Kenn Borek working conditions, costs and training

[crankedup]

It might not be a perfect company.....

I may not have been a perfect employee....

[Cat Driver]

Looks like there will be Twin Otter work coming up in Kai Tak, and you can live in Kowloon.

[Lost Lake]

Actually Shenzhen and it's still in the air

[Rowdy]

Looks like there will be Twin Otter work coming up in Kai Tak, and you can live in Kowloon.

Good luck! Theres already a waiting list of crews for it...

[modi13]

Approximately how many hours do crews on each type of aircraft get each year? I've heard guys on the Beech might sit around waiting for medivacs and only get 200, while guys on the Twin can max out; conversely, I've heard that the Twin crews don't have a lot to do during the winter and only fly once or twice a week.

[Rowdy]

The beech side is the slowest. Guys on northern rotations avg. 250-300hrs a year.. the lucky couple that do one of the contracts have a tendency to time x. Good luck with getting that. The otter folk fly more.. between 500-800hrs a year.. depending on contract/base etc.

Theres lots going on in the canadian winter.. just not in canada. there are usually 9 or more machines in antarctica..

The maldives were good for time.. people flying 100hrs a month! too bad its no longer part of kba..

[Conquest Driver]

I see KBA is advertising for a Turbo DC-3 F/O. Is there nobody in the King Air/Twin Otter First Officer group who's interested in the DC-3?

[Mad Flying Ace]

The rotations on the DC3T can be a little rough - its more of a single man's game, as some tours can last up to 6 weeks - Antarctic not included. Definitely not for everyone, and they would like to see a few years commitment as it takes a while to get guys trained up efficiently enough to be able to do all the ski work (75% of the work) - and at 5 million U.S., they arent going to cut anyone loose right away without a really good check out - they want to be able to groom the aspiring FO for Captain's position as they are always needing them - especially with the amount of flying they are doing these days - (probably explains the longish tours as they don't have enough guys for the work and machines).

They also prefer guys with tail wheel time, ski time, and even float.

They have pulled a few guys from the King Air side and Otter side, but it tends to be a longish learning curve if they don't have the experience as described above.

cheers

Mad Flying Ace

[gabo]

Does anybody know if Borek will be hiring any Otter F/O's in the near future

[Brantford Beech Boy]

No. Maybe. Yes?

Most new DHC-6 F/Os have been from the dispatch ranks, but you never know when a spot may be available, especially with potential movement from some machines to the Basler

Throw in a resume and see what happens.
Worse thing that can happen is a "PFO" letter.

BBB

[eightzeroummmseven]

Why doesn't Kenn Borek pay you during training? Are you not an employee at that point?

[Rowdy]

You're not considered an employee until you pass your first ppc ride. and even then..

[eightzeroummmseven]

So training is part of the interview process? How does that work...legally?

[Lost Lake]

They fly you to Calgary, they pay for your hotel, it takes approx 5 days to do your PPC, then you are3 on payroll. Small 1 yr declining bond. You just spent $50K getting your license, they give you a job that takes 5 days and a couple hundred dollars. What's the big deal?

[ahramin]

The median time to get the groundschool, flight training, and ride done is around 2 weeks. In addition there is a huge amount of cbt training which can be done before you show up.

I wouldn't consider 6k a small amount, especially for a 100 or 99 PPC. I believe it only starts declining after 6 months.

They also pay per-diems during training. ~$42 per day.

Legally I'm sure they are in the clear. Might be a good idea to get an offer of employment from them in writing before you quit your old job.

[StudentPilot]

Can any of the Borek pilots chime in with what the DC3Ts generally do? I know they use several in Antarctica and there is a bit of flying in the arctic and that's about it.

In Antarctica are the planes all based at one airstrip, or does each machine generally fly in a separate area from a separate? If the latter, do crews typically spend their entire tour on one plane at one base or do they get moved around? How long are the typical legs in Antarctica?

In the Arctic where are the DC3Ts generally based or do they move to wherever they're required? Is there much pavement/gravel airstrip flying or is it mostly on skis in the Arctic? Where else have the DC3Ts been recently on international contracts?

[Ref Plus 10]

Can any of the Borek pilots chime in with what the DC3Ts generally do? I know they use several in Antarctica and there is a bit of flying in the arctic and that's about it.

Sure, aside from the flights across Canada, through Europe, etc...

In Antarctica are the planes all based at one airstrip, or does each machine generally fly in a separate area from a separate? If the latter, do crews typically spend their entire tour on one plane at one base or do they get moved around? How long are the typical legs in Antarctica?

Although several planes may end up at the same place from time to time, they're generally all on their own contracts...I don't know too many foundations who could afford to have two DC3Ts on the continent for any period of time. Crews typically go down with the airplane they'll fly for the season...too expensive and no means of transporting between bases to change airplanes. It makes life a lot easier when you get in the same plane you left the night before. Tours range from 2 weeks (That's bad, means you've been fired)...well, it really depends on the contract, but could be anywhere from 1-2 months to 5 months.

In the Arctic where are the DC3Ts generally based or do they move to wherever they're required? Is there much pavement/gravel airstrip flying or is it mostly on skis in the Arctic? Where else have the DC3Ts been recently on international contracts?

I'm not sure how much flying you've done in the actual Arctic, but the snow on lakes is usually only good enough for us to land until June, so the rest of the time is spent on wheels, mostly runway to runway, fair bit of DEW line flight, occasional cargo charter. In the past couple months I've been through South and Central America, Germany, Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. We more or less just go where the contracts are....obviously there's not a huge demand for a 70 year old airplane where a jet or newer type aircraft can do the job...the demand is in the north (and south), so that's where we go. It's a tough, dirty, stressful, heavy lifting, sometimes painful job, but if you asked me how i like it, I'd say without hesitation that it's the best, most rewarding job I've ever had.

Ref

[Mr. North]

What kind of 'contracts' do the DC3T's generally fulfill? Are we talking cargo hauls to short isolated strips? surveys? seasonal passenger service perhaps? I know you can't go into specifics but in general what kind of work do these machines do that have them being moved around all over the world for brief 1-5 month contracts?

[Ref Plus 10]

All of the above. There's a lot of camp moves, scientific camp support in the winter and spring months, passenger sched runs in the summer, with lots of cargo flights, and other assorted charters, and that's just from our established bases. Other contracts I can't really tell you where we end up, but could be anywhere, like our slogan says. Anytime, Anywhere, Worldwide. One of our contracts is operating "Polar 5", a research aircraft, which goes to Germany every summer, then anywhere the Institute may be researching.

Not always glorious, but always fun