Looking for a little advice/info

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scullz
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Looking for a little advice/info

Post by scullz »

Hello, Thanks for taking a few minutes to read this post. So, I am a 35 year old man living in Kamloops. I'm married with newborn twin boys. Currently I'm on parental leave. I am a Confederation College Flight Management grad-/06. After grad I moved to Armstrong, ON. to work the dock. Four summers later I ended up with +/- 1200hrs TT, 900hrs of which was PIC float time mostly in a C180. The last summer I received about 20hrs left seat Dual DHC-2 with the understanding that I'd come back to fly the beaver full time the next summer. Well, life happened and I found myself in B.C. that winter met my future wife and decided to stay the summer and pursue the relationship. That summer(2010) we decided to work towards saving for a 16 month backpacking trip which took us around the world. I found work on a drilling rig that winter, we traveled then returned late 2012 and I went straight back to the rigs for work. I wont lie the work was painful but the paychecks were nice and it couldn't have worked out any better for paying off travel debts and our coming wedding. I always knew that being a rig hand was temporary and finally left the job last summer. Since then I've been working as a carpenters apprentice up until early march of this year when the boys were born. Now i'm finding myself on leave of a job where my wage was 18$/hr thinking if i'm gonna get back into flying now's the time to do it. I mean it's not as if i'd be taking a huge pay cut by taking an entryish level job flying. The only thing is leaving BC is not really an option. My wife is from here. Her family is here so picking up to move to thunder bay and finding a job with wasaya/bearskin etc...is not happening (I love BC trust me, but trying to get anyone who is from here to leave for anything longer than a weekend is like pulling teeth). Neither is leaving my family here and being away all summer flying floats for a fishing resort. I suppose what I would like a little help/advice/info with is: (any advice about finding a flying job in BC would be greatly appreciated!)
A) I have about 5 hours in a rented 172 in the last 4 years. Am I basically starting over as a rookie pilot in the eyes of a prospective employer? Is it worth renting a float plane and accumulating a few hours before I start handing out resumes?
B) Are there many outfits in BC/Yukon that would consider hiring pilots with that sort of time/experience? I remember hearing that saltwater time was important and it was tough to find work unless you were a med/high time float pilot.
C) Also, has anyone heard of Work BC helping out with funding for ME/IFR or instructor ratings?
Thanks again for your time.
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upintheair_
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Re: Looking for a little advice/info

Post by upintheair_ »

You can get a student loan from BC/Canada for multi and IFR ratings. It won't cover everything but it will cover a chunk.

With your hours, even though it's not current you should not have a problem finding a job.
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ragbagflyer
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Re: Looking for a little advice/info

Post by ragbagflyer »

A/B) Your five hours of 172 time in the last four years doesn't mean anything. Your 1200 hours/900 on floats means everything. That along with your other skills is what you need to sell. You have enough flight time that you can get back in the swing of things fairly quickly; not to say you won't be a bit rusty, but the experience and skill should be there. If you're a personable guy and you come across as mature you should at least be considered for any 180/185 job whether it be fresh water or salt water.

Your issue is going to be location. I understand you don't want to be away from your family for a whole season, but unless you're within driving distance of Kamloops by road it doesn't really matter if you're in Ontario or BC. Seasonal jobs for your experience level are typically pretty full on are far as a work schedule goes. It's not realistic to expect a rotation or a lot of consecutive days off that allow you to make it home to see your family. If you can find such a job then more power to you.

C) I don't know about Work BC but it's been done through HRSDC in the past. It's gotten more difficult with time. You can find other threads here on that subject.
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"I don't know which is worse, ...that everyone has his price, or that the price is always so low." - Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes)
icosco
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Re: Looking for a little advice/info

Post by icosco »

Not sure what kind of cash you might have access to, but according to this website Air-Hart out of Kelowna is for sale, could be a nice gig running your own company. You'd need an instructor rating, but they say they are willing to stick around to get you your qualifications. You meet the requirements to be the CP I believe. Check it out: http://canada.businessesforsale.com/can ... -Sale.aspx
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upintheair_
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Re: Looking for a little advice/info

Post by upintheair_ »

That looks like it could be fun.
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Broken Slinky
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Re: Looking for a little advice/info

Post by Broken Slinky »

icosco wrote:Not sure what kind of cash you might have access to, but according to this website Air-Hart out of Kelowna is for sale, could be a nice gig running your own company. You'd need an instructor rating, but they say they are willing to stick around to get you your qualifications. You meet the requirements to be the CP I believe. Check it out: http://canada.businessesforsale.com/can ... -Sale.aspx
The scenary doesn't get any better than the Okanagan Valley. Just watch out for Ogopogo when you float into Lake Okanagan. Lots of ski bunnies all winter long on their way up to Big White or Silver Star. Girls wanting to do the wine tours in the summer. Could think of a lot worse places to set up shop.
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