Alrighty, Africa update time.
I wrote a response to the chief pilot and accepted the job offer last night and had Mrs. Totem press the Submit button just to make certain she was on board with this. She cheerfully is sending me away for a month at a time. Ok, that bit is a lie. We deliberated extensively about whether the lengthy separation is something we wished to subject ourselves to; and in the end concluded it is best to set our own agenda job-wise rather than coming to work one day and discovering they are closing the base due to poor financial management.
Long story short: Our sister base has been unstaffed for more than 50% of the past year due to nurse and pilot shortages. In addition, we do a brisk business but pick up largely uninsured drunks, so my base's financials are questionable as well. Thirdly, due to what I am certain is a fluke our area cost of living was tied to San Francisco four years ago during the labor negotiations, the contract from which is set to expire in January. I'm virtually positive that with the poor performance of these bases some beancounter in St. Louis is itching to cut both the payroll and utilize the aircraft in a more profitable location. Trying to sell our house in this market, as nice as it is, would be a terrible experience. Besides, the company's previous methodology when closing a base is to let you come in to work and meet you at the door to escort you into the office whereupon they inform you you have two weeks to find another base within the company who'll take you and then they escort you off the premises to ensure you don't steal anything. This has been some of the motivation behind the desire for a job change.
So. Because the African mentality is to get-'round-to-it, Chevron puts the pilots on the payroll and then emails you when all the paperwork is in order. If luck holds, I'll score two or three free months of salary without actually working there, at the same time I continue working here as an EMS pilot. that'd be worth about $25 grrr, not including my vacation payout when I leave this company. A tidy nest egg if things were to go sour for any reason.
This week while at work I'll continue to collect the paperwork needed and hopefully send it off around Tuesday-ish. I've been informed it may be a good idea to get a second passport to have since the Angolan government has a bad tendency to lose the ones you must surrender to customs upon entry into the country. Those to whom it has happened have stayed there for up to three months while the snafu gets sorted out.
I was also told to sign up with Luftansa's Red Carpet service since layovers in Frankfurt are common. The booze is free, they feed you, and showers are available for the weary traveler.
The flying I'd be doing is just like Gulf of Mexico stuff I've done, but just off the African coast instead. The living conditions are far better-- especially when compared to Fourchon or Intracoastal City, LA --and they treat pilots like we are airline captains for some reason. Heh, if they only knew what knuckledraggers we really are...
I'll add other details as they come available, or if you have burning questions you'd like to ask about the mysterious and secretive world of whirlybird pilotry, I'll try to apply answers to them.
:D
Totem