Skywork

I am not sure of the regs in Canada and not getting into that, but only in aviation, when you hire an excavator or a crane you pay on engine hours not just when the tracks or the boom operating , why with aircraft only on airtime, because companies look at it as a big expense. They will pay huge money for consultants that achieve nothing and **** things up. Engine still running and components are still getting a wear factor. With the way satellite tracking is gong the fire departments and companies will auto invoice of sat tracking. The Sat tracking will record the movement attached to their invoice system, another way for them to save dollars at the expense of operators. Only drives the industry into a bear minimum survival mode. If you are not getting 1000 hours per year per aircraft in years to come the industry will hit rock bottom. Oh I forgot that for every operator that falls over or gets out, another on comes along and thinks that all before were doing it wrong.

Unfortunately this is where the authorities and industry stand in the preservation of life. If this was video was of a motor vehicle there would be a mandatory recall as public and passenger safety would be paramount. It seems aviation is not high up on the list, and manufacturers have been great a their job in keeping the extra cost of rectifying the issue by lobby authorities. Between R44 and AS350 there has been a fair few fatalities around the world. Taking into account there are a lot more vehicles on the road than aircraft in the air and there is more chance of a fatality in a vehicle so for example not related to aircraft or vehicles, if you had a 10 seat cinema that screened movies 2 time a week, and it had potential to catch fire due to a type of heating system that was being used and it was a known problem due to previous fires these cinemas would be closed down until the system had been replaced.

LinkedIn will randomly send invites as bluguppy said and if you accept it then sends it to the other person and then you get a message to say the other person has accepted your invitation and neither are none the wiser that linkedin has just fooled two people into getting connected with each other.

Side pull for the AS350 for stringing lines Mack Pull. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O24h9XK0FWs

I am sure the helicopters fly the same no matter which part of the world you fly in, so to me it is pointless having to do all the exams in every other country you go to. Would thought the thing that changes the most is law and airspace so why not if you need a licence in another country the authority has a 2 day approved conversion course or something the like that covers appropriate things that may be particular to the country concerned, See no need to redo most things over again. Then again it may just be to simple for an authority to do that.

HI Just seeing of anyone has an MEL for the S58 HT. I have the Master list from the FAA website but was also looking for one already done so I can check what I have come up with before submitting for approval in OZ as Civil Aviation Safety Authority down here are pretty unbeilvable and would not have clue. Thanks in advance. brent@helispecs.com.au

I see that Flight Safety is sending surveys to the mining and oil companies in Canada to ask about their safety risks, and I gather to drum up business for themselves. The major concern is the cost, $US18000.00 plus all auditors cost. To me this is excessive considering That an ISO Audit is half the price and it is a International recognised certification They have been pushing it here in Australia and I get the impression that they think it is the be all and end all of aviation audits along with Hart. Just see what other operators and pilot views on this as they are now pushing it around our industry and some operators will be required to pay for it themselves. .

The mediums are better. A UH1 is usually around $3000-$3200 per hour. The lights are about the same but then you will have a couple of operators put a B3 or B4 out at $1750 per hour. All are usually a 2 hour minimum when on call. These are dry rates and on engine hours. The contract machines are pretty lowball prices.

Are these rates dry of operator supplied fuel, Not familar with how they charge in Canada, Just comparing other countries

I as a foreigner even have to laugh to see that there is no experienced pilots in Canada with 500, 2000 hrs, Were have they all gone, I can see no problems with being able to use your pilots licence to work around the world but I think your companies are abusing it a bit with applications like the ones shown Your problem lies with the Companies and your Immigration Department as I think it is natural if any pilot or company can exploit things to get the job or contract it will happen. This seems to be more than an aviation problem in Canada as it even goes as far as Macca:s

I am actually surprise you need pilots as I thought all your helicopters were down here in Australia doing fires on contract and on call. Local operators missed out with the same experience and equipment when Canadian machines got on the contracts with the help of low balling operators who do not own any machines. Some Canadian operators have set up their own AOCs and bring their machines and own crews down here not employing local pilots. Can a foriegn company get a AOC in Canada and just bring their machines in when the busy season occurs. I can not see the difference so I look at it as a free market, pilots from other countries working in Canada and Canadians available to do the same

Flingwinger I agree totally with what you say. Every industry needs to bring on junior people and if that does not happen in your own country where you have just spent all your money to get your licence you can get some sort of attitude but you just have to try to prove to a potential employer that you are a better option. Then there is the travelling visa agreements for under 31s that do not take industry issues and it is just a blanket for backpackers etc to travel the world and pilots fall into this and they all head off from around the world to where there is a lot of helicopters. We have a bigger problem down here of low timer pilots wanting to work for nothing and when I get pilots offering this I tell them to bugger off as I look at it as these pilots do not value their own time so they are not worth any thing to my business, I always pay new pilots above the award. The problem goes both ways as if new pilots were not willing to work for nothing, companies would have to pay what the job position is worth, but if a newbie is getting training and the company is in some way absorbing some of the cost dues to unproductively and is treating the pilot well then a bit of loyalty from the newbie should be expected and to hang around for a few years if the work is there. I think some companies now have been stung a few times so work on pay them poor and then expect them to bugger off. More of a two fold problem so there needs to be some way to go on both sides, Makes it hard for a person who may be married trying to get a break in the industry, and then there are companies that just treat people bad and pay just the same so pilots transit there to get hours and move on and that is well know and the pilots now they well be treated bad but look at the hours, This goes on all around the world. As for me as stated at some time when I have sold my helicopter business I would like to come on a working holiday and defiantly do not want to stand on toes but then bring my children over at the end of work and invest all my earnings back into your economy . The one thing I have found in the time I have spent over in Canada the pilots I have come into contact with have all been great and the one thing about us is we all have something in common and most seem willing to go that bit extra for another pilot which just makes things are more enjoyable and at the time you never know whether the pilot is on a good wicket or just there to move on at the next best opportunity due to not being treated right or not paid well. All the best with trying to solve this forever running issue. Brent

Hi. I gather that I may not be welcome when I ask of there is any companies out there that would hire an outsider, as in the next couple of years I would love to come to Canada for a season of flying and to use my experience and licence to see your country.(have no interest working on the cheap) I have been there as a tourist many times, spent plenty of money, and plenty with your helicopter companies helping to keep pilots in a job. I do not want your job full time but I would like to fly for a summer and then spend all the money I earn travelling with my family, spending all and putting it back into your economy.. We are all lucky to be able to use our profession as a way of experiencing work and operations in other countries like Canada but I see more of the agro than welcome. I do not want to tread on pilots toes locally but as has been said on here before there a pilots from Canada flying down under on fires, including using their own aircraft when there are local aircraft of the same type sitting idle, But this is a fact of life and when I see your countrymen on a fire I treat them with respect and as a professional doing his job and I seem to have no problem with them being here and have always enjoyed talking to them. They all seem to like working with Kiwis in Canada and it seem the agro is located to a handful of pilots.( I maybe wrong) I am happy to hear your responses and I am sure I will get a barrage of words from someone who will not be keen on me flying in Canada Brent

Unfortunately I have been in the position of a person walking into the tail rotor that ended in the death of the person involved. We had briefed and told every on the operation that they were not to approach the helicopter at any time without being accompanied by our ground crew. This briefing had been done a couple of times during the morning. The person involved had been sent away to move equipment to the next site but decided to come back from a different direction directly from the 7 o,clock position looking forward and he walked with a bit of a crouch and walked straight into the blade without any ground crew seeing him till just before he connected with the blade but it was to late to stop him. That evening I had numerous calls from other pilots telling me how close they had with similar horror stories and near misses. An investigation took place and the insurance company started proceedings against the persons employer for negligence in which they obviously fought until the accident investigation came out that cleared our operation and procedures which included interviews with all the places we had worked in the proceeding 2 weeks with regard to our operations and briefings. The company we were contracted paid out 90k for helicopter repairs. If one thing is for certain is that people around helicopters are our biggest threat to ruining a good days flying and I push this fact onto our new and low houred pilots. It is fine to sit back and presumed that somewhere along the line that a pilot or ground crew has not done their job but people are unpredictable when a machine is running and they think they are doing us a favour by being in a hurry to get gear out or to move away from the helicopter. I hope the pilot involved in this forum accident gets back to flying soon and I know that the jokes during safety briefings that people make about walking into the tail rotors and blades will be responded to by the pilot involved here in a different way to how they were responded to before this accident. Good luck to him and all the best and I hope he/she gets back to work and to carry on enjoying the freedom of flight sooner than later. Brent

Thanks everyone for all the information you have posted as it is much appreciated. So far it looks like the Mr T is the preferred option.