Seneca Pilot

Having a friend nearly die and end up with third degree burns on his legs and feet and seeing it all from the next helicopter over. Walking away from an accident where the transmission accessory module missed me by inches because the pilots lost SA due to a brownout and seeing that the other crew chief wasn't so lucky. Having a close friend and pilot die in his Chinook when the other pilot got disoriented and they were so close to the water he didn't have time to react. Being on the wrong side of a line of tracers and hoping they don't find you tonight. Being on the correct side of those tracers and having to live with the sight of what .30 cal. does to a truck full of enemy men when fired at 3000 rounds per minute. Watching one of four blades break in half as the rotor spins down and realizing that centrifugal force was the only thing keeping you alive after the RPG hit the disk.

I should be dead. Those are only some of the stories. I haven't felt, or maybe just haven't admitted to any long lasting effects psychologically. I can only say that I no longer have the capacity for fear. This can be a very bad thing when being in traffic with selfish drivers or any number of other every day situations. My neighbor who was a crew chief in Vietnam feels much the same. He crashed or was shot down eight times in the 13 months he served in the Americal Division. He was there from '68 into '69 and went through Tet. Combat affects everyone differently but there are always scars. His are poor hearing, both knees replaced, and terrible arthritis from the beating his body suffered in all those crashes.

Needles to say, I don't have patience for any stolen valor BS. Tkooj do yourself a favor and keep it to yourself.

Cujo665

One vying for the job is openly interviewing and trying to get on elsewhere already..... not sure what he's thinking even wanting the job if he's already one foot out the door.

If I were you guys, I'd recruit a lifer that isn't going to leave.... get long term stability into the leadership.... oh, and not a check airman, instructor or anybody else the company can get to behind the scenes. A DFW guy would be a plus to avoid all the hotel and related expenses, it adds up. You'd also get somebody who put the interest of making Envoy a better job rather than selling wages and work rules for "faster flow" (how's that working out?)

THKooj

Ever thought about maybe trying to get hired as a permanent MEC chair? Seems like that might be right up your alley.

NoValueAviator

This would be hilarious but I have a feeling no deal would ever get signed again.

dera

How would one recruit a lifer? Why would you go from a cushy lifer schedule to being the bucket everyone ****s on for less money?
Easier said than done. It is a pretty darn crap job.

NoValueAviator

solved it, before start checklist.

Cujo665

have you changed the chairman’s FPL? They used to be 90 hrs IIRC and were “supposed” to do some fly back.

How do you recruit one? Try asking a few. When I rebuilt all the committees in NY it wasn’t a stampede of people asking for jobs. It was repeated emails, Facebook posts, EL posts, and a lot of talking. As we picked up our pace and started having positive impacts on things for the pilots, more started volunteering without us seeking them out. Want a lifer, go get one. There’s probably several who’d be good, would do it, but just don’t know how to go about it.

Cujo665

why? The 2014 December TA/CBA that passed was me. I was the tie breaking vote. It initially failed, I demanded a wording change to remove language that thanked ALPA national for their help getting this deal. We got more help from the APA back then. All we got from ALPA was please take this deal. Anyway, the wording was removed, motioned to reconsider and we voted again and it passed. Yours truly being the swing vote both times.
the NY base closure LOA was me.... the ALPA lawyers refused to go back in and ask what we wanted. The NY FO rep and myself went in without the lawyers and got everything we told the lawyers to go ask for, but had refused.

don’t believe everything you’ve been told. We had a really good MEC back then that worked through pretty tough times

Now, if you mean to imply the company would walk in, see me, and about face and leave.... I’d agree with that. Pretty sure the MEC threatened the company that they’d hire me as a outside contract negotiator..... they responded, “you wouldn't really do that, would you?” (By the way, for our MEC folks, if you need somebody to do or tell them something you aren’t comfortable doing, I’ll do it.... they can’t fire me anymore or even threaten it like they used to) LOL

Jerry Glass did tell a room full of management back in 2014 that I was the anti-Christ. I just called him a jackass. They threatened to fire me over that one too.

dera

The required flyback amount was just increased. Senior guys get way more than 90hrs of credit with more days off. I dont see why anyone would do it. Better to enjoy those 18 day off lines with 92hrs credit, add a few OT turns and you are at 105 hours with 16 days off. Not even close to the crap the MEC chair has to deal with.

Cujo665

naw, I enjoy my career and life exactly as it is. They couldn’t afford me full time.