I see Med Trans has 3 openings in Petersburg VA starting at $107K. What is the company housing like? Opinions, good/bad?

Several of their pilots tried to transfer to our base before they left for other companies. One told me housing is in the hood and they can't get rest there. Also, med crews are said to be a pain. They can't seem to keep pilots there so, I'd go in with eyes wide open. 

If a second rate co. payes 107$ and still cannot kept pilots and has 3 openings something has to be extremly bad.

Bring a sleeping bag 

Hospital based, nice helicopter, great crews except one or two who will ask you to cancel for weather when they don't want to go.

Pilot house about an hour from base, never saw it or even offered a key. I slept in hangar as it is 20 mins away. Med Trans is a good company but the area is a little rough. Not the worst though.

it's a fine base.  Marginally busy with good crews.  There is a house available or finished hangar.   That base has just suffered from poor pilots for last 3 years.  The good ones were run off by the bad.  Right now it's got a bunch of good floats and is running well.  

i Worked at that base.  I commuted.  If you plan on living there and having family close by it might be ok... med crews ... half are good and half may cause problems.  It's definitely an us & you, medcrew/pilot environment With management.  There are crews that are excellent to work with.  

the base makes a lot of money for med trans, so pilots will get thrown under the bus for entertainment purposes. 

 almost every flight is 5 legs as there's no fuel at the hospital. Lots of late flights.  I wouldn't commute again...

the housing is an hour each way through traffic, makes for long days/nights especially with late calls. 

remember, the commute from your assigneed base to company provided quarters is duty time.

To mgmt either

Clearly says it in the definition, doesn't mean a Helicopter pilot is gonna understand it. 

has never been defined by the faa

Has 

show me 

https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/faa_migrate/interps/2011/Converse-RedWingAeroplane-2_2011_Legal_Interpretation.pdf

Under the facts of your scenario, the first criterion of§ 13 5.263(c) is not met. In regard to
the first criterion, the FAA has interpreted "local transportation" as transportation that is
reasonably brief, and that includes travel by crewmembers from their residences, a hotel, or
a motel to an airport. Id.; see also Legal Interpretation to James W. Johnson from Donald P.
Byrne, Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations and Enforcement (March 27, 1992). Local
transportation may also include travel between co-domicile airports, sometimes with transit
times exceeding one and a half hours (between Los Angeles International Airport and John
Wayne Airport). See Johnson In terpretation (July 14, 1992). In a previous interpretation, the
FAA found that t~ansportation by a crewmember from BWI to Dulles, that is required and
provided by the carrier, is still considered part of the crewmember's rest period because it is
local in nature. See id. The interpretation identified BWI and Dulles as co-domicile airports
with travel time between them sometimes exceeding one hour. Co-domicile airports are
generally within a relatively close geographic location to one another, and it is reasonable to
assume that crewmembers dispatched from one co-domicile airport might terminate at the
other. Id.

an interpretation, not a definition, which there are none of

Not true 

DEFINE local in nature. 

transportation that is reasonably brief, and that includes travel by crewmembers from their residences, a hotel, or a motel to an airport.

Source:  FAA

reasonably brief

it says some *may exceed* one and half hours and still are considered local in nature. so there is no definition

Clearly, the quarters mentioned above that started this clearly fall within the definition of Local In Character for several reasons.

1.  Because the quarters are a perk to the pilot.

2.  It is at reasonable distance

3.  The pilot transports himself to and from

that quarters are a "perk" doesn't factor into the situation. still not a definition

whether a pilots drives him or herself doesn't matter. so define what is considered a reasonable distance or local in nature. you can't.

Totally can. Just because you can't doesn't mean nobody else can't 

It's a perk, there if you want it for your convienence.   It's not up to the company to get you there and back!   Just like it is not up to the company to drive you home and back each and every day.   It is your choice to get to/from work.

Even airline pilots know this.   The walk to the hotel van through the airport is not part the pilot's duty day, nor is the drive to the hotel he overnights in.   It is part of his rest time (unless it is UNREASONABLY excessive).   And, the FAA has already indicated that it, as you corrected me, may exceed an hour and a half.

One hour to a quarters when it is up to you to drive it is clearly within what the FAA has defined as "reasonable"!

wuts unreasonable bro. how you get there has nothing to do with local in nature. thats the question. call it a perk if it makes you feel better but that doesn't matter either lol

To reduce the burden of the commute and save its crewmembers
the daily parking fees at MSP, Red Wing Aeroplane offers its crewmembers free
transportation from the company's offices in Bay City to MSP. The crewmembers may opt
to commute on their own from their residence [which would include a perk free quarters to save the pilot money] in Bay City, Wisconsin, or may opt to be
driven to MSP by Red Wing Aeroplane. You question whether the hour commute to MSP
constitutes transportation that is local in nature such that it may be considered part of the
crewmember' s rest period.

Based on the facts as outlined above and the following analysis, the FAA has determined
that the transportation provided by Red Wing Aeroplane could be considered transportation
that is local in nature, and thus, part of the crewmember's rest period as long as there is no
present requirement for duty at the company facility that would effectively end the
crewmember's commute for purposes of applying the local in nature definition as described
below.

https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/faa_migrate/interps/2011/Converse-RedWingAeroplane-2_2011_Legal_Interpretation.pdf

Your duty period is at the base not at the free pilot quarters provided as a perk.   How you get to/from the base is up to you.  The quarters are a perk.   How you get to and from your perk is on you!

If you feel the company is in error and violating FAR 135.263, you can always whine to the FAA on their hotline or safety reporting system to prove them in the wrong.  But, likely, that will result in the perk going away.  

Even if it was from a hotel/motel, the commute would be on you!

some stupid idiot now thinks the issue is whether off duty housing is a benefit or not and if you drive yourself to work lol

did not match the FAA's legal definition, and because of this it has taken abused ever since.

The FAA does not define Local In Nature as 50 miles!

lol you stupid retards

only applies to regional relief pilots but nice try. move closer bro 

once you get to the hotel or housing you stupid idiot lol

where you have to drive 90 minutes each way bro. maybe move farther away and they will let come in late and leave early every day lol

nothing in the contract about 90 minutes 

for compensation and hotels, not duty day. move closer or quit crying 

which now eliminates travel and duty time!  You union dumdums are not helping!

local in nature does not mention duty day. are you the same guy that says being bombed by a nuke "technically" makes you smarter. lol 

the regs and the union contract as local in nature in the contract is only for compensation and using local pilots first for ot, not faa duty day 

you:

everything good in the contract is something the company was just going to give us anyway and everything I don't like is something the union "negotiated" for. 

me:

lol you dumb

When the union defined "Local In Nature" in the contract, they MADE THINGS WORSE!

company had something to do with it bro? it affects very few pilots but must be defined as relief pilots could be getting hotel rooms and charging mileage and time for short commutes that NOBODY else gets paid for. you sound like a spoiled baby. the extra $250 a day for ot certainly covers all that and then some. we were talking about about duty day but I decided to indulge the dumbasses. if you work at amc, you really should just give gmr a try and then see if you can crawl back when the time comes.

Why?  Because they were ignorant and simply let the language into the contract, now defining Local In Nature to mean a fixed distance, where there wasn't one before.   Duty Time is affected by this, even though our union's duty-time "expert" didn't have a clue and still doesn't apparently!

FAA says transportation "local in nature" is part of the rest period, which now included a 50 mile drive upwards of 90 minutes!

You union types are stunad!

in nature. amc was never paying you to commute or counting it as duty day. you live too far from your base and want to be compensated and have it count towards duty day. not in you dreams bro. their rules are fair. guys like you probably abused it. sorry not sorry!

... beyond regional relief pilots!  It is a universal definition in the CBA now, used for lots of things past relief pilot per diem!

But, the safety issue was that pilots were being assigned and required to commute there on their own time, not on the duty clock.   It is still happening because the union allowed the verbiage to get in there to soil the water!

Has nothing to do with compensation!  Does have everything to do with duty time limitations because you've placed the ground transportation to an assignment on the shoulders of the pilot!  The union failed it's members here!

Relief pilots base is their home!   Home based!   CBA allows company to pick a location anywhere... so it isn't a relief's pilot choice how far he lives from his assigned base, from where the 50 mile radius starts.   So, pilot could essentially be burdened driving even further than 50 miles to get to his company assignment.   And, you are failing him for dismissing that commute as "rest" (not counted towards his duty time).

Their rules are fair, provided they count the commute as duty time!   Not concerned about the pay, but the SAFETY!

...as relief pilots could be getting hotel rooms and charging mileage and time for short commutes...

So, now, they have to drive up to 50 miles that can take 90 minutes, EACH WAY, to cover assigned shifts in their region.   Imagine doing that for 3, 4, or 5 shifts in-a-row covering a vacation!

Travel within 50 miles (100 miles round trip) of that primary location start point shall be considered local in nature, will not require an overnight stay and the Regional Relief Pilot shall not be eligible for compensation, per diem or mileage reimbursement.

So, since you were discussing duty-time ....  that 90 minute/50 mile one-way commute is considered rest since it is "Local In Nature"!

Union stepped on their tail here!

amc is not going to have a relief pilot travel that daily. not going to happen. you just like to cry. if you have examples you'd like to share where this is a problem please do 

"amc is not going to have a relief pilot travel that daily. not going to happen."

Why, is the CBA going to prevent it??   Morons leading our union!

that kind of company. you clowns are pretty desperate to make something out of nothing and it's pretty pathetic.

you will explain your unusual situation to the RAM or RAD and they will make accomodations for you so you are properly rested. amc is not going to have you drive 3 hours a day. we all know and understand this. as I said, you are just trying to create a problem that doesn't even exist.

talk to the ram. that would be a funny conversation when you tell him you can't get anywhere within 50 miles in less than 90 minutes. lol

Lots of places take over an hour to go just 25 miles!   Seen many relief pilots driving excessive distances (drive times) for assignments that don't count the ground transportation as duty time!  

two different things bro. you don't listen: if you can't get adequate rest, talk to the ram. it's an issue only if you decide you have to be a drama queen

Its about time you finally get it.

And, the Union contracted for distance, not time!   Gnat minds!

Is duty time for ground travel (upwards of 50 miles that can often take 90 minutes) to an ASSIGNMENT being documented in the pilot's duty-time logs?  Is it factored into their Part 135.267 lookback limit??

nor are they required to be. as I said, if you can't get adequate rest, talk to the ram. it's really quite simple.

it's simple for everybody. everybody but you lol sorry about that

A pilot is assigned a base by the company from which the 50 mile radius is based.   He lives relative to that assigned base.   Then, the company assigns the pilot to work at another location, 45 miles away from his assigned base, but just inside the 50 mile radius.   He lives 35 miles from his assigned base in the opposite direction.

The company has assigned the pilot to ground transport himself 80 miles here from his residence (45 miles from his starting point).  Since miles doesn't equate to a specific time, the commute can be quite some time, which is a driving assignment directed by the company (thus, he is working as directed by the company).  

The FAA has consistently interpreted "rest" as a continuous period of time during which the
crewmember is free from all restraint by the certificate holder, including the freedom from
work and freedom from responsibility to work should the occasion arise. Legal
Interpretation to James Baxter, from Donald P. Byrne, Assistant Chief Counsel (Mar. 25,
1997). Duty means actual work for an air carrier, or the present responsibility for work
should the occasion arise.  See Legal Intepretation to Mr Boyle, from Rebecca MacPherson, Assistant Chief Council (Oct 12, 2012)

FAR 135.263(c) states: Time spent in transportation, not local in character, that a certificate holder requires of a flight crewmember and provides to transport the crewmember to an airport at which he is to serve on a flight as a crewmember, or from an airport at which he was relieved from duty to return to his home station, is not considered part of a rest period.

Local in Character is defined by the FAA as being transportation that is reasonably brief, that would be from a hotel or motel to the airport and back, or a pilot going to or from his residence to his primary base.   Going from your assigned base to another is not transportation local in nature, it is a ground deadhead!   It is duty, and not part of the rest period!  

CBA:

Regional Relief Pilots: Pilots who do not hold a regular work schedule and fill vacancies at any
base as directed by the Company in their particular assigned region.

Regional Relief Pilots shall have an ACCRA rating based upon an average of the bases within
the assigned region.

For the purposes of travel and mileage calculations for the Regional Relief Pilot(s), the
Company shall determine a primary location within the region as the start point. Travel within
50 miles (100 miles round trip) of that primary location start point shall be considered local in
nature, will not require an overnight stay and the Regional Relief Pilot shall not be eligible for
compensation, per diem or mileage reimbursement. When a Regional Relief Pilot is required to
travel the day before or the day after his assignment or more than 50 miles one-way from the
primary location start point of his assigned region to his shift assignment the Pilot shall be
compensated at time and one half for actual hours spent in travel and is eligible for per diem or
mileage reimbursement, if applicable.

Company assigns it for their convienence, not his!   The attempt to centralize it so that the 50 mile "local in character" circle, as is now wrongfully in the contract, helps them best.

The reality is that he is home based, awaiting an assignment by the company to travel anywhere!   In reality, NONE of his travel is "local in nature" then, since he is travelling from his actual base (his residence), to another workplace.

So now, when the company picks a primary location, that is now his place of work from which all his travel to other assignments are based (can't deny that contract language).

So, the drive anywhere other than to his primary location is done by ground transportation (deadheading).  He's been assigned to drive to a location other than his primary base (as the airlines call it, domicile), and that ground transportation is taxing the pilot's rest period!   He certainly is not afforded a reasonably brief commute being assigned to travel 90 minutes by vehicle!  And, it clearly taxes a pilot rest and needs to be accounted for when calculating his duty period limitations [135.267(b)&(d)].  

Not counting it as duty is a scheme to avoid providing the pilot regulatory rest!

took you 20 posts to get that out

it's the guy he says

oh

If your commute is more than 50NM, you are required to be provided with a hotel

stay and have a travel day the day prior to your shift and following your shift. Seems very fair. seems reality is you chose a job you want to be home every night but can't be because you may have to commute more than 50NM which requires you get a hotel and travel day as to not travel on your duty day. 

buyers remorse?