Thunder is now offering a $5000.00 signing bonus for direct hire Captains who meet our criteria. PPC is NOT required but experience is! Details including wages are in our ad in the job forum.

"Training Agreements? Unfortunately, Thunder does not operate any Boeing products so we do need a training agreement for all pilots not making our “direct-hire” criteria."

Just out of curiosity, what does it matter if you don't have any boeing products ? How would that change your policy ?


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How about A320's??

LostinRotation wrote:"Training Agreements? Unfortunately, Thunder does not operate any Boeing products so we do need a training agreement for all pilots not making our “direct-hire” criteria."

Just out of curiosity, what does it matter if you don't have any boeing products ? How would that change your policy ?


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I think he means that 'cause they don't run jets, they know that medevac flying is a transitional job for a lot of pilots, and that they will probably leave sooner or later.

If he didn't get that without your help, he truly is "lost in rotation" or living in his mom's basement.

I am seing lots on pay, but little on the schedule. Any details?

Hey, I met a couple of their drivers the other day in ZRJ. Nice "kids". Good heads on their shoulders....so Thunder is getting good people. I've known one of their drivers since the beginning of time. 5K to sign up sounds like a great idea. They are a "stepping stone" and they know it, and in the industry today, a 5K signing bonus is almost a requirement to get quality drivers.
The year was 1778...

Bob A. Booey,

From what I hear seeing those guys down in T.O. its pager 24hrs 10 days on and 5 days off or something like that. Up to 15 hours duty time so basically 150hours in 10 days. Basically from the above you can calculate that in a year duty comes to 3600 hrs.
If you take the pay of $70,000 that the ad says you make $19.44 per hour of duty. Slightly higher than instructor pay. On the other hand a normal desk job is at 44 hours per week without overtime. Per year that is 2112hrs and at $70,000 it works out to $33 per hour.
So to conclude I would have to say are you willing to work really really hard for $70,000 with no life, or settle for less pay with more time off?
Makes you wonder sometimes, doesn't it??

"Makes you wonder sometimes, doesn't it??"

This coming from an instructor down in Toronto? $75000.00 a year in Thunder Bay is worth more to you than a hundred G in Toronto I'd bet. And you're getting a ton of turbine time pretty quick.

I don't work there, but know quite a few people that have. They never had any major complaints.

But this is so typical, the industry is finally getting good (who knows how long it will last)...

"Je me souviens"

One of the things I do is convert a salary into a day rate. What I care about is how many days I work and how much I get paid. $75,000 per year is only half the equation. I also add vacation pay into that. So 75,000 with an additional 4% is $78,000.

Somebody else posted 10 on, 5 off, so that adds up to 242 days per year.

Divide 78,000 by 242 and you get $322 per day. Now you have somethnig you can work with.

From there you can make your own choices. If I were applying I'd try for 183 days per year (2 weeks on/2 weeks off). Offer to do any required company training or extra duties on my 2 weeks "off" at the daily rate (which we now know and can negotiate).

That starts to get into the point Bob brought up; what's important to you and what kind of lifestyle do you want?

"How I wish I was in Sherbrook now."

And, I'd bet they'd be really happy to get some old fart for two on, two off!
A letter of marque came from the King..

Conquest Driver wrote:"How I wish I was in Sherbrook now."

I wish I was at the University of Sherbrook now. The french chicks there man......

YYZ_Instructor wrote:Bob A. Booey,

From what I hear seeing those guys down in T.O. its pager 24hrs 10 days on and 5 days off or something like that. Up to 15 hours duty time so basically 150hours in 10 days. Basically from the above you can calculate that in a year duty comes to 3600 hrs.
If you take the pay of $70,000 that the ad says you make $19.44 per hour of duty. Slightly higher than instructor pay. On the other hand a normal desk job is at 44 hours per week without overtime. Per year that is 2112hrs and at $70,000 it works out to $33 per hour.
So to conclude I would have to say are you willing to work really really hard for $70,000 with no life, or settle for less pay with more time off?
Makes you wonder sometimes, doesn't it??

Kinda funny actually, of all the job postings this is the only one that you seem to pick apart. The last time thunder had a posting out you did the same. Tell ya what unless you got something lagite to say about the company from first hand experience (which I am guessing you've tried to get on there and got turned down or have been fired)keep your mouth shut.

If you don't want to work hard from time to time, don't apply to Thunder, you'll be wasting everyone's time especially yours. But 150 hours in ten days never happened to me in the 3 years I worked there. There were some hard shifts, but I also remember several times showing up after the pager went off with a couple fish I just caught, or getting changed out of my water skiing duds. (I was still airborne in time though!) Life was good that's for sure. If you want to gain some quality experience and make some decent money while you're at it then go ahead and apply.

You'll have to make the decision for yourself about the lifestyle, if it's for you. But don't make it either way based on what you read here. If you do next thing you know you'll be turning down AC because they don't pay enough!

Company is good.....schedule is 10 on, 5 off....guys on the inside are pissed that the company is not giving them the 5000g's for sticking around....new guys are getting paid more than the old guys. Bad blood is stirring. They are losing guys by the month.....and are really desperate. Management could be better (Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians), but the boys flying the airplanes make up for it....good bunch of guys flying.

upandaway wrote:...new guys are getting paid more than the old guys.

Really? They didn't up the salaries of the existing pilots to match the new hires?

nope.....why do you think they are not keeping guys. Not everybody from Thunder who applies to Jazz gets on, despite what Mackie tells you. They are losing guys to other northern operators....which really gets BM going. Overall, its the guys you fly with that keep you there.....at least for me it is, cause it sure isn't the pay. Washing the airplanes, loading the airplanes....it gets old fast especially when the hire some kid to do it....but does it only half of the time. thunder is a good place to get time fast and then get the hell out.

To the scummiest vessel I'd ever seen!!!

Goddamn them all! I was told....

We'd sail the seas for american gold....

We'd fire No Guns, shed No Tears,

..

What the ad does not say is that if you don't meet the criteria for direct hire, which is 5000 hrs plus. You start at 30K/year plus mileage as captain for two years, then up to 70K plus 5k signing bonus after two years.

Ahhh! The Devil is in the details.

Acually, it does say that in their hiring page, if you'd bothered to look.