New Flight And Duty Time Regulations

[pilot5]

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• Advanced Member
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• 370 posts

Posted 21 January 2013 - 05:22 PM

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

 

 

 

 

 

Yes lets do that Harmonic Vibe! I am all for 2 and 2 and a 10 hr work day! Pefect. I also want to be paid all year long and do not want my life to be part of the owners profit accomplishment plan and pushed into the EI scheme.

 

I want clear legal definitions for " commonly used terms like " contract" -" seasonal" or commonly used variants like "contract part-time seasonal" or " full time contract seasonal"

 

I would also like a reporting system put in place that can be accessed by all Canadian operarors so they can access canadian pilots/ permanenet residents and so there is clear and transparent process in place... I am sure that the operators would want this too as they too want transparency and fairness..

 

Keep up the great work HV.

 

P5

 

 

[Batiskaf]

bump

[Seeker]

Any petition I have done you had to show picture ID and sign your name. I notice that this one can be filled as many times as you want and any name can be put at the bottom. How do you know the person who sent it in is the person that signed it?

[Seeker]

"FATIGUE-RELATED MAINTENANCE ERROR IDENTIFIED AS CAUSE OF 2011 SUNDANCE HELICOPTERS CRASH"

Story in Vertical Magazine

[Seeker]

So, will there be a new survey/petition to establish duty times for Engineers?

[Harmonic_Vibe]

Last chance for the petition! It closes tomorrow morning.

 

https://www.toofast.ca/takesurvey.php?SurveyID=7550

 

Results to be published soon after.

 

Thank you to everyone for their responses. To capture approximately 25% of the active helicopter pilots in Canada in just over two weeks is a very good turn out I think.

 

HV