Re: SAR winchman/operator info please
 

Helibelly, Have sent you a PM. PP.

SAR Training
 

If your looking to be trained up from no helicopter back ground talk to CHC I hear they have started ab-inito training in Ireland. :hmm:

You could always apply to join the RAF / RN as a crewman and take it through their processes.

Aircrewman opportunities.
 

Can anyone point me in the right direction?? I love helicopters and would like to work in the industry as a helicopter aircrewman/rescueman on an EMS/SAR machine in Australia. What quals do I need and where are the jobs if any?

P.S I'd be entry level...

M-4

Sorry, can't help with any leads but.......

A good crewman is worth their weight in gold. Been in many tight situations and they have proved themselves time and time again.

In Aus we call them Kelpies..... they get in the back and "Yap, yap, yap...";)

M-4
I would say your best bet down under is to log onto CHC or get in contact with them, they have a big enough SAR/EMS operation and the last few crewmen I met where never in the forces and there Paramedics all come to the company with no SAR flying experience.
Talk to them and if you dont have any luck now your best option would be to get as many medical courses you can and at least in a year or two you will have something to bring to the company..
Best of luck :ok:
And mind the Sharks!!!!

I beleive Bristow do "Dope on a rope" training.
http://www.bristowtraining.com/sar.htm

Thanks Sarmanontheline

I've got CPL(H) under my belt plus some extensive medical training so I might shoot a resume off to CHC.

Cheers

M-4

M-4

Going back sometime ago..... About 18mths or so. CHC (Australia) advertised in the local paper for a 2yrs traineeship as a crewman.

Might pay to give them a call.

PM if you want details

M-4
If you have the dollars RACQ CareFlight at the Gold Coast run a DTWM / Winch operator course. For the full course you will also get some left hand seat training.
CHC sometimes advertise for Rescue Crewmen, which are down the wire. They will train you up to Aircrewman but that take 4 years (I think). Also have to have a fairly high level of fitness.
Most crewie jobs are filled by ex army or navy loadmasters / crewman these days but some of us have infiltrated the ranks.
Australian Helicopters sometimes advertise for Observers on their Coast Watch contract in Torres Strait. It's not a crewman job, it's an observer but they do have winch ops and do SAR jobs.
Goodluck

Helicopter Rearcrew SAR Training
 

Does anyone out there have any details of rearcrew training for helicopter winch operators and winchmen?
I have been looking on the 'net' and there appears to be very little available.
Looking for either military or civilian training anywhere in the world.
The best I have found is a UK based company called AtlasReed.

Rearcrew winchmen and rad ops come from LM and Aeop specialisations (now Wsop)

You have to undertake a short selection course at RAF Valley and if successful go onto the Long course.

All SAR training is completed at RAF Valley on the Griffin, then onto the Sea King at RAF St Mawgan before going onto 22 sqn or 202 sqn.

Err...

Not quite.

Bristow Helicopters have certainly trained some people from scratch (although I believe most of their crews still have a military background). I would guess, but cannot confirm, that CHC and Bond, who with Bristow are the companies currently providing civil SAR assets in the British Isles, also have some training mechanism in place.

In all three cases their requirement for SAR rearcrew is fairly small, so I guess they have a course and trg staff that gets activated as required.

The UK military SAR trg is provided at RAF Valley by a unit called SARTU, which uses Bell 412 aircraft, and some crews, provided by a contractor called FBH.

Never heard of Atlas Reed as a UK SAR provider. Maybe they run training elsewhere in the world out of a UK HQ.

Sven,

Sorry I was reffering to Mil SAR training only.

Atlas Reed Ltd do indeed teach SAR helicopter crewman and have been operating with a partner company in Germany called HRC GmbH. Their operation is underpinned by a JAR-OPS3 AOC and their instruction complies with JAR-OPS3.005(h) HHO regs. They have had a good deal of success teaching ab-initio crewman how to hoist and have lined-up a couple of potential contracts this side of the Channel. Go to http://www.helirescueconsult.com or http://www.atlasreed.co.uk for more info.

Door Slider, Don't forget the mighty 84:ok:

Door Slider
Don't want to upset you mate, but it's also a "face fit job"
I know Nimrod guys (all Dry men who were excellent in Radar and airmanship) who applied for SAR Helo - they were extremely fit, enthusiastic and sold on being on the end of the wire - all technically completed the OCU - one to be rejected by the Sqn he was posted to - and 2 were "fingered" on the OCU so they would not graduate !
Bob, Marty, Steve - are you reading this thread?
Still happy to see the yellow cabs go past my house - your doing a great job!

Didn't Steve G set up a company doing this sort of thing? Had a quick look on the web & could not find anything....

bouy 15
I am saddened to here your ill informed slander of the SeaKing OCU. The guys work very hard to get guys to the front line whether their face fits or not. Guys fail because of inability, bad attitude or just no aptitude or when on the sqn a lack of progress. AEOps are not alone in passing all the exercises but being RTUed because they do not have what it takes, look at a lot of the other OCUs.
I suspect that you have heard a lot of moaning from disappointed mates who think that they were better than they were, nobody wants to admit that they were at fault and failed. Your mates may have been good on the Nimrod, but SAR Rearcrew is a totally different beast where you are on your own from the first job so you have to be pretty good from day one - no time to play catch up.
What do I know? too many years on SAR and seen too many guys with funny faces who didn't fit but were good at the job.
If you wany me to start a rant about how usless AeOps are, I can, but that would be as unfair as your post. A retraction would be nice.
I don't post often, only when people talk b@@locks.
Heads down, look out for the flack.

Excellent - all we have do, is be extremely fit and have enthusiasm and the jobs yours.:ok: