Contrail Requirements Keep Canadians On E.i

[Vermouth]

I am sure every one is aware of the shortage of experienced drivers in our industry.....Is anyone applying pressure to Contrail to lower pilot requirements? I would very much like to see more Canadians given the opportunity to gain some experience. The oil and gas, pad to pad flying is a great place for hundred hour wonders to start, but many of these jobs are now being given away to non-Canadians. Because of Contrail requirements, many of our young men and women are not getting the opportunity to work in the career they have chosen. No offence to the hard working "Eh?-impaired" but I would very much like to see more home grown greenies get their shot. :punk:

 

Cheers,

V

[Skidz]

I'll second that motion ! :up:

[Blackmac]

What is Contrail requirements, or am I missing a new language.

[407 Driver]

Who's short ? some companies have a surplus

[Chopper_Stew]

Amen! It sure would be nice to see some of the regulatory issues cleared up. A 1000 hour pilot can fly pad to pad as well as a 100 hour pilot. Sure, emergencies and contingencies are harder to deal with if you have less experience, but you've gotta get flight time somewhere!

[rotrhd1]

Contrail is a consultation company targeting the oil and gas industry. I've never met the man but he is apparently a high time fixed wing guy. He goes around to the bigger companies and suggests ways they can reduce the risk (or totally eliminate it) of helicopter operations. One of the big ones is to not allow anyone to fly their company personnel, or their subcontractors unless the pilot has a minimum of 1500 hours. There are at least 6 major companies adhering to this recommendation we fly for at this time.

 

Some of the recommendations are based on solid ideas, others are so competely out in left field they just leave you scratching your head. Once accepted by the company, they're like God's written rules and you've gotta follow them or get asked not to return.

 

The oil companies are literally raking in tonnes in today's high priced environment, give the work to the lowest bidder out there then expect to get higher time pilots willing to sit out in the bugs and muck all day for 1.5 hours of flying.

 

The patch flying is a perfect environment for a newbie to break in, but these recommendations are taking a lot of it away from them.

 

RH1

[Elvis]

Back in the 70's SEBJ had a saftey consultant who with his previous employer destroyed two Jetrangers in 5 days.

 

:shock: :shock:

[Nick]

:up: :up:

 

What about writing a nice letter to all operators and Oil & Gas, forestry etc... companies ?

 

Shortage of pilots, price of oil, unemployed low timers, low salary etc... lots of good reasons to open some eyes nan ?

 

and maybe the end of the tunnel for some guys

[helicopterjim]

One of the big ones is to not allow anyone to fly their company personnel, or their subcontractors unless the pilot has a minimum of 1500 hours.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

My first job had me flying a customer who had a 3000 hr minimum for pilots. I think my boss lied about me because I only had 101.7 hrs.

[amodao]

Many of the oil companies in Canada have gone away from the the third party safety auditing/standards (example Contrail)and have set up their own Aircraft Operating Guides (AOG's). They have hired experienced helicopter/fixed wing pilots and engineers to develop procedures for all aircraft that work on their sites whether it is an IFR S76 offshore in Newfoundland or an VFR Cessna 185 in Fort McMurray. Instead of developing a manual that has different pilot requirements/standards depending on the location or operation, they have set a minimum experience requirement. Many of the "AOG's" have been developed with aircraft and crew requirements based on factors including: location, distance from rescue, over water/specialized approches and landing procedures, IFR/VFR OPS, and weather. There is nothing stopping a helicopter operator from applying to an oil company aviation safety department and asking for a review of a particular job to see if they can lower the pilot hour requirements. Many places in Canada are remote and have limited aviation resources available; the job still has to get done. The other thing to remember is that companies like Contrail are in the safety business and they will continually push ideas for higher standards.

In the end, its up to the individual aircraft operator to determine whether or not they want to meet the requirements and work in the oil and gas industry. There is lots of competition for this work so the standards set by aviation companies like Contrail must be acceptable to many operators.