Resurgence Of Entry Level Flying Jobs

[Freewheel]

There is no doubt there are companies and Pilots out there fudging numbers. The Major mineral and Oil and Gas Companies and their High paid consultants are responsible for it with these ridiculous Total Fight requirements for pilots. Its no wonder you can come from over seas with 2,200 hours in your log book and everyone accepts it who are they going to ask to verify it. **** all you have to say is you have been chasing kangaroos for 2,200 hours on a private ranch. Numbers are not based on ability. You can be a 2,000 hour tour pilot that has never been on a long line let alone more then 100 miles from home but when you reach 2,000 hours you have just become God in this industry. What ever happened to people being flight tested by companies and put in a position the company feels they can handle NOT some high priced consultant that is protecting his or her A$$ saying if you have 2,000 hours your good to go. This industry has become a JOKE.

Benevolent cheating is quite common in all industry and markets today:

 

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/why-do-employees-unintentionally-cheat/article21293217/?service=mobile&cmpid=rss1&click=sf_globe

 

When the regulators themselves are aware of these issues and allow it to continue, it becomes seen as acceptable.

[R0T0R]

Thanks for sharing that article Freewheel. This is a very good representation of what occurs behind the scene in this industry.

[Freewheel]

According to the author it happens in all industries. I guess that is why we have regulators.

The regulations impose a requirement on Transport Canada to enforce the rules as written. If they do not they themselves are in violation.

 

When the regulator chooses to turn a blind eye, as is the case with flight time calcation in our industry it becomes viewed as acceptable and has the potential to become a serious safety concern.

[Freewheel]

If I ever have my experienced questioned after an accident. I know which individuals I'll be calling to the stand...for starters director of standards Jacqueline Booth...then Robert Freeman and Alex Roberts from HQ and Joe Szwalek associate director...then a multitude of inspectors. They are all aware of the issue and will likely offer conflicting interpretations. case closed.

 

They can also deal with the civil litigation.

[Freewheel]

If they question your fatigue due to violation of new Flight Time limits you could also use the same approach.

[just looking]

If anyone has an accident the chances are Transport will look at their hours with a microscope. If they are found to be wrong this will be pushed back on the pilot and company that the pilot is working for. It is impossible for Transport to verify every pilots hours in the industry on a yearly basis. As i mentioned earlier there are companies out there that know their pilots are padding the log book. They allow in order to meet ridiculous flight requirements by some companies. If something happens they hope will get pushed back on the pilot as usual. What they all forget is Transport is imposing the accountable executive which means companies have a responsibility to insure log books are not fudged. Now that being said the chances Transport will go after the company are slim to zero as Transport does not have ridiculous hour mins like the big companies. There rule is after 100 flight hours along with written and flight tests your are a capable commercial pilot. The easiest way to stop people from fudging the books is test them on their ability not how many hours are in their log books. I have said it before and will say it again there are a lot of low timers out there with 500 hours or less that have more smarts and ability to long line then some that have been flying with over 4,000 hours.

[Freewheel]

I It is impossible for Transport to verify every pilots hours in the industry on a yearly basis. As i mentioned earlier there are companies out there that know their pilots are padding the log book.

You are quite right, but it is not impossible for Transport Canada to ensure pilots and inspectors know what the definition in the CARs says and how flight time should be logged. Quite simple actually. It's also their responsibility to do so.

 

Since they acknowledge this confusion exists (http://forums.verticalmag.com/index.php?showtopic=19518&page=19)and have done nothing to correct it they are part of the problem.

 

The CARs don't require flight time to be logged in the Journey Log book, so verifyring a pilots hours could be difficult unless you use the Flight Time equals Air Time interpretation. In that case you could be at risk of overflying your 700.15 flight time limits if you use the ICAO definition. Then there is the 3rd interpretation that the Director of Standards has offered. So how is it easy for me to verify a pilots flight time? Which method do you suggest I use? There could be a significant difference between flight time and air time depending on the type of work he has done (at a minimum 10-20%). on some of our contracts Flight Time using ICAO definition would be double the air time that is required to be logged in the JLB.

[Justin44]

If you do, you are screwing us all over.

 

 

I get that it's a mickey mouse job but I've heard a few people say things like that and I just don't understand the logic behind it, Young guys like myself with 10's of hours of experience are supposed to stick it to companies that do things like that for the good of the industry? The same industry that doesn't know we even exist? Are you expecting all the pilots out there with fresh licences slugging it out in the patch to pay for student loans to rally behind the cause of preserving something they're not even a part of? I'm sure this is going to come across as bitter but it's pretty much the truth for most guys

[Whitestone]

 

I get that it's a mickey mouse job but I've heard a few people say things like that and I just don't understand the logic behind it, Young guys like myself with 10's of hours of experience are supposed to stick it to companies that do things like that for the good of the industry? The same industry that doesn't know we even exist? Are you expecting all the pilots out there with fresh licences slugging it out in the patch to pay for student loans to rally behind the cause of preserving something they're not even a part of? I'm sure this is going to come across as bitter but it's pretty much the truth for most guys

There are very few of us who did not at some point feel your pain but working for free is only going to bite you and it bites us in the butt right now. The simple truth is as someone on here long ago pointed out that there are certain jobs that have great perceived curb appeal or coolness factor and pilot, be it fixed (less cool) or helicopter is one of them. This caused more people than the industry needs to do the training and there you go, an oversupply of freshly minted pilots. Training isn't driven by a demand for pilots but by the idea of it and a slick sales pitch by the schools doesn't help. (a fool and his money are soon parted)

 

Someone else likened becoming a helicopter pilot to becoming a Hollywood actor (or actress) in that many try, take theater in college and work around the fringes for years and years but few ever get over the hump.

 

I wonder if schools posted a statistical sheet of how many helicopter pilots have been cranked out, how many worked for how many years and how many never even flew one commercial hour if it would give someone pause. I think not, we are a bunch of lemmings, ha ha.

 

I know there has been a lot of advice to low hour guys over the years on the forum and i have always said you have to want it more than the other guy. In a way this is too bad because my experience starting out was filled with bad experiences from other desperate low hour guys cutting me off at the knees more than a few times, everything from verbal abuse to passive aggressive behavior to intimidation by the threat of physical abuse.

 

Other than being a job where they don't pay you, I am of the opinion that anywhere you fly low and slow as a low hour pilot for the majority of your air time (not flight time, LOL) time is either going to kill you or make you a better pilot. Air time is good time.

 

W.

[flingwinger]

For anyone considering working for free, it doesn't take long for these companies names to get around. With that red flag on your resume you may as well have zero hours when applying for a job.