Skylink Planes

[iflyforpie]

How many times have I heard skylink going missed off the NDB 06 @ YHM because of the ILS being down, or doing the arc into YSB and holding everyone else up.

Probably not as many times as I’ve heard Jazz or Encore going missed at 300 OVC on the ILS, or going all the way to the RNAV on other side of the airport at 5000 OVC 9+ at 150 knots because of a ten knot tailwind.

[Blackdog0301]

Who told you they don’t have GPS? Of course they have. A fancy trimble!
Now, if you ask about tents, covers, heaters or uniform allowance, then the answer is no.

I've flown that bird with the Trimble. The fact it has a Trimble isn't the most idiotic thing about it. It's where it's located. Can anyone take a guess where they placed that Trimble?

Anyone?











Anyone?






Center pedestal right beside your butt!! Imagine using it in IMC to track accurately to a VOR or NDB, without autopilot, and having to LIFT YOUR ARM AND LOOK DOWN AT YOUR RIGHT/LEFT HIP EVERY MINUTE OR TWO TO CHECK YOUR TRACK all without becoming disoriented, and keeping your scan moving. Let me tell you, it's not easy. New guys who came into that plane for the first time took WEEKS to become proficient in its use. Imagine trying to teach a new guy how to use it. There are times BOTH pilots are looking down at the floor for extended periods trying to learn/teach how to fly using it. I had my share of close calls in that plane... Coming seconds away from entering a spiral dive because you're too busy looking down trying to find that crosswind correction, and the only thing saving you is the second pilot.

On the bright side, I became a master in the art of moving my entire head/body while hand flying IMC without deviating too far off course/altitude.

EDIT: I will say, however, that the people at Skylink are friendly, and professional. They stick to the rules, and expect their pilots to as well. At the end of the day, if you can put up with some of the shortcomings with their planes, it's not a terrible place to work. You gain a lot of useful experience that you really can't get anywhere else.

[iflyforpie]

Who told you they don’t have GPS? Of course they have. A fancy trimble!
Now, if you ask about tents, covers, heaters or uniform allowance, then the answer is no.

I've flown that bird with the Trimble. The fact it has a Trimble isn't the most idiotic thing about it. It's where it's located. Can anyone take a guess where they placed that Trimble?

Anyone?











Anyone?






Center pedestal right beside your butt!! Imagine using it in IMC to track accurately to a VOR or NDB, without autopilot, and having to LIFT YOUR ARM AND LOOK DOWN AT YOUR RIGHT/LEFT HIP EVERY MINUTE OR TWO TO CHECK YOUR TRACK all without becoming disoriented, and keeping your scan moving. Let me tell you, it's not easy. New guys who came into that plane for the first time took WEEKS to become proficient in its use. Imagine trying to teach a new guy how to use it. There are times BOTH pilots are looking down at the floor for extended periods trying to learn/teach how to fly using it. I had my share of close calls in that plane... Coming seconds away from entering a spiral dive because you're too busy looking down trying to find that crosswind correction, and the only thing saving you is the second pilot.

On the bright side, I became a master in the art of moving my entire head/body while hand flying IMC without deviating too far off course/altitude.

With airway widths it’s a full minute of flying 90 degrees off course until you’re out of protected airspace at their absolute narrowest. Ten degrees off its over 5 minutes. Most of their flying is with radar coverage so centre is likely going to ask where you’re going. An NDB, sure, cross check. A VOR? No need. They aren’t GPS accurate, but they don’t need to be.

The best place to learn a system is in the hangar or on the flightline connected to ground power and reading through the book.

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. In that order, always.

[Blackdog0301]

Yes, there's plenty of margin for error. And yes, it's almost always done in controlled airspace. But ATC isn't going to wait until you're right on the edge of your protected area before querying the crew. I've been queried by ATC several times regarding our track despite being only a mile or two off track and well within limits when flying purely off the VOR or NDB. So naturally it makes you want to fly more precisely so you don't have ATC nagging you non stop.

[Skittles32]

Maybe if planes were properly equipped with something newer than...what? 1940’s technology? Many of these problems could be avoided. Just a thought.

[AirportCoffee]

How many times have I heard skylink going missed off the NDB 06 @ YHM because of the ILS being down, or doing the arc into YSB and holding everyone else up.

Probably not as many times as I’ve heard Jazz or Encore going missed at 300 OVC on the ILS, or going all the way to the RNAV on other side of the airport at 5000 OVC 9+ at 150 knots because of a ten knot tailwind.

One is due to a lack of equipment and the other is a lack of airmanship. Two completely different scenarios.

[TomC]

With the exception of one, all the airplanes had KLN90 gps units. Two had Garmin 400s. The KLNs are not very intuitive but once you have it figured out, perfectly adequate. There was plenty more to complain about than the gps when I was there, but whatever feels important to you.

[goldeneagle]

For all of you folks that seem to think one cant fly without a GPS, you better not apply at Air Canada....

[pelmet]

Center pedestal right beside your butt!! Imagine using it in IMC to track accurately to a VOR or NDB, without autopilot, and having to LIFT YOUR ARM AND LOOK DOWN AT YOUR RIGHT/LEFT HIP EVERY MINUTE OR TWO TO CHECK YOUR TRACK all without becoming disoriented, and keeping your scan moving. Let me tell you, it's not easy.

CRM. Have the PNF look down every minute or two and make the corrective call.

[MrAviator19]

With 800 hrs you can get on with Encore, Jazz, etc. Why would you go somewhere that pays worse, has a worse schedule + has a bond?

I get it why some guys stick around flying for decent 703 operators, but why go somewhere that's crap these days?

With 800 hrs, Encore & Jazz will ask you to reach back out to them once you hit their minimum 1000 hr standards for obvious insurance reasons (and 150 PIC in case of Encore) unless you're selected from an affiliated college program. So don't believe everything you see here because there's a lot of "I know guys" references which should be taken with a pinch of salt.

MrA

[MrAviator19]

Who told you they don’t have GPS? Of course they have. A fancy trimble!
Now, if you ask about tents, covers, heaters or uniform allowance, then the answer is no.

FreeFlight - the predecessor to ForeFlight

MrA

[pild04]

Correct, some aircraft do not have GPS capability and fly using traditional NAV aids. None of skylink's planes are certified for RNAV approaches.

If you are considering working there, take into account the following:

F/O pay is 33k/yr

1yr bond, approx $16k

Upgrades also bonded

No benefits

Pay your own medicals

YVR and YWG fly mostly at night, including weekends and holidays

Load and unload your own plane the majority of trips

Schedule is unpredictable and changes often, plan on being called on reserve frequently, and it's rare to have 2 days off in a row.

Planes are old, tired, poorly equipped and have no autopilot

Training is condensed to 3 days of groundschool and then on wing training, 5-10hrs.

If you can put up with the above, it will tick alot of boxes for your A's. But so will every other place. The requirements are +/-800hrs, and at that experience level these days you've got options. Explore them.

Thanks for the info!

I would like to know kind of a bond is it - a pro-rated bond that has to be paid if one leaves during the term or to be paid upfront or deducted from paycheck. How long does it take to upgrade? Is it the same type of bond after upgrade too?

Thank you!

[ayseven]

Really?

[mbav8r]

Really?

Yes, really. Of course because any decent job is already taken or 100s of resumes already. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a supply of pilots all of the sudden.

[smooth]

+1

Oh boy. You dinosaurs are so set in your ways it's not even funny. Is it possible to do NDB approaches and navigate your entire 14 hour day via VORs? The answer should be yes to anyone that holds a current IFR ticket. Being able to do so proficiently is another story.

How many times have I heard skylink going missed off the NDB 06 @ YHM because of the ILS being down, or doing the arc into YSB and holding everyone else up.

It's 2020, the least a commercial operator could do for their 1900 fleet is install a couple KLN90's.

Give your heads a shake

[smooth]

Jazz requirement is 750hrs(they do need more multi engine time), Encore is 1000hrs, Porter is 1000hrs

With 800 hrs you can get on with Encore, Jazz, etc. Why would you go somewhere that pays worse, has a worse schedule + has a bond?

I get it why some guys stick around flying for decent 703 operators, but why go somewhere that's crap these days?

With 800 hrs, Encore & Jazz will ask you to reach back out to them once you hit their minimum 1000 hr standards for obvious insurance reasons (and 150 PIC in case of Encore) unless you're selected from an affiliated college program. So don't believe everything you see here because there's a lot of "I know guys" references which should be taken with a pinch of salt.

MrA

[jpilot77]

Jazz requirement is 750hrs(they do need more multi engine time), Encore is 1000hrs, Porter is 1000hrs

With 800 hrs you can get on with Encore, Jazz, etc. Why would you go somewhere that pays worse, has a worse schedule + has a bond?

I get it why some guys stick around flying for decent 703 operators, but why go somewhere that's crap these days?

With 800 hrs, Encore & Jazz will ask you to reach back out to them once you hit their minimum 1000 hr standards for obvious insurance reasons (and 150 PIC in case of Encore) unless you're selected from an affiliated college program. So don't believe everything you see here because there's a lot of "I know guys" references which should be taken with a pinch of salt.

MrA

Was!

[MrAviator19]

Jazz requirement is 750hrs(they do need more multi engine time), Encore is 1000hrs, Porter is 1000hrs

With 800 hrs, Encore & Jazz will ask you to reach back out to them once you hit their minimum 1000 hr standards for obvious insurance reasons (and 150 PIC in case of Encore) unless you're selected from an affiliated college program. So don't believe everything you see here because there's a lot of "I know guys" references which should be taken with a pinch of salt.

MrA

Was!

The good ol' days!

MrA

[Don Cherry]

Correct, some aircraft do not have GPS capability and fly using traditional NAV aids. None of skylink's planes are certified for RNAV approaches.

If you are considering working there, take into account the following:

F/O pay is 33k/yr

1yr bond, approx $16k

Upgrades also bonded

No benefits

Pay your own medicals

YVR and YWG fly mostly at night, including weekends and holidays

Load and unload your own plane the majority of trips

Schedule is unpredictable and changes often, plan on being called on reserve frequently, and it's rare to have 2 days off in a row.

Planes are old, tired, poorly equipped and have no autopilot

Training is condensed to 3 days of groundschool and then on wing training, 5-10hrs.

If you can put up with the above, it will tick alot of boxes for your A's. But so will every other place. The requirements are +/-800hrs, and at that experience level these days you've got options. Explore them.

Thanks for the info!

I would like to know kind of a bond is it - a pro-rated bond that has to be paid if one leaves during the term or to be paid upfront or deducted from paycheck. How long does it take to upgrade? Is it the same type of bond after upgrade too?

Thank you!

Pro-rated bond, about 10k for an upgrade. Before covid Skylink was struggling to keep pilots, so very fast upgrades. After covid, tons of 1900 pilots available so they're getting guys on contract with valid PPC on type.
Zero upgrades until 705 start hiring again.

[pild04]

Correct, some aircraft do not have GPS capability and fly using traditional NAV aids. None of skylink's planes are certified for RNAV approaches.

If you are considering working there, take into account the following:

F/O pay is 33k/yr

1yr bond, approx $16k

Upgrades also bonded

No benefits

Pay your own medicals

YVR and YWG fly mostly at night, including weekends and holidays

Load and unload your own plane the majority of trips

Schedule is unpredictable and changes often, plan on being called on reserve frequently, and it's rare to have 2 days off in a row.

Planes are old, tired, poorly equipped and have no autopilot

Training is condensed to 3 days of groundschool and then on wing training, 5-10hrs.

If you can put up with the above, it will tick alot of boxes for your A's. But so will every other place. The requirements are +/-800hrs, and at that experience level these days you've got options. Explore them.

Thanks for the info!

I would like to know kind of a bond is it - a pro-rated bond that has to be paid if one leaves during the term or to be paid upfront or deducted from paycheck. How long does it take to upgrade? Is it the same type of bond after upgrade too?

Thank you!

Pro-rated bond, about 10k for an upgrade. Before covid Skylink was struggling to keep pilots, so very fast upgrades. After covid, tons of 1900 pilots available so they're getting guys on contract with valid PPC on type.
Zero upgrades until 705 start hiring again.

Thanks!

Before COVID-19, would Skylink hire pilots from within the company with experience lesser than 800 hours?