Prospects for under-500-hour wonders...

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Daz
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Prospects for under-500-hour wonders...

Post by Daz »

What sort of flying work is out there for the under-500 crowd? Back in the day, a PPC'ed low timer could find their way doing pipeline patrols and flying lease to lease in the oil patch, but these days all that work seems to require Contrail standards (1000+ hours).

I'm running into this firsthand; I work for a straight shooting company that has given me a 206 endorsement and PPC. They do their best to get me as much flying as they can, but the majority of their work is for clients with high minimum requirements. I'm lucky to fly maybe 50 or 60 hours a year, and at this rate I'll need to work my ground/dispatch job for another 10 or 12 years before I could move into regular flying.

Are there any flying jobs out there for the PPC'ed lowtimer, or is this the new normal?

Cheers,

Daz
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.Heisenberg.
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Re: Prospects for under-500-hour wonders...

Post by .Heisenberg. »

Best option is tourism. Two main operators in Alberta that turn out quite a few low timers. Other than that I have heard of another operator in Red Deer that operates mainly 500's that also gets their low time ground guys flying. Shoot me a pm if you have any questions. Fellow low timer working (finally flying) with 400 hrs and counting.
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Daz
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Re: Prospects for under-500-hour wonders...

Post by Daz »

My first job in the business was working for my flight school flying sightseeing tours out at Drumheller, AB. It was long hours with little time off, but the clients were always happy, my co-workers/bosses were awesome, and I got to fly pretty much every day. The downside was it was just a one summer deal, as the school brings on a new crop of recent graduates for each summer (or at least they did then).

I'd love another job in tourism, and if that's an avenue for a 300-hour guy I'll definitely go knock on some doors. There's one small operator west of Revelstoke that really intrigues me, and I'd love to live in that area. On a different note, me and the Mrs like the idea of living in Whitehorse, and I see one or two operators up there offer tours as part of their services. Hmm...

I know of the Red Deer operator - sounds like a slow process to get going but once you do get flying you're off to the races.

Thanks for your reply - I'll PM you one of these days and we'll chat more. 8)

- D.
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Justinh789
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Re: Prospects for under-500-hour wonders...

Post by Justinh789 »

.Heisenberg. wrote:I have heard of another operator in Red Deer that operates mainly 500's that also gets their low time ground guys flying.
This is a good option IF and only IF
- You don't mind being sent for days off in the spring and never called back because the season ended, nobody told you and everyone took time off

- You also don't know when the winter season starts up either, hopefully you can find a back up job that last's you through the summer and part of the fall sometimes into December when you get a call to go back.

- You enjoy waking up at 530 AM, driving for up to 2 hours in the morning and then sitting in a rental pickup truck by yourself listening to the radio, getting out every 2-3 hours to do 5 minutes of work fuelling the machine until 6-7 pm and then spending a good chunk of your down time in the evening back at the half star motel doing paperwork, amounting to a good 14 hour work day.

- You enjoy doing the above for sometimes 60, 70 days in a row

- You enjoy pulling a fuel trailer on 13 hour drives across the prairie or the same distance to the north by yourself, sometimes there's even a hotel room booked for you when you get there!

- You enjoy making a day rate, that all time and hours factored in for the work described above makes for less than minimum wage

- You are perfectly happy doing this for 4-5 years before possibly getting a seat, if at all due to the fact that there's about 10-15 other people shooting for the same spot

Just some things to consider. Decent people there for the most part but that's what the job is like
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Legacy14
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Re: Prospects for under-500-hour wonders...

Post by Legacy14 »

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Last edited by Legacy14 on Thu Feb 18, 2016 10:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
macbook
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Re: Prospects for under-500-hour wonders...

Post by macbook »

Hey Daz, you should talk to Brant. At least you wont need to move.
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.Heisenberg.
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Re: Prospects for under-500-hour wonders...

Post by .Heisenberg. »

I wouldn't.
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