Devon Air Ambulance Ad?
 

Hi everyone,

I am curious as to why the DAA want a pilot to be located to be able to work at both Eaglescott and Exeter to cover both bases? Yes, I understand this for operational reasons such as sickness cover, infrequently, etc etc, but this is permanently rostered between both bases, making a long journey(especially on Devons small narrow roads) to either base, or a long journey at one but shorter to the the other, either way not a good selling point? Is it due to not staffing properly at a particular base to save money? Why not staff the bases properly? Looking at the charities financials they can certainly afford too?
B.

AA Charities can afford anything, they are all swimming in cash

And they will be deluged with applicants, so I doubt the location will be an issue. Somewhere "equidistant" between the two bases would be a 30 min journey to work at either base.

Also, I note the advert doesn't mention any IR requirement.

I can't see why, looking again at the ad it shows a "Whopping 6% Pension and 8 weeks sick pay maximum"? Pretty poor T's and C's... I know offshore is not for everyone, but 9% matched pension is the norm (a huge amount more going into a pension) of the substantially higher wages and after a while you get 6 MONTH's sick pay and then 6 months at half pay? Plus higher loss of licence etc
I think onshore has a long way to go?
B.:rolleyes:

Yes, but HEMS jobs are always very over-subscribed and you get to be a "hero" as oppose to a "bus driver", so charities don't need to pay more.

Also don't forget a awful lot of HEMS jobs that are advertised have already been earmarked for someone that the Chief Pilot knows, but they have to advertise the job anyway.

Right now, google maps is saying 52 minutes drive between them, so halfway doesn’t seem too onerous.

Believe me, 25+ minutes of small, twisty, hilly Devon roads is too far!:O

Doesn't seem to have deterred the flood of grockles in their City SUVs clogging up the lanes this weekend........

Does the base at Eaglespit (other, less polite, versions of the "airfield's" name are available..) still have sleeping accom? If so, what would be rwong with living close to Execketer and overnighting at Eagles*it when necessary?

(the naming conventions referred to above are nothing to do with the excellent DAAT base or its operators; the airfield "management", however, are (or were - things might've changed) another matter entirely)

Thats a bit harsh on the management of Eaglescott considering the owner let the DAAT have the land for free ! Never had a problem with Barry always very helpful and a nice bloke

Nothing wrong at all with overnighting (if accom's available) at Eaglescott, occasionally for sickness cover etc. But Regular shifts was my initial enquiry. If that's the case, they should employ the correct amount of staff to run the charity properly! Like Hargreaves99 stated, they, like most other AA charities, are loaded!
B.

70 grand a year, 36 hours a week and 5 weeks vacation is a pretty good deal. That may be worth putting up with 3am flights and NVGs.....for a while anyway !

Would that be one of those 3 day weeks?

UK HEMS is a pretty cushy job. You don't fly much, you don't fly much IR/night, you get paid a good salary, it's a high status/"hero" position, and you generally get to live somewhere other than Aberdeen

Hence they get hundreds of applicants.

Genuinely glad to hear of someone's good experiences with that airfield. My own memories relate to an earlier period in DAAT's presence on the airfield after the precipitate departure from the original location at Belle Vue. EGHU is the only place where I had to do entire HEMS shifts wearing welly boots owing to water between 6 and 9 inches deep between the then-Portacabin base and the refuel point. Many of my grumbles with the Air Ambo op at the time should be directed at the then-chief exec of the Trust, who was replaced (along with at least one of the trustees) while I was there - they tried running the base on a shoe-string and it showed. Bond usually provided everything required to run a base, but DAAT insisted on saving money by setting-up the operation themselves. A 2nd-hand desk with, it turned out, only one bolt holding it together, as I found when the whole thing collapsed onto my knees while doing the end-of-shift paperwork; no window coverings (might sound trivial, but both from a security point of view AND when trying to work with nothing to stop the low winter sun (yes, we sometimes saw that rare beast) directly in your face when sat at that desk) - the list went on, and on. Bond were no help to their own staff, always taking the side of the customer, so the 2 excellent full-time base pilots left. Fortunately the appointment of new management at the AAT, and the energetic co-operation between the new trustee(s) and the new chief pilot, led to the construction of arguably the best HEMS base I ever had the pleasure to operate out of.

On the negative side regarding the airfield back then, there was the sad demise of the microlight school and the way that the terminally-ill CI appeared to be treated. More worryingly, there was the discovery that the airfield JetA1 supply was contaminated (as proven by several tests carried out by base and Staverton staff), leading to the aircraft used by DAA having to go for deep servicing. As nothing appeared to be done by the airfield to address the issue with any urgency, the DAA aircraft had to come to an arrangement with the MoD, in the form of the SARboys and girls at Chiv, over refuelling. Fortunately, Ollie the boss there was fantastic and the SAR folk could not have been more helpful if they'd tried - they kept the Air Ambo in business. I do hope the jet fuel situation has been resolved, as that fungus cost Bond a lot of money to sort out.

"hundreds of applicants"? But how many of those are "Qualified and suitable"? Maybe that was years ago. We, as are many other operators, are struggling to get any suitable applicants at the moment. Of those, most are in their mid to late fifties!
B.

AA Charities expect all applicants to have all the skills and experience they require (eg HEMS/NVIS/high multi-time). They are not prepared to train or invest in staff. That's the issue. They will reject experienced north sea/VIP/onshore pilots because they don't meet their daft high requirements

AA Charities will invest in multi million pound flashy aircraft and bases etc, but not pilots.

Sure, some Charities hire new co-pilots, but the pay is pretty bad and there isn't much flying, and progress to command is very very slow, hence a lot move onto the North Sea/abroad.

So, it's safe to say they are still not feeling the crunch?
Once it starts to bite, I'm sure they will change the tune.

Better get their skids on, the market is being sucked dry of qualified people. If they act late, it will be much harder to close the competency gap.

CAA don't help. Plenty of folk out there with lapsed IRs but don't want the pain/expense of sitting exams again and spending £20,000 to renew

I also think there is a problem with recruitment from the "interviewing" side. When most AA chief pilots are ex-mil, they end up hiring people who are like them and have similar background. Same in all industries. People hire people like themselves, and this gets perpetuated, thus narrowing the pool of people who apply or get considered.

Yup, if you ain't in, you can't win ! Then they gradually infest the workplace and bring their stick buddies in and force you out. It's a wicked world folks. I remember SASless saying many years ago when I was an ' aspiring pilot ' to be prepared for work places changing. Was some good advice.

In an ideal world those costs would be borne by the operator wanting to hire said pilots. At least I hope that's the way the industry is heading...

Well I'm on a roll here :O Looking at some other ad's running at the moment for a major UK HEMS operator, and the entire ad is what you must have, must do, must comply with etc to apply! Wonderful, nothing at all about what they can offer you, why you would want to work there etc, just what YOU must comply with, as you would be so, so, lucky to work for them, (doing night shifts etc)?
No wonder these ads seem to be constantly running, if that is the best employers can do to encourage pilots to join, does this reflect their feelings/mentality towards their key staff? :confused:

B.

Flight instruction, done well, is a hard and skilled job
Offshore flying, done well, is a hard and skilled job
Charter work, done well, is a hard and skilled job

etc

There is nothing inherently "special" or "unique" about the skills needed for a HEMS job.

Yet, you won't get a sniff of a HEMS job without HEMS or ex-mil experience

That's one of the main reasons HEMS employers claim they can't attract/find the "right" staff. They need to accept that a decent pilot can learn, and has transferable skills. At the end of the day it's just stick/lever/pedals, good decision making, and the ability to work with people (ie like ALL flying jobs)

This one I have to disagree with. Look at all the HAA crashes in the USA. It's always been an epidemic. Pilots flying perfectly serviceable aircraft into the ground, time and time again. Flying with NVG's really is another skillset that only experience can build. I hated it so gave it up. Just wasn't for me. Then factor in brown out and white out for scene flights. There's a lot to F up if you're not on top of your decision making. I never went to work feeling like a hero. It was just a job.

Sir Korsky,
I think it's the experience level in the USA plays a huge part of this. I was reading a while back of a fatal crash where the pilot had the required total hours, but had achieved these flying tours in the grand canyon, day vfr, usually bright sunshine? The accident occurred way up north at night in poor weather and snowy conditions, something completely foreign to this particular pilot. What H99 is trying to point out, is that the hems operators are reluctant to take on experienced, seasoned pilots. He's correct in saying there is nothing "special" about Hems, or any other role, there is nothing special about landing on a boat in the North sea, pitching and rolling, at night, non nvg, it just takes a bit of training and practice. A decent pilot should be able to turn his or her hands to any role, given a bit of insight and training, sometimes that can be just a couple of hours of practice.
B.

Here in the UK there seems to be this pervasive attitude amongst operators and employers that what they do is "special".

eg Onshore people think north sea pilots can only fly in a straight line, offshore people think onshore pilots are all cowboys, everybody thinks flight instruction is easy and any monkey can do it, VIP operators think that only they know how to deal with customers and dress smart, HEMS people think what they do is extra special (as if other pilots have never landed in a field). I am exaggerating, but you get the point.

Yet, often, if you are prepared to pay £12k-£20k for a type rating/line training costs etc, these experience requirements suddenly go away, funny that...

The industry is still in the "you're lucky to work for us" mode.

That is slowly changing.

There is an ad out for another UK HEMS operator which (although specifying the minimum requirements) seems to move more towards describing the up-sides rather than just demanding bits of paper. It also includes type ratings and training if necessary.

The advert I saw says 6 years, not months

Ah yes, my mistake, 6 years is it.

I looked at going HEMS 9 years ago when I left the RAF, the recruiter made a huge deal about landing in fields - I asked him what it was he thought we did on SAR day and night but he was convinced HEMS was somehow special and different.

I suspect HG you have not done HEMs work!

Crab, hear what you were saying,I was told the same about landing in a field, seems to have missed the point I was putting loads into clearings in a forest on a 100 ft line 1

No-one has ever done HEMS work until they have done HEMS work

It is a skill which, like all others, is taught and learned.

Certain types of experience are an advantage but if the correct training is provided then most reasonably competent helicopter pilots will be able to transition to the challenges of HEMS just the same as they can learn the skills necessary for Offshore flying, SAR and all the other roles.

There are plenty of Single Pilot Day/night with NVG HEMS pilots in this country who have never been in the military and never flown SAR. They seem to get along just fine.

It's challenging but it's not a dark art.

OH