How To Get Rid Of Contrail?

[hurler]

Just a point of observation, the percentile difference in question 2 of the poll I posted shows an interesting gap between those who believe HAC should manage the Contrail problem and those who believe they should not.

 

Is this for reasons that some believe HAC would not be effective in managing the problem or would be reluctant to due so due to indirect benefits from the Contrail presence ?

 

Any input on this?

 

 

Hurler

[Phil Croucher]

Still Off subject - cap, I may well be in the 'peg in the latter part of the year and I'll make sure I bring some of the duty free with me!

 

Back on subject - I believe it's because many people don't believe HAC have pilot's interests at heart

 

Phil

[Blackmac]

Okanagan Helicopters/Spartan Air Services and a few minor players used to pay there pilots a monthly salary year round. The only allowance was "Bush Allowance" when away from home, this included AME's.

 

Pilots/Engineers were always assured of a pay cheque that would pay the bills, the bush allowance was not taxable and in addition to a reasonable monthly pay cheque.

 

At what point this was changed, I don't remember.

 

One fact I do know is that the companies got very creative when things went hairy in the early nineties, they lowered the monthly salary to a level that would not allow a person to live on for the year without going to the bush.

 

With the supply of pilots/engineers plentiful, they even became more creative.

 

Lowered the monthly salary to one thousand/month and upped the hourly rate to crazy rates, which in turn required the pilots and engineers to push the limits on every thing, INCLUDING SAFETY.

 

The majority of pilots pushed everything to make ends meet on the home front.

 

Go the Air Canada/West Jet route, pay the people what they are worth on a monthly basis instead of the incentive basis and watch your insurance rates go down due to a 100% increase in safety.

 

The pay scales that most companies have in this present day are the reason for consultants like Contrail.

 

If you are expected to be a professional, why are you being paid like a used car salesman.

 

Food for thought.

 

Happy New Year and smarten up.

 

Cheers, Don

[Iceman]

If you are expected to be a professional, why are you being paid like a used car salesman.

 

BINGO

[67november]

"Lowered the monthly salary to one thousand/month and upped the hourly rate to crazy rates, which in turn required the pilots and engineers to push the limits on every thing, INCLUDING SAFETY."

 

 

Don, I highly doubt that safety was Jeopardized when in the field, I or none of my crew would ever do that!!!!!!

Edited January 2, 2006 by 67november

[Phil Croucher]

The only comment I have to add about paycales (good post, BTW) is that if I am expected to behave like a criminal I want to be paid like one! Until then I will not refuel helicopters with the engine running and no-one at the controls, drop people into the tundra from 20 feet, falsify tech logs or duty hours, steal fuel, fly overweight or in bad weather or perform any other dubious practice we are expected to commit as part of the daily routine.

 

HNY

 

Phil

[jetbox]

The only comment I have to add about paycales (good post, BTW) is that if I am expected to behave like a criminal I want to be paid like one! Until then I will not refuel helicopters with the engine running and no-one at the controls, drop people into the tundra from 20 feet, falsify tech logs or duty hours, steal fuel, fly overweight or in bad weather or perform any other dubious practice we are expected to commit as part of the daily routine.

That's funny Albert, cause according to John Moore, the new safety standards that are now in place were introduced because those kinds of practices are apparently rampant in the industry!

 

 

 

Blackmack, you make it sound like the operators are collectively abusing their employees and that these employees would all prefer to get paid monthly among other things. I can garantee you that there is a significant percentage of pilots and AME's that prefer to get paid by the hour and don't want to work a 2 and 2 schedule simply because they won't get to make as much money.

Don't assume that all operator's pay schedules are designed to benefit the company only. Some of these operator's pay scales are set up as such because that's how the employees want it.

 

Lowered the monthly salary to one thousand/month and upped the hourly rate to crazy rates, which in turn required the pilots and engineers to push the limits on every thing, INCLUDING SAFETY.

That's such a ridiculous statement, I don't know where to start! Any pilot/AME with some kind of integrity will keep doing his job professionaly regardless of how he/she gets paid.

 

 

The majority of pilots pushed everything to make ends meet on the home front

They weren't pushing to feed their families, they were pushing to buy that new car/boat/pool table etc.... They're the kind of pilot that push all the time regardless.

 

Like I said before, there are plenty of operators who's employees are happy, loyal and do a safe, honest and efficient job. The safety consultants would do their customers a bigger service by screening and eliminating those operators that do push the weather/safety from their approved vendors list rather than try to reinvent the wheel with all these safety rules.

The operators who push the old rules are gonna push the new ones anyways.

[Iceman]

Jetbox

 

The majority of the above comments are obviously made tongue in cheek.

 

I may be wrong but it sounds like you are an owner or management type slightly out of the loop and looking through rose colored glasses from behind your big oak desk.

 

That's such a ridiculous statement, I don't know where to start! Any pilot/AME with some kind of integrity will keep doing his job professionaly regardless of how he/she gets paid.

 

Yes, always professional, but not always with a smile.

[jetbox]

I may be wrong but it sounds like you are an owner or management type slightly out of the loop and looking through rose colored glasses from behind your big oak desk.

Just because I don't agree with this "the owners are greedy scumbag ******** and we are frail abused victimized employees" attitude that some of you have doesn't make me an owner/manager. It simply means that I expect to get paid a fair wage for the work I do and get treated with respect. In return, I give my employer the same respect and loyalty he deserves, instead of sitting around complaining that the rotations are too long, the money's too low blah blah blah. If I didn't like it here, I'd give my employer the chance to meet my demands, if they chose not to, I would simply move on.

There are plenty of operators that treat their crews like gold and pay a decent wage and give the best rotation they possibly can. Find one and you won't feel compelled to be so cynical.

 

Happy and safe new year to all!

[Blackmac]

JetBox: I am begining to think you like to disagree for the sake of disagree'ing. Shades of another person that no longer posts.

 

My observations were made from having been in the industry for a little while, being a chief pilot, the first DOM in Canada, company manger and janitor.

 

I was not trying to take the companies down, they do that by themselves.

 

For your added info when I was contracting for the feds, I worked with and was in contact with just about every operator in Canada. Can you say the same??

 

I have a background to be able to say what I am saying.

 

When you get the same amount of time in, maybe you will speak with a little less one track mind and quit being such an isolationist (probably a new word).

 

I wish you all the best for the New Year and hopefully you will broaden your horizons.

 

Cheers, Don