Where to apprentice?

[emoutal]

Hi,

I've been lurking these forums for a while now and I think I've learned a lot so far. I'll be graduating from BCIT in the M program in April so I'm starting to apply to places for an apprentice job. It's just really hard to decide where I'd like to work. And of course, even if I find a place I like, they still have to like me.

My interests change regularly, but what seems to be constant is that I see myself working on medium turboprops and small GA aircraft. The big iron (737 and bigger) doesn't appeal to me nearly as much. But every now and then I see myself working on helicopters as well. It's a tough call, but my impression is that helicopters would be more stressful, living in camps and all, but higher paid. Ideally the company would have both.

I'm not too picky about where I live. Staying in Vancouver could be good, but somewhere else would be good too. I think I would love to work up north. It seems like a great opportunity to check it out and I've heard all the stories of people going up for a year and staying 25. I have a girlfriend who would want to come with me. She seems to really love the idea of moving up north and we're guessing that in the territorial capitals such as Yellowknife or Whitehorse she could find a decent job. A company with rotations would be good too so that we could live wherever we wanted.

What kind of place should I look for? Is it better to find a place where I can get both my M1 and M2?

Thanks,

Eric

[davidinthenorth]

Hi there,

If you are interested in working up north, Summit Air charters is a pretty decent place to work for. They are a small charter company opperating 4 Dornier 228's and 3 SC7 Skyvans out of their base in Yellowknife. You can check out there website at http://www.summitair.net, and if you are interested fire off a resume to the Director of maintenance. There is also plenty of work out here for your girlfriend as well. Yellowknife is a nice place to live with lots of outdoor activities to enjoy.

Working in the north will give you some really good experiences and will test your ability to cope with the environment that you are working in. I have been working in the north for the past 7 years and have enjoyed every minute of it. I have been working for Summit for the past 7 months and have found it to be a very good company to work for. They are still a small enough company that they try to keep everyone happy while they run their bussiness.

As for getting your M1/M2 I guess it all depends on what you would like to work on. In the end it does help expand the places where you can work.

My company does do rotations for some of our maintenance personnel, but they are going and working further up north in the Middle of Baffin Island. As an apprentice, I believe that you would be hard pressed to find a company willing to do a rotation with an apprentice. You would probably do better if you decided on a city where you would like to work and go from there.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

Good luck!

David

[MCRS]

Try Airborne They operate both Fixed and Rotorwing Aircraft, You wouldn't be to far North at least not in the Territories
I suspect. To be honest I don't know much about them, except they do advertise frequently for guys, and they do run what
you were inquiring on.

[......]

I've lived in Yellowknife almost all of my life, and let me tell ya, it's a great place to be! Summer is likely the best season up there, as there are numerous outdoor activities. From Yellowknife Bay, you can boat out and find a good camping spot where the city isn't even visible in under 25 minutes. If you enjoy fishing, there's also many great spots for that. I worked for Air Tindi as a ramp hand this past summer on the docks, and that was a fantastic job! If you're interested in flying beavers, single otters, twin otters, caravans, or 185s on floats, Air Tindi or Arctic Sunwest may be good places for you to work. If you want to see pictures of Yellowknife, or learn more about the place, don't hesitate to PM me, cause I can supply both.

edit: And as David mentioned earlier, Summit would be a great company to work for. I've heard good things from both Summit pilots and employees.

[MB-AME]

If you're going to stay in Vancouver, try Pacific Coastal. They're always looking.
Lots of choices there - helicopters, components, airline, cargo, air ambulance, overhaul.

Good luck.

[MB-AME]

I should clarify that by "there" I meant Vancouver, not Pasco

[emoutal]

So i got an interview at Air Tindi. Can anybody let me know what it's like there? Or any tips for the interview?

[MCRS]

I had a friend that worked up there at Tindi for several years and loved it. He was a Pilot for them not in the maintenance Department. Then Like most He got an offer down South He just couldn't refuse. More dollars, and better hours at home. (Just couldn't pass it up)
I am sure there are some Tindi Maintenance people on here that would be willing to enlighten you as to what to expect up there!

[brap]

I know 3 guys that worked at tindi and they said it was a good place to work.

[pilotdreams]

I'm graduating this summer as well. Does anyone know of a database that lists all operators in Canada? I'm looking for an operation that flies and maintains their own aircraft.

[MCRS]

I'm graduating this summer as well. Does anyone know of a database that lists all operators in Canada? I'm looking for an operation that flies and maintains their own aircraft.

This from a previous post on another thread.
Transport Canada's Site under the AMO listings they would state Types approved by AMO's that would give you a good idea who to send your resumes to.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/aviation/activepage ... efault.asp
That is the link to TC's approved organizations page.

[ame25]

artic sunwest is another good place to work and you can get m1/m2. pt6 exp and garret exp as well. they operate a be100,navajo,b99,buffalo's and dash 8,beavers,twin otters!