Scenic Airlines

[Flywithmike]

Anything's easy to fly in calm winds. But you add a cross- or worse yet a tailwind, and you've got your hands full in the DHC-6. No matter how much time you have in the thing, it can be like reeling in a Northern Pike: a fight all the way.

Your exactly right, everyone agrees that the Otter can be a handful to land gusty/shearing wind, that's why I didn't say " The Otter is ridiculously easy to land all the time ".

 

[Jim]

Don't most regionals have a duty rig and minimum pay guarantee?

We get for 1:2, 3.75 min daily pay even if we only work 2 hours, and straight time for any duty in excess of 12 hours as long as it was originaly scheduled to exceed 12 hours. I know other carriers have even better rules.

Perhaps it's been a while since Jim flew for a regional or am I missing somethign?

The only other airline I have flown for is Hawaiian. I flew for a fractional and some corporate/contract which are not comparable because they were salary or daily rates. At HAL, pilots are paid "the greater of"...

For instance, for international flying at HAL we got the greater of:
1. Flight: actual or block (whichever greater)
2. Trip Rig: 1 hour for each 4 schedule away from domicile
3. Duty Rig:60% of all time on duty
4. Minimum Daily Guarantee (4.17 hours)
For any trip, you pay was calculated all 4 ways and you were paid the highest amount. There was also a "delay in return to domicle" pay you received in addition to the above if delayed over a certain amount of time.

Some pilots I know at the better regionals say they have schemes similiar to HAL's. At Scenic its more of a time clock system. You clock in and clock out. All flight time is paid at the full amount and ground time at 1/2. For example, If I clock in at 6am and out at 6pm with 8 hours flying I get 10 hours of pay. (12 hours on the clock, 8 hours at full pay and 4 at 1/2 pay) Further, if you go over 12 hours of duty, you get an hour of ground at full pay for each hour you go over. So if I had a 14 duty day with 8 hours of flying, I would get paid for 12 hours (8 hours flight at full pay and 6 hour ground with 2 at full pay and 4 at 1/2 pay). I believe this is much more liberal than most regionals when it comes to being paid for the time you spend on the ground. I could be wrong, but I talk to former Scenic guys at various regionals that say Scenic is better in this regard.

Also, who are the 19 seat operators I am comparing Scenic's pay too? They are Mesa, Skyways, Bigsky, Gulfstream, etc. Not your most pilot friendly airlines. But they are the airlines that fly comparable aircraft. (19 seat turboprops).

I could be wrong in my perceptions of regional pay schemes but I think I have a fairly accurate view.

 

[skyy]

what's an ideal pilot applicant that Scenic Airlines hires?

 

[Irish Pilot]

you've got an ATP I see....thats pretty ideal...we need captains. It seems like most of the new hires have been right around the 1000 hour mark....but that is most likely due to the fact that that is what type of applicants there are. Im not sure there is an "Ideal" applicant right now. Being a good pilot with a good attitude and the required time should get you in the door right now. Wish they were all like that lol!

 

[FlyWithSean]

Yeah if you have an ATP you are head over heels over anyone else applying!

 

[skyy]

yes you would think. if you meet there captain's qualfication. I think they are prejudice with a applicant with previous canyon operations.

 

[pilotmejiaj]

Yep the twotter is a blast to fly. I flew jumpers in one for a few months and it was a blast. Used to get some pretty decent cross winds (only had one runway) but it was never really a problem. I love the way it handled just like a big 172. We used to compete to see who could land it the slowest and keep it on one tire the longest in a crosswind. Alot of fun.

Being an ex-scenic ditch runner, the Otter is the funniest plane I've flown. The Captains were great to fly with, including you jim (hope everything is well) and the places we went to were fun. I love my job here at COEX, but I had alot more FUN flying at Scenic.

 

[TDK90]

Are there any DHC-6-400's flying at Scenic? It shows them on the website, are they basically the same as the 300 but with retractable gear?

 

[BossHogg]

Are there any DHC-6-400's flying at Scenic? It shows them on the website, are they basically the same as the 300 but with retractable gear?

All these guys from Scenic are flying them!

 

[TDK90]

I though the DHC 6 300 + DHC 6 400 were different? Both Otters but one faster than the other with retractable gear?