to the tax office. Now the collector of taxes office wants its money, and it's a big number (allegedly). Or so it's rumored. No doubt more will be revealed when those loyal Hevilift suspects...er subjects...decamp to the HNZ camp and then fall outside the provisions of the Hevilift Secrecy Act (As Amended).

What a bunch of foolish and ill informed s*#t this thread has been so far. Coming from someone in the know from the coal face, Hevilift's issues have been simply a lack of communication during a pretty critical period. There are other issues that every company will inevitably face from time to time simply due to the fact that there will always be a somewhat warped sense of the real world existing in the bean counters minds thanks to their lack of real world experience!! Three cheers to any Directors with the ability to avoid this anomally and soar to new heights. Possible but certainly not probable!! A very good company that still has a lot to offer and a management team that has shown an ability to listen.

Obviously some of the bunch of foolish and ill informed s*#t in this thread has come from people presently working at the coal face for HL. So if they are ill informed, as alleged, then by deduction they are ill informed because their management has not informed them, or their management has informed them but with mis-information. Either way it comes back to the management. The other alternative is they're all stirers, or all liars, and knowing who this ppruner knows there, I know that not to be the case.

But credit to the said senior managers/Directors where due. Several of whom are afterall members of the "stick up" club, and to stick at it after being stuck up by a rascol holding a hair trigger shot gun at your face, on more than one occasion I might add, deserves special mention. PNG is a tough gig on many fronts.

No doubt the truth can be seen from different perspectives.

Bloggs, I'll leave it there thanks mate. Sorry to get involved!! :ok:

Can any of you guys "in the know" shed any light on the Hevilift operation in Indonesia? Going okay or something to steer clear of?

Rumors that HL have a new contract in the Philipines for 2 helicopters, that might be another option for anyone considering.

Good to see the lads and ladettes finally won a jersey here on the thread. I here it has been a rather bitter pill, handled more profressionally at some bases than at others. Looking from the outside with maybe a view to join such a prestigious aviation company at some future date, makes me wonder!
Always being in close contact with crew involved at the bases, I was left incredulous at the suggestion of a pay drop!! Unbelievable in the industry where it is at the time.
Certainly lost a lot of credibilty with a lot of people.
Good luck
Rotor

Insurance fixed up?
 

Apparently the insurance situation has been fixed-up and you will be covered when touring to "peace-keeping operations" bases. Anyone care to comment?

When the Boij brothers took a 50% share in HL from Collins & Leahy they immediately turned around and offered a USD$10k pay cut to some/most of the pilots.

Semi Rigid you forgot to mention after the pay drop about 70% of the guys left so they hired new guys, then had an accident in which the pilot was banged up pretty bad and 3 nationals were killed, and the brothers have said cost them a million $.

I'd be surprised if that prang cost them a million $, certainly not for the hull loss because the aircraft was insured. Probably not for the repatriation of the banged up pilot because they have insurance for that sort of thing, or don't they?? Their premiums might have gone up following the hull loss claim, but I thought Swires underwrote all the insurance, so it's like robbing Peter to pay Paul (I was going to say like robbing Jan to pay Paul, but I won't!!). Regarding the pay drop as described, wasn't it only proposed rather than implemented, and most of the guys ended up with a pay rise?

You got to understand some of the background here. The brothers came into the new JV operation with no experience dealing with helicopter pilots. They'd had plenty of experience dealing with young jellyback stiff wing pilots who'd roll over and take it up the rear posterior just to be greatful they had a job. They just weren't prepared initially for the fact that the helicopter pilot group had much stiffer back bones than what the brothers were used to dealing with. Many voted with their feet and left, some came back eventually after the dust settled and the deal was found to be not that bad. Some wanted to come back but the horse had already bolted and the bridge was burned.

I think you'll find ultimately they all ended up with a pay rise, particularly the stiff wing pilot co-pilots who benefited greating from the back bone brought to the operation by the helicopter pilots.

The paycut proposed now has a completely different history.

Latest pay deal ?
 

Story I heard was they are concidering paying in PNG Kina.Wonder if thats shells or coins ?
Best way Ivé seen to f*%# up a real fine and very established helicopter company is put it togeather with a plank operation !.Not to mention the penny pinching tight arse management/co owners who seem to think that seriously experienced heli pilots can take a pinapple up the bum and still be happy ? (ie,change the conditions ) ,get real bro's .
Alot of the work came from clients who liked the product that the pilots delivered, not the management.When will these sort of jerks figure it out ?.:=:=

Ultimately it's their train set and they can wreck it if they want. The staff who work for them have the choice to vote with their feet. As many have done, and more will.

The PNG Kina is not so bad, but having the whole lot taxed in PNG is a deal breaker. 40% gone down the plug hole with nothing to show for it, not even a warm fuzzy feeling that the money is going to do some good for the impoverished and bagerup country.

Whether all of that tax previously taken out of the pays ended up with the tax man where it should is the interesting question. No doubt more will be revealled about this in the fullness of time.

Airborne Energy Solutions are looking at a deal where a small amount is paid in Kina & the rest in AUD for the "Pacific" contract. I hope they succeed, both for the operators & pilots sake, & maybe the other operators could look at a similar option. Quoting Gullibell at an approximate rate of 40% tax (& I know he is very close to the mark) you need a pretty high salary to make the take home pay reasonable.

Maybe Hevilift should continue to hang on to the tax dollars(allegedly), 'cause if the PNG govt get hold of the cash it'll probably all end up as private real estate in Cairns anyway!!

...or Singapore more likely :}

rumour has it that they have lost the contract in timor as aircraft could not meet ifr requirement, to be confirmed.??????????????????????????????

the insurance has not been fixed up yet.:suspect:

Heard last week that Helicorp looking for Black Handers for Timor. Apparently Hevilift out, Helicorp in is the word.

Weird that, "apparently" losing the Timor contract for not meeting the IFR requirement. Particularly seeing they've got an IFR B412 based in Moro (PNG) on a day VFR contract. I guess those wearing a HL uniform in Timor at the moment might soon be wearing a Helicorp uniform.

Doubt that very much
 

gulliBell,
Doubt that very much. A few of the 212/412 drivers who signed up with Helicorp are now working for Hevilift in Timor. Helicorp 412 has now had a heavy landing on a training exercise. And another thing Helicorp will have to do is get permission to carry ADF personal and dangerous goods on the aircraft thay are operating there. Helicorp have a **** load of work to do before they are able to operate there. I think HL will be there for just a bit longer if you get my drift. Remember that helicorp advertised in Febuary for a May start. Still not there yet.

Banger

Hey Guys, What Happened to this Thread
 

Man, everything was booming along with lots of current oil, then bang! Not a word! Some of us out here in the community are quite interested in finding out about Aussie Int'l contracts.

Any more from anybody out there?

:D Keep the fan on top!

Yeah, interesting also that a heavy landing in a 412 hasn't drawn more attention, it doesn't happen very often. I guess maybe those involved want to keep it that way.

could it be that even those on the coal face don't even have clue what is happening? :confused:

They know, HL have been given 30 days notice by PDL. Not sure whether that was given before or after the heavy landing, and how that episode might affect HL decamping from Timor.

Ok we all hear about how the troops are feeling with Hevi-Lift in Timor and the solomons but how is the company managing things in PNG these days? is it a happy camp there?
Anyone have any news to tell on this?

A bit of information gathered up from the lads in the Hevilift camp to answer some of the questions asked earlier in this thread.
The latest on the Get Out of Timor for Hevilift is that all crews will be kept on if they wish. But ALL Hevilift crews have to reapply for their jobs under the new employment contract. As yet nobody knows what is in the NEW contract?? Somebody knows but not saying. Time will reveal the fine print
While chatting with the Timor lads, one question I asked was, If the IFR CP was based there, and the IFR helicopter was NOT IFR , what was the IFR CP doing about it??
For an answer, I was referred back to some posts by BELLFEST. The first one was full of fire and coal(?) dust. In my reply to that I, innocently, asked a few obvious questions. The next BELLFEST post was a quick withdrawal from the scene. It appears that this is typical of the man.
The lads said that they cannot confirm that BELLFEST is the IFR CP but, by the initial bluster and subsequent quick retreat under questioning, they could be twins. If there had of been lots of cappuccino stains over the BELLFEST post, then, they would know for sure!!!
It would appear that they did not expect a lot of effort on the part of the CP to fix the problem thus preempting the Get Out of Timor situation!! Mind you I believe that all standards must be set from the very top. If the owners / top management don’t have high standards, the middle management probably won’t either.
Insurance is NOT fixed up, even though CP says so.:ugh:
Helicorp have more than one 412 so, perhaps, the heavy landing will not affect their Timor arrival.
I have been told that in Timor the Hevilift contract was with the Army but in Solomons the Hevilift contract is with PDL/TOLL. I wonder how long before PDL/TOLL Helicorp start to eye off the Solomon OP. ??? The Hevilift op there has been less than perfect and, in the word of one of the pilots in the Solomons, PDL/TOLL probably have a little black book of all the Hevilift booboos and will wield it when the time suits them.
One belief is that the Timor contract has been down graded to VFR. Anyone confirm this? Makes it much easier for Helicorp.
The VFR ops in PNG appear to be going quite steadily with the new 407s going well.. One pilot, newly type endorsed on 412, has left. No word why?? The PNG people seem to have pretty good VFR CP and their training guy has been there for years. A pair of old pros who KNOW their stuff and will speak their mind if something is wrong!
Several Squirrels now operating in Indonesia in a joint venture ??
Nothing on any op in Phillipines
The FW side of the Regional/Hevilift operation has been going through a bit of down sizing in OZ. The Cambodia base has closed.
No word on the Myanmar op. But other world class Twin Otter operators are going for the contract! With oil companies it is not ALWAYS about money. Some of them require high standards and will pay for it. ( Not often, but some oil companies do.)
The owners of Regional / Hevilift have been in the transport game for while and are not known for giving up. Probably have a little period of consolidation and then back at. They appear to be able to get the contracts but have a trouble delivering the standards.
Perhaps the new Hevilift CEO can keep them on the straight and level. Apparently he has a heavy aviation background. Good luck to him!:ok:

Bloogs,Would be interested to know where you get your info about HL on the Sollies and Timor contracts?
Under the continuely changing playing field that Patricks have dished up right from day one HL has done extremely well.The nasty little man in Sydney sets the tone and all those below him follow for fear of there own postions.

One needs to ask how are Patricks fearing up to their end of the bargain with the ADF ie Puma replacement. The whole PDL is cost plus 20, a given from Howard.(Supposedly)Cream work if you can get it.
There will always be changes as one door closes another one opens so to speak,the company appears to be continuely restructuring and redefining goals quite prudent in this day.

Bloggs;
"training guy has been there for years. A pair of old pros who KNOW their stuff"
I heard that the aussie pilot who flew into the cloud with a solid centre on Moro's Moran ridge had barely even had a check-ride let-a-lone a brief on SOP's in the oil patch.

SR, I think you'll find that the training guy referred to there was over-ruled about that said aussie pilot being released to fly the line unsupervised. Rumored that the said accident came as no surprise to some.

No Suprise
 

QB,
I concur, if the check pilot is who I think it is then disreagarding his recommendations was a foolhardy and costly move by some.

I totally agree with that comment, it appears the new management Regional haven’t a clue how to manage helicopter operations especially in PNG, seams they are trying to run it just like there stiff wing show.
I really hope they wake up to themselves before it’s too late and more people are killed or hurt and the company is in pieces.
Sad to see it go that way it was such a great company.