If you are living on Coronation Street ....you've been scammed!

NNP helicopters??

Are not there 2 or 3 MBB's in a hangar between PanAfrican and the Nigeria Police hangar with this logo on the machines? Or am I mistaken, maybe it was the National Electric Co. Either way they are derelict like the Police machines. One 206 was flyable of the 6 or so machines there.

Coleface,
The helicopters you have seen (BO 105's, 206's, and a 222) are the entire airborne division of the Nigerian police force. They sometimes move around the hangar, but they never fly. (they probably never will).

419

The Nigerian Police Air Wing is supposed to have spent 22 Million US Dollars for spare parts one year.....and never had a single aircraft flyable before or after that. BHL had to provide a Bell 212 for the recovery operations following the crash of a Nigerian Air Force C-130 at Lagos during that period.

Makes you wonder where the money actually got spent!:(

SASeless, you know they spent it on the roads. Surely you don't think someone would have taken it? I use to work for the Leventis @ Agenebode
Barryb

The BO 105 I'm refering to are not the Nigeria police but are in the end of the PanAfrican hangar, right behind Julias Berger and have some other company name on them, I think its NNPA or whatever the national electric provider is called. In the police hangar are 2 47;s a 222 and 3 Jetrangers, one of which can fly. The portable fuel bowsers are very nice too, to bad they are derelict also. How about those 2 C500's wonder how many hrs on them, I heard 2500, the TX time on the JT15's.

To get the latest on the 419 scam at a quite amusing site (and with a link to forward 419 fraud e-mails to the FBI and the Fraud squad of the UK police) go to:
The Lads From Lagos

Actually, the Nigerian Police Force did have at least one of their 206s flying about 2 years ago. I don't know if it's still serviceable now though!:D

Bristows Nigeria deal?
 

Gents,

Anyone working for Bristows on S-76 in Nigeria give use the deal on the working conditions, accom, aircraft, maintenance and money for captains and co-pilots.

Cheers
SM

At the rate things are going, it won't be long before CHC wraps up all the Nigerian work too. You may want to inquire as to how the hummingbird pays!!! :yuk:

Getting a bit itchy down there already SM?

From what I've heard it's 7 on 5 off, about 45,000 sterling for a cojoe, but don't quote me.

SM
If you're not Nigerian, there are no expat copilots in Nigeria. If a copilot is needed a Nigerian is employed. There are often two expat Captains flying together though. If you don't have the qualifications for Captaincy (even if you're not flying in Command) you won't get employed. These qualifications are normally determined by the oil companies Bristow is flying for. Contract is 7 weeks on 5 weeks off, pay around £42K. Accomodation depends which contract you're on. Maintenance is normally good after going thru a bad patch some years ago (see various remarks by SASless on threads here over the last few years). The main thing to prepare yourself for is not Bristow but Nigeria. It's different from a lot of places in Africa and people tend to have very polarised views about it, so if you have any friends there talk to them beforehand if you're thinking of going.

JW
Why would you think CHC will wrap up all the Nigerian work? They may be about to take over ACN, but it's no different from the situation in the North Sea or GOM. The oil companies want to keep at least 2 operators around to keep competition up and prices down. CHC pay less than Bristow, though their work schedule is 6 weeks, 6 weeks.

Nigeria and nearby
 

Hi pprune folks.
I found this one at the Flight Internationals home page today (6 Jan 04). So they are once again looking for pilots. Are we coming closer to a better deal in Nigeria to attract pilots? Is there a new contract on its way?
What about Gabon? Will they start the work on pipeline, or is it just another rumour?

A happy new year from The North Sea Norwaysector.


Job Title: !!!!URGENT!!! Helicopter pilots SA365N or S76
Position type: Permanent
Salary: To be discussed
Region: Nigeria
Company: Gate Aerospace
Posted: Tuesday 6 January 2004
Job type(s): Flight crew
Description: Looking for experienced helicopter pilots on the 365N, S76B or S76C+.

Minimum requirements: Captain Total hours 4,000, total hours PIC 3,000 total hours Multi Engine Command 1,500, Night hours PIC 100, two years accident free for human error causes & violation free.

We would like you to send in your cv and license, so we can have a look at it.

Interviews are held on January 20th and 27th and February 17th and 18th.
Contact: Jeanne Misteli
Contact Email: [email protected]
Address: P.O. BOX 48
2400AA ALPHEN a/d RIJN
THE NETHERLANDS
Telephone: 0031 172 417 982
Fax: 0031 172 479 351
URL: www.gate-aerospace.com




flightInternationalJobs.com
http://flightInternationalJobs.com/
Printed: 6 January 2004
© 2004, flightInternationalJobs.com. All rights reserved.

Hello "one more pilot"
I don't know about Nigeria, but I'have never heard about a (new) onshore pipeline construction in Gabon....but I might have missed that....beeing in Gabon now I'll ask the next taxi driver I'll meet (they happen to know a lot before anybody else) .
In another hand, they told me (the taxi drivers of course) that CHC has won a contract with Pionner and will shortly base one of their helicopters in Gamba (an oil camp in southern Gabon)....
Don't know what type at the moment.

Ok, it might just have been another rumour
 

Hi cpt

West coast of Africa seems busy. I read in the latest R&W (Jan 04, p.41) that:

"Also, CHC Helicopters (Africa) won a five-year contract renewal (with a one-year option) from Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc. to provid two new dedicated S-76C+ aircraft to support operations off the coast of West Africa starting Mar. 1. The aircraft will be based at Malabo, Equatorial Guinea replacin two Bell 212s currently on the contract."

Nigeria can be a rough place to work. Do you have any info. about Gabon or Equatorial Guinea?

regards
O.M.P.

The jobs advertised in Flight are for Schreiner in Nigeria (known as Aero Contractors co Nigeria there). They will have a larege number of vacancies this year. One thing to be aware of is that thewy will become part ofr CHC at the end of this month and nobody really knows what will happpen about pay etc. then. However, the operation in Nigeria is very large so there should be good job security there. It's not as bad as some people make it out to be.
The Schreiner interview takes the whole day. There's a session with the psychiatrist doing a number of drawings which he interprets and doing the Rorschach inkblot test, then there's a session with the graphologist for handwriting analysis and a personal interview with the human resource manager and the Ops Manager from Nigeria. If you're going just be yourself and don't BS.
Good luck:ok:
Now that the Camerfoon pipeline is finished they're laying off some pilots there, but there are alwasy rumors of other pipelines there and in Chad and other places around the area.

Hi onemorepilot,
In regard with Gabon, for the time beeing, it's a nice place to stay...very quiet and safe.
As far as Eq.Guinea is concerned I haven't been there for a while but I remember it wasn't like that at all (althouight I don't know Malabo very well but only the small continental part)
Now, I assume the side effects of fresh cash from oil don't ease up the things !

Conditions in Nigeria
 

As the ads for pilots in Nigeria are doing the rounds right now, I was wondering if there are any rotorheads out there who are working there , or who have in the past. What are the working/living/etc conditions like there??

Many thanks in advance

GFB,
As I've been based in various operations around Nigeria during the past 10 years, I feel I can give you an idea of what to expect.
If you are looking for helicopter jobs, I have a fair idea of the options of where you would be based.

1/ Lagos. This is not a bad place to work, and there is a resonably good social life available without having to travel too far. As in most Nigerian cities, there is a fair amount of crime, but as long as you are sensible, you can avoid most of the dangers. There have been a few armed robberies against expats, but generally this does not happen too often.
There are fairly good medical clinics, and if you ever have any serious problems, you've no problem getting out of the country.

2/ Port Harcourt. A very hectic city, with some of the worst traffic I've ever encountered. It can sometimes take 3 hours to travel 10 miles!. There is a very large expat community here, with corresponding social activities. There is a fairly good hospital, and again, there is easy access to the international airport.

3/ Warri. Sometimes referred to as "The wild west". In my opinion, this is the most dangerous place for expats to work at. There are often kidnappings of expat oil workers and related staff, (pilots and engineers), although, they are usually released unharmed after a few days(sometimes weeks), when a ransom has been paid. The medical facilities are a bit more basic than Lagos or P.H.

4/ Eket. I think this is the smallest of the main bases in Nigeria, and as such, it is also one of the quietest. The majority of expats working there live just outside of the main part of the town, either in a "secure" compound, or in a few rented houses. There is also a large ExxonMobil estate, which houses the ExxonMobil management, and various contracting staff. This looks a nice place to live, but as the old saying goes " looks can be deceiving".
The social life is a bit hit and miss, depending on who is on site, and the medical facilities are very basic. (if you end up here, make sure you bring a first aid kit and a few sterile needles etc)

There will be a fair few replies to you question, some saying it's a lovely place, others saying don't go, even if your life depends on it. What it all comes down to, is that the Nigerian way of life suits some people, and not others. If you do decide to go, and you find you don't like it, give it a while, and see if you can try out a different operation. You might hate one, and love another. Some people leave here after a few weeks, but othere have been here for 15-16 years.

Hope this gives you a small insight in what to expect.

419

Hi cpt

thanks for the info. Until futher I will just sit and watch the development in Nigeria and nearby.

6/6 schedule can be good but the terms and conditions must dramaticly improve to attract me.
Shreiner offered me last year 56500 euro/year taxfree, LOL 90700 e. lifeinsurance 136100 e. Economy class airtickets. Free board and lodging (ofcourse).
Being away from family 182 days/y in an country like Nigeria or Nearby must payoff better than that.

We all have different priorities and lifesituations. A job that fits you might not fit me.

If the terms has improved since last year, please anyone share the info.

regards
O.M.P.

Take your thread to African Avaition, thats where folks currently flying there, post....
GFB may not be a name that will will ensure a job there though, they dont have a whole bunch of EO poeople to help you out...