New Flight And Duty Time Regulations

[Zazu]

Word is spreading across the country and a lot of support is starting to come in from the East Coast!!

 

Thank you Corey.

Suryvey has been forwarded along with all the findings of the WG et al, via company website, so we can let our pilots choose as well.

[fan]

I think that the ball had picked up a great amount of momentum thanks to mr Taylor ,for his efforts and mass email thank you

[pilot5]

 

 

If these new rules come into effect it may be the tipping point and all Helicopter companies will have to shut down as there is no profit in this business as it stands now and these extra operating expenses will be the end of all. Customers won't pay more and fires will burn out of control, villages and cities will burn , oil , and mineral companies will cease all exploration using helicopters opting to import Peruvian migrant labour to manually haul drills by foot across the tundra .

 

There is potential disaster looming here!

 

It sadens me to think that pilots may have to spend more time at home.

 

P5

[Guest DopeOnARope]

Done!!

[a139]

Guys,

 

After so many years of watching these issues go round and round and wondering who is making the rules that i have to live by as a 10,000 hr born and raised Canadian Helicopter pilot I have to comment.

 

For if i don't the next time I'm in a tent on on a fire doing 14 hr days because they say i can,for 42 days in a row becuse they say i can.

 

Feeling dog tired because its been at the end of a 100 foot line putting drills together with guys under me ,living in a camp with limited or no family contact again for 6 weeks.

 

Or 2 miles in smoke with 4 Machines in the curcuit ,just about the same as a A340 at 39,000 ft on auto pilot the only person i could blame is myself for not commenting.

 

42 on with a 5 reset,remember touring gig so at least 1 day of travel on both ends leaves three off,most of the time 2 of travel cause thats where we choose to work,so lets got even go home.

 

No replacement,more work came up,only an other week,training never worked out, weather,again you know the rest.There is not a guy in the seat that has not been extendend because they can.

 

With all respect to those who are challanging this issue,I applaud you for im sure its not easy.But the rules are rules ,So to say no operators are using the current flight and duty time regs is not correct,they can and do .So you be ready to do it for if not others will and your not a team player.Its a short season,nature of the business you know the rest.

 

All I`m saying is lets call a spade a spade,if the operators don`t want to pay more travel and have to hire more crews just say it,dont use crutchs and asume no one knows whats at stake here.

 

Immagine a Helicopter pilot with a family life,they did it in the North Sea ,took some doing but the Clients coined up,after doing a similar study as T.C and found retention in the industry ,safety and over all morel was greatly increased.

 

The operators want to squeez ,put a little on the bottom line maybe or some on the client not always the drivers and fixers.You guys have the floor.Now im on this:

 

How come people from all over the world can come here and work here with low time and ease,stay in house for three years working for what ever wages and tour lenghts with no worries about flight and duty times cause there not staying anyway,then go home with time and go to work for global standard wages and rotations.Just kind makes me feel foolish some times.

 

So to the guys that are on our side and talking for us,think about us as we say good bye to our 4 yr sons and daughters for 5-6 weeks at a time.

 

Such a love hate relationship with these machines,gotta go but thanks for listening.

 

Guys be safe 100 kts comes fast with an empty long line after 6 weeks,

 

Just my Thoughts

 

Cheers

[Fred Lewis]

Hear, hear. There are more of us on your side than you may think.

[GoldMember]

I'm pretty sure that those of us who are completing the survey and signing the petition aren't saying we want to do 42 and 5, we just don't want the airline unions dictating rules for helicopter operations. We want a voice in the decision making process.

 

Kevin McCormick

[Harmonic_Vibe]

The two sides here are not necessarily incongruent. I have always hated the way the media decides which side you're on in any debate. If you thought the long gun registry was ridiculous (which it most assuredly was) then you weren't for gun control... Unless you adopt the most prominent position as your own you are off in some hinterland, or so it seems to me. Moderates are never able to speak because the zealots in any argument are usually the most vocal.

 

In the matter of these new flight and duty regulations, there are many positions and even more opinions. The WG report took a structure designed for airline operations and bastardized it for the Canadian aviation industry. It probably works for the airlines but not for unscheduled operations of the kind that dominates Canadian industry. The North Sea is all offshore, highly regimented, scheduled and based (from the client's perspective) on the producing wells that generate a return against which the helicopter activity is budgeted. We are talking apples and purple onions here if you compare this to the majority of helicopter activity in Canada.

 

It is true that some Operators abuse their employees. It is also true that most reputable companies do not. If I don't like how I'm being treated I can very easily move over to a different company. I, for one, am ok with looking at changes to the Canadian regs but they should come from a proper study and analysis. When people talk about "International Standards and Wages" they almost always mean scheduled operations offshore. That is big petro dollars paying for regular service. It's very similar to the airlines and I am not surprised that some pilots think the new regs would work for them. You can only be on duty 8.3 hrs per day (max 60 per 7 days) under the proposed changes and since you'd be paid the same anyway working offshore I'm sure lots of guys would think that was great. That doesn't mean it's got anything to do with safety though.

 

Our petition (of which we have close to 700 pilots having signed and less than 50 who have completed the survey without signing) is a demand that we don't go any further down this road. I worked overseas under the European rules... They are ridiculous for VFR exploration-type work let me tell you... I don't believe they will increase safety in any way whatsoever and that's why I'm passionate about this. Although I am in management I am not looking at this from that perspective. I am only thinking of myself as a pilot and reacting in that regard. I think the proposals are ridiculous because they are OBVIOUSLY not written for deployed helicopter operations. So why would we adopt them when they aren't in Europe, where the **** things originated?? Is this not basic math? Let's get a helicopter working group together and hammer out rules that make sense and work for us.

 

HV

[oil pressure]

The current standards are ridiculous...my concern is that if this current proposal is stopped, then on we will go as is, and nothing will change. If not though, and the proposal becomes law...then maybe we will be able to get an operations specification to increase flight duty time and reduce time free from duty requirements...much the same as we have operations specifications to eliminate the 3 days off in 30 requirement and increase our 30 day flight time to 150 hrs? Maybe an Ops. Spec to allow 28 days of 12 hour duties and 8 hrs. flown a day...for example. I'm sure when the CARS came to require 3 of in 30 and 13 off in 90...with only 120hrs able to fly in 30 it was a major inconvenience? Just some thoughts.

[Jamhands]

It seems clear that the WG proposal is not suited to VFR helicopter work and thus we should all appreciate the work being done to voice our concern. I didn't get the impression from the survey or from discussion here that we are choosing to remain at the status quo, but that we cannot accept regulations suited for one facet of the industry. Thats why I signed the petition.