Pilot shortage causes cancellation on rural Australian routes

Well, that went downhill fast.

An all male crew is technically known as a Sausage Fest.

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Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

I bet a good percentage of those who flew Lancasters and B17's were clerks, farmers, carpenters, etc. and never finished high school. Are not airliners almost automated these days and the pilots job is to talk to the controllers, take over if something fails, drink coffee, and fondle the stewardesses.[biggrin]

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I know this is going back in the thread a bit, but here's a ver good example of how compicated it is - I watch quite a few of this guys videos as I like his naration style and explnations of what he is doing. I would consider myself an inteligent, well educated person but I really doubt I could get my head around all of this - not only the complexities of navigation, but understanding the tower directions, accurately interpreting them but also the distraction of the chatter going on that doesn't relate to what he is doing - I've always loved flying (well not so much commuting on commersial airlines but I've thankfully had many other opportunities to tag along in smaller aircraft) and planes and have the utmost respect for Pilots. 👍

https://youtu.be/Q2JANhUY9co

Thanks for that Homestar. It brought back quite a few memories. I spent three months slumming it on my best mates couch while on holidays in the USA quite a few moons ago. He was flying charters out of Executive Airport in Sacramento mostly in Aero Commanders and Turbo Commanders. His boss was pretty cruisy so I was lucky enough to go out on most of their charter flights and went all over California and neighbouring states. When we took any aircraft under the weight limit for requiring a co-pilot, I got to fly in the right hand seat checking maps and radio freq's. It's not called 'air traffic confusion' for nothing! My mate is back in Perth now but grounded as he is the permanent carer for his invalid 86yo mother. Given the current shortage I hope he doesn't have too much trouble getting back in the air when the time comes, since he has already been out of flying for a couple of years. Fingers crossed!

Employers and employer groups (bosses unions) regularly bleat about a "Shortage of skilled labour", "Can't get qualified staff' etc. There is only one reason for this shortage. The employers have not trained sufficient staff. Whether apprentice, trainee, cadet, student on bonded scholarship. They are not available because the employers have not trained sufficient bodies. They mostly want someone else to train their skilled labour and relieve them of the cost and bother. You probably need to train three to have one 35 y.o. remaining in the industry. People leave their trades and professions because they decide they don't like the job, have been poorly paid, treated like ****, find better paying clean jobs in another industry, sick of working in the outback on mine and other sites, got in the grip of the furry magnet and the magnet wants to live in an East Coast capital and so on.

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Originally Posted by HUE166

For firebombers the 1000 hour (most states are 1500 hours) prerequisite is essentially ag work and preferably spraying. Aerotech specify those to be turbine hours as well although the only official turbine requirement is 100 hours on type (AT-802 or Thrush). The reason for this is that there is not yet a syllabus written for the new firebombing endorsement. That means the firebomber operators (and CASA) are still relying on ag pilots to bring with them the heavy airframe at low level and application experience.

1000 hours of ag is reasonably well paid and is the only way of progressing on to the firebombers. There's no other way of getting a start in them at this stage.

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Hiho, how goes Orange or yoo based at Mudgee now?
Ag is the only flying that could remotely be considered the right training for fire flying. 1000 hours used to be the minimum before you would be let loose in turbine, different now. I would consider 1000 hours expirence nowhere near adequate for flying a loaded 802 on a crap fire day. You usually only get to fly on the worst days and in the worst conditions.
As for pay and conditions in Australia, they have been gradually receeding the last 30 years or so. I work overseas in a third world country most of the year because they pay resonable rates compared to Oz. Come home to fly fires and earn less over summer to be home for a while. Even Ag work in Oz is getting less and less lucrative, some employers are paying salary now instead of retainer plus bonus acres sprayed/spread/hours flown. Drought has slowed things right up, maybe going to be a busy fire season this summer?