Tuna Boat Advice

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Icefather
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Tuna Boat Advice

Postby Icefather » Wed Apr 18 2018, 22:42

Hi all,

Just wondering if any of you awesome people have any advice on tuna boats.
Who to talk to? Where to start looking?
Is it still Hansen or Tropic
Min requirements ?
Any people who have recently been over ?
Do you need a FAA CPL or can you get validation on a NZCAA or CASA CPL ?

Feel free to PM me if you’d like. Would be appreciated!
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rex bivouac
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby rex bivouac » Thu Apr 19 2018, 00:23

A blue bic pen is a good start.
UnObvious
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby UnObvious » Fri Apr 20 2018, 15:50

angrypalmtree
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby angrypalmtree » Sat Apr 21 2018, 00:40

If ever you go to Hanson never mention moggy. His boat approach techniques are bull crap. Some nice stories but. You won't need to do a conversion for either Hanson or tropic. The best company out there right now is vsc an arm of islandhoppers.
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garly1
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby garly1 » Sun Apr 22 2018, 08:16

Be careful with VSC. 2 machines written off in 12 months. Last one sank as the pop out floats failed to do the only thing they were designed to do!
Icefather
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby Icefather » Sun Apr 22 2018, 08:19

I’m assuming that would be . Pop out... so it would float
jonjons87
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby jonjons87 » Sun Apr 22 2018, 09:34

Hansen are good to start out with, decent coin, good boats that do decent hours. Rufus and the boys look after their pilots. You'll need 1000 hours with some turbine/md500 time. No need for any licence conversions.

VSC pay the best, apartment in Majuro, car etc but you have to put up with a lot of s#!t and not where I would recommend a fresh tuna pilot start out with. One of those crashes in the last 12 months was 100% pilot error. The other was down to s#!t gear so I'm told...1000 hours with md500/turbine time, previous tuna time will help.

Don't even think about pitching up at Tropic. They're nearly as bad as the dribble that comes out of that Moggy's manual.
pacificpilot
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby pacificpilot » Wed Apr 25 2018, 11:32

I’m working out there now , email me at pacificpilot@hotmail.com and I’ll give you all the info you need
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby Slohughes500 » Sun Apr 29 2018, 20:16

I flew for tropic recently. I would HIGHLY recommended not considering them. Horrible maintenance, horrible management. From what I hear Hansen is a lot better but still don’t expect anything fancy. You should be able to get on w 1000hrs no turbine but there is a waitlist of a few months most of the time. Fun job for sure, my best tip is to go with the flow of things and don’t expect much in the terms of living conditions or safety but it is a great experience. Feel free to pm me for more info.
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby Old Mate » Mon Apr 30 2018, 11:08

Hi, just wondering if anyone knows if it’s possible to get a 6 month contract with Hansons?
Cheers.
Slohughes500
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby Slohughes500 » Mon Apr 30 2018, 19:43

No 6mo contract at Hansen period. Tropic will do it after completing your first 1yr contract. Keep in mind contract times are the minimum. Speaking for Tropic factor in a month at the beginning for "training" (I flew 2hrs in that month) plus a couple extra trips at the end of your contract before you get a replacement. Turns a year contract into 15mo in reality.
pacificpilot
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby pacificpilot » Mon Apr 30 2018, 21:33

No you can’t get 6 months with Hansen’s , but VSC (Island hoppers ) will take you on for that .
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby pacificpilot » Mon Apr 30 2018, 21:36

I’m out there now . Can PM if you want any info
Old Mate
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby Old Mate » Tue May 1 2018, 12:09

Cheers Pacificpilot, PM sent.
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby VerticalJP » Tue May 8 2018, 16:49

Did a stint with Tropic. Strongly do not recommend.

Hansen seems to be hurting for pilots at the moment. Hit them up you might get in quickly. As mentioned above do not mention moggy at Hansen.
Icefather
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby Icefather » Wed May 9 2018, 01:11

VerticalJP wrote:Did a stint with Tropic. Strongly do not recommend.

Hansen seems to be hurting for pilots at the moment. Hit them up you might get in quickly. As mentioned above do not mention moggy at Hansen.



Thanks for the advice mate . Might do that.

Question.. what’s the deal with mentioning Moggy is it just bad blood or something?
angrypalmtree
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby angrypalmtree » Wed May 9 2018, 02:27

Yes as said before there are some nice stories but his advice is off the mark. That and his "extensive experience" was really more like 7 months on the boats.
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby VerticalJP » Wed May 9 2018, 21:35

Re: Moggy

Don’t know what the problem is. I mentioned that I had read his website when I visited the hangar a few years ago. Was met with an F-bomb laden tirade against him.


Icefather wrote:
VerticalJP wrote:Did a stint with Tropic. Strongly do not recommend.

Hansen seems to be hurting for pilots at the moment. Hit them up you might get in quickly. As mentioned above do not mention moggy at Hansen.



Thanks for the advice mate . Might do that.

Question.. what’s the deal with mentioning Moggy is it just bad blood or something?
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mdav
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby mdav » Thu May 10 2018, 23:28

All tuna helicopter company’s are dodgy, is hours that important to increase the risk on your life. Hansen maybe struggling cause there trying to cover up poor maintenance or the lack of.

https://pacificnewscenter.com/helicopte ... -feds-say/

I did a stint with tropic years back and no way would I ever return to that, the helicopter is half the issue the criminal boat operators and the s#!t that go’s on is the other half.
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Re: Tuna Boat Advice

Postby lowlevelhell » Fri May 11 2018, 01:11

mdav wrote:All tuna helicopter company’s are dodgy, is hours that important to increase the risk on your life. Hansen maybe struggling cause there trying to cover up poor maintenance or the lack of.

https://pacificnewscenter.com/helicopte ... -feds-say/

I did a stint with tropic years back and no way would I ever return to that, the helicopter is half the issue the criminal boat operators and the s#!t that go’s on is the other half.


I was just about to post a link to that same story! I have to agree, for a low-time pilot I can see the allure of building hours, but at what cost?, too many pilot's have been killed because of poor maintenance of dodgy operators! I used to work for a reputable operator in CA that had to give testimony to a legal case in NZ over an operator using expired components that ultimately failed and killed the pilot.

from what I've seen and read, I'll give tuna boats the flick, the gamble just doesn't seem worth it!
No bucks? No Buck Rogers! 8)

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