miami antonov's

[jsoceanlord]

i read an article about these russian c-130's operating in miami.

they have five cockpit crew; two pilots, radio operator, navigator and flt engineer.

the navigator is in a bubble in the nose, like b-17's 60 years ago.

i heard you can rent massive helicopters in siberia for $250 hour - so my friend flying a cargo shorts is worried these guys will undercut everyones rates

 

[USED2BALJDRVR]

Well, if your friend is in Siberia with his Shorts trying to compete at those rates he should be worried.

 

[DC4boy]

I dont think Shorts are appropriate in Siberia.

 

[414Flyer]

Nor do the Russians have C-130s

 

[72Longhorn]

Ukranian planes

I think what Jsoceanlord meant is that there are AN-24's operating in Miami that are similar to the U.S. C-130 and are competing with Air Cargo Carrier's Shorts 360's & 330's and that these Ruskies are taking the food right out of our mouths.

To answer your question, yes these guys are taking ACC's business, cause Paul Kupke, owner of Florida Air Cargo is contracting the Russians to fly the cargo that ACC is supposed to be carrying. He is doing it cause the AN-24 carries twice the weight of the Shorts for half the price.

I personally hate Paul's guts, cause he's a liar and a crook, but if I owned a cargo company, I too would be looking for the best deal. He is in debt to ACC for over $700k and is not going to pay his tab; that just shows you what kind of guy he is.

These guys are not Russian, they are Ukranian, and their company pays 'em $35 dollars a day; you heard me right!!! THIRTYFIVE DOLLARS a day. They put them all in ONE lousy apartment and work them to death. I spoke to them when I was flying down there and they said it beats the conditions they have to endure back home. Makes you appreciate what we as Americans have.

72Longhorn

 

[Publishers]

State Department

This was a State department trade deal with Ubekistan. They are not checked by FAA and can do pretty much what they want.

When the 4 engine one takes off, there is so much smoke that people call and report the aircraft is on fire.

They are paying little for fuel because they go around the county regulations, have no facilities, and are driving the prices of island air freight.

 

[nimtz]

Man I'm pretty amazed by all this. Talk about scope issues! I use to work for ACC and thought it was a pretty cheap operation all around. BTW, the Shorts would do awesome in Sibera, because it could carry twice its weight in ice.

 

[HAL9000]

I may be wrong, but I thought the AN124 was similar to the C-5 Galaxy......Which is a bit bigger than the average shorts or even a pair of shorts.

 

[spitfire1940]

It seems Ukraine's purpose in the post-Soviet era is to give Russians reasons to feel good about their economic situation.

Those Ukrainians pilots are probably stoked out of their minds not to be flying in and out of hell holes in Africa and Asia. $35 a day amounts to, uh, let's see, around $700-$1000 per month .. big bucks in Ukraine unless you're a politician, gangster or have friends that are politicians or gangsters.

The saddest story I've heard about ex-Soviet pilots is that Russian/Ukrainian pilots were flying fighters for both Eritrea and Ethiopia during those countries' senseless wars of the 1990s. If it's true, I wonder if their bosses wondered why nobody was getting shot down ...

 

[jstanotherpilot]

Paul Kupke is the biggest a ss hole f cking back stabbing liar I have ever seen, out of all the people I knew growing up in Corrsosion Corner and OPF.

He was worse than Frank Conner, 5 times worse than Thom Cooper, and made Frank Fine and George Bachelor look like your beloved grandfather.

He tops all of the scum because he came off as a nice brotherly type of guy, making you trust him, but he is just flat out trailer park trash.

At least the other Miami Scum didn't act like nice decent people and you knew who you were dealing with.

I feel and felt sorry for his wife.