FNT -

. . · Post by **. .** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:56 am

Is it just me or are these guys going through DC-3 and C-46 guys like it's going out of style? It seems like an almost monthly job posting ritual.

Doc · Post by **Doc** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:43 am

Well endless, my good man. They do seem to recycle the troops on a regular basis. I'm still trying to figure how they find any anybody in the first place.

Airtids · Post by **Airtids** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:17 pm

Are you kidding!? What newbie wouldn't want to fly one of those, except of course for the ones who don't even know what they are, and those ones, well...

.

TopperHarley · Post by **TopperHarley** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:17 pm

I have a friend who used to work there. He, along with several other guys, quit after 2-4 weeks on the job. He had nothing but very bad things to say about his experience there.

Doc · Post by **Doc** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:41 pm

They aren't looking for a newbe......they're looking for a training captain.

AND they're looking for a current PPC..ROTFLMFAO!!

Lots of current Dak captains around?

Airtids · Post by **Airtids** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:45 pm

Isn't everyone? What I meant to say was what newbie doesn't harbour aspirations to fly something like that. Those first desires are tough to shake, sometimes.

R2000/1830 · Post by **R2000/1830** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:41 pm

The CP is a good guy, I have a few friends that work for them and say its not that bad. They came down from Buffalo so they were accustomed to a hard days work. I have a feeling the guys who left after a few weeks just wanted the white shirt and tie. And yes most people would love to fly a DC-3, and the people who have all wish they could do it again. (just not in the winter)

Doc · Post by **Doc** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:30 pm

Agreed....I'm still looking for a DC3 gig in the islands....Baffin is not one of them!

mikegtzg · Post by **mikegtzg** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 4:21 pm

A friend of mine had the opportunity to fly for these people. Apparently with the type of cargo and the destinations. Loading and unloading is primarily the job of the pilot. Drill eqt. etc.... Definately a younger persons gig, and the friend declined.

Cat Driver · Post by **Cat Driver** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:23 pm

How much do they pay?

Donald · Post by **Donald** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:40 pm

R2000/1830: Are you one of those guys who justifies all the BS you put up with at Buffalo, by putting down the others who got smart after 2-4 weeks and quit (or never started in the first place)?

Cat Driver · Post by **Cat Driver** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:50 pm

Donald, does Buffalo Joe pay fair wages for a fair days work?

Cat

Donald · Post by **Donald** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 7:40 pm

IMHO...no.

Cat Driver · Post by **Cat Driver** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:07 pm

Hmmm, I've known Joe for over thirty years , in fact I spent most of last Friday afternoon with him in Red Deer.

He used to pay pretty fair wages, but I have never flown for him, just know him on a business kind of relationship.

Any dealings I have had with Joe have been quite satisfactory, in fact I am still doing business with him.

So if he does not pay a fair wage, how far below his competetion are his pay scales?

Cat

R2000/1830 · Post by **R2000/1830** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:45 pm

Donald I was not putting down anyone, I myself now wear the white shirt and tie. If that's what people want then they would be smart not to work at FNT or quit right away. Many of my friends took the turbine job right out of school and are further ahead but I loved the DC-3 and wanted to work in the north. Some people like office jobs others like to work with there hands no disrespect to either group.

Also my post was not about buffalo, it was about FNT. I have friends there and know the CP, I was just saying that they are good people.

As for the pay at Buffalo, if I were to be hired at AC tomorrow I would not make the same money that I did at Buffalo for 6-7 years.

I'm not going to make this post about Buffalo because I have stood up for it lots in the past so just search my posts.

Donald · Post by **Donald** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:10 pm

When I read your post (about FNT) it was this that stuck out to me:

They came down from Buffalo so they were accustomed to a hard days work

Are you saying the guys who quit after 2-4 weeks are not accustomed to hard work? Or did they recognize a bad situation and leave before it was too late?

Also, that quote was followed shortly thereafter by the white shirt and tie reference. It seems anytime you come across a Buffalo guy in YZF, as soon as they find out you are working for a competitor you get cut up as someone who doesn't want to get his white shirt/gloves/flightsuit dirty. Which is ironic considering Buffalo doesn't move every drill in the north, do they?

As far as the cash goes, IMO there is no amount of money available to convince me to work for Buffalo, hard work or not. Starting wage at AC doesn't compare to any operators wage in the North either, so that comment is a little irrelevant.

Cat: My first post had nothing to do with wage.

Brew · Post by **Brew** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 5:31 am

[quote="Cat Driver"]Hmmm, I've known Joe for over thirty years , in fact I spent most of last Friday afternoon with him in Red Deer.

He used to pay pretty fair wages, but I have never flown for him, just know him on a business kind of relationship.

Any dealings I have had with Joe have been quite satisfactory, in fact I am still doing business with him.

So if he does not pay a fair wage, how far below his competetion are his pay scales?

Cat[/quote]

Let's put it this way, to give you salary per month would not sound terrible but it is not that cut and dry: I remember working no less than 10 hours a day, for nearly 40 days, then getting something ridiculous like an afternoon off and then working 30 or so more before 1 day off. Let's put it this way; if you calculated your salary per hour, I am sure one would be making a little over $4/hr. Oh, and of course us rampies/courier drivers were sharing the flying on the freighters, so about once every ten days you could get your 2 hours of flying if you got to the airport at 0400 or so! Of course, your work day would end no sooner regardless of what time you started. I don't know how things are at present, but a few years ago, working at Buffalo was definitely slave labour and there is lots of tension/competition between employees and I am sure the lack of proper rest has a lot to do with it. As for Joe himself, well he is definitely a loose cannon in need of therapy. Who in their right mind fires people once every few days-and the same people at that. There is no regard for safety at that company either-guess you can't get more "bush" than that.

R2000/1830 · Post by **R2000/1830** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:39 pm

Brew

Lets Do the Math together to figure out what a rampie/courier driver makes. Lets say you work 7 days a week at Buffalo, which in my time on the ramp you did but now its more like 5.5-6 days and was like that when I left. Now lets also say you work on average 10 hours a day, I know some days you work more but others you work less. There is 52 weeks in a year and lets say you work all of them, which you don't. After the first three months you make $2000 a month if you don't flightattend, if you did you make more. Now lets do the Math.

Reality
$2000x12months=$24000
10hx5.5days = 55h
55hoursx52weeks = 2860hours
$24000/2860 = $8.39 an hour

Worst Case
$2000x12months=$24000
10hoursx7days= 70hours
70hoursx52weeks= 3640hours
$24000/3640hours= $6.60 an hour

These are still really conservative figures, I worked out that when they started giving Sundays off and sharing the flight watch duties that a rampie was making almost $10 an hour. Do they deserve more, hell yes a lot more but it always made me made when people considered the ramp slave labour, its not. Its just cheep labour in the short term. Once you start flying its really good pay. I always looked at it like an apprenticeship, you don't get payed good until your done.

As for Joe, hes not crazy. Crazy Rich people are call eccentric. But really if you do a good job for him and don't @#$! him over he will always be there for you. He expects much from you but will give you every chance to succeed, sometimes too many chances in some peoples cases.

Donald
For you I am sorry if the white shirt and tie reference hit a nerve I did not mean any disrespect, I was just saying its not for every one.

R2000/1830 · Post by **R2000/1830** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:44 pm

Ps I'm glad I diverted the bashing from FNT

snoopy · Post by **snoopy** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 7:00 pm

R2000/1830, is your white shirt and tie job in MB and if so did you visit Red Lake this summer for Norseman days?
Cheers,
Snoopy