St Barths anybody?

Shamir

Shamir

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Aug 20, 2012
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Puerto Rico
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Display name:
Shamir
Little french island in the Caribbean. About 15 miles south east of St Maarten's Princess Juliana airport.

Pilots are required to do a checkout with an authorized instructor. If anybody wants to do that, let me know and I'll get you an instructor!

Heres a video of my flight in the PC-12


Enjoy ;-)
 
I watch the live feed from there and from SXM daily. I know some local pilots down there but I haven't gotten to do the flight yet. Some day.

You fly for TW? It's a testimony to the capabilities of that airplane that it can get down and stopped on that runway. Amazing.
 
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What’s the approach speed in the pc-12? Those hills look close?? Is there an instrument approach to that runway??
 
Those hills are indeed close.


 
Well that's about enough to scare me from ever flying again (not really) but WOW!
 
mryan75 said:
Those guys do it every day. They say it's not as exciting as it looks.
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Ya, strange he decided to land on the last 2/3 of the runway, but what do I know. Could be a short stopping plane. :eek:
 
BrianNC said:
I was going to ask the same thing. @mtuomi did that gig for awhile.
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Yeah, I do fly for TW! mtuomi is still flying the PC 12 but back in Texas. Hopefully he'll join me again in the caribbean this winter season! He also happens to be a cook master!
 
benyflyguy said:
What’s the approach speed in the pc-12? Those hills look close?? Is there an instrument approach to that runway??
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Somewhere between 80 and 90 is a good number. Those hills are pretty close when you fly a plane that will do 200+ knots easily.

Sadly, theres no Instrument approaches to this airport. The best option is shooting the RNAV into St Maarten and breaking off direct to St Barths once you have visual!
 
@Shamir how are you my friend! Good to see you here!
Not gonna say anything about the stick shaker on that video :D
 
KramerK said:
Ya, strange he decided to land on the last 2/3 of the runway, but what do I know. Could be a short stopping plane. :eek:
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Rule at St. Bart's is, if you're not on the ground by the first taxiway it's an automatic go around.
 
Shamir said:
Somewhere between 80 and 90 is a good number. Those hills are pretty close when you fly a plane that will do 200+ knots easily.

Sadly, theres no Instrument approaches to this airport. The best option is shooting the RNAV into St Maarten and breaking off direct to St Barths once you have visual!
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I didn't even think TNCM had an approach. It's not listed in FF, but I don't have Caribbean charts. And my goal in life is to be doing exactly what you're doing!
 
mtuomi said:
@Shamir how are you my friend! Good to see you here!
Not gonna say anything about the stick shaker on that video :D
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Haaa! You know what they say.. a good landing ends in a stall! Joking aside... are you coming down this season?
 
mryan75 said:
I didn't even think TNCM had an approach. It's not listed in FF, but I don't have Caribbean charts. And my goal in life is to be doing exactly what you're doing!
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It's not listed on Foreflight or Skyvector just because there's only Jepp Charts! But they have VORs, VOR/DMEs and RNAVs approaches!

If you're willing, the company I work for is Hiring!!
 
mryan75 said:
That bank angle looked a little intense at that altitude!
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It's an intense maneuver, it's low level aerobatics.
You bank the plane to a 45-50 degree bank and push the nose down (which feels fun at ~150ft AGL), go full power, and start a climbing right turn to get out of the cove where the airport is. There is a hill to the right you need to clear.
Go-arounds after that point are prohibited, so anything after that hotel (Eden Rock), you will land, no matter what.
 
Shamir said:
It's not listed on Foreflight or Skyvector just because there's only Jepp Charts! But they have VORs, VOR/DMEs and RNAVs approaches!

If you're willing, the company I work for is Hiring!!
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I would be there in a heartbeat if I had the ratings, believe me! Finishing up my IR in the next month and then I will get my commercial. The second I have the qualifications, I will be applying. What are the hours required for submitting an application for right seat?

Flying In the Caribbean is my dream job.
 
mryan75 said:
I would be there in a heartbeat if I had the ratings, believe me! Finishing up my IR in the next month and then I will get my commercial. The second I have the qualifications, I will be applying. What are the hours required for submitting an application for right seat?

Flying In the Caribbean is my dream job.
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They say you should start applying when you have around 850 hours. 900 is competitive.
 
mtuomi said:
I've been with the company for a year. I was in the Caribbean for 6 months.
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Living the dream. We go to Anguilla a couple times a year. We're going on a scouting trip to San Juan this winter. I'm dead serious about this, I really want to work there someday. It would take me a while to get there, but you have to have dreams.
 
mryan75 said:
Living the dream. We go to Anguilla a couple times a year. We're going on a scouting trip to San Juan this winter. I'm dead serious about this, I really want to work there someday. It would take me a while to get there, but you have to have dreams.
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Anguilla was wiped out pretty badly by Irma. Many big resorts are re-opening this year so hopefully the island will be a bit more lively this season. It's a beautiful island, but was pretty much a ghost town most of last season.
 
mtuomi said:
Good luck! It's an amazing job!
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What does it pay?

Curious as it may be something I’m interested in down the road.
It would be more of a retirement job so doesn’t need to be big dollars.

Also can you you that with US certificate and medical or is there a different protocol?
 
Kritchlow said:
What does it pay?

Curious as it may be something I’m interested in down the road.
It would be more of a retirement job so doesn’t need to be big dollars.

Also can you you that with US certificate and medical or is there a different protocol?
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caribbean is mostly vfr work with a lot of emphasis on time building. IOW, It doesn't pay well, and most people understand that. Sunshine tax, you know how that goes. Great retirement gig if you can stand island life (not for everybody). Most mainland folks just do a touch n go to get it out of their system, similar to the Hawaii boomerang crowd. Others snowbird consistently if the employment agreement is palatable. As mentioned in the greenville tx crash thread (dealing with S FL operators), part 134-1/2 abounds.

There are some piston 121 operations down there as well which pay a little less, but for a 65 year old guy that wouldn't be available anyways. There's also part 91 contract work there. There was a guy no kidding commuting SJU to IND for Republic for years that finally threw in the towel and my older cousin from another mother hired him for contract work on a king air. Others moonlight while working law enforcement aviation or the like until they can jump to the majors. Others are waiting on a federal flying gig down there, since they're local and want to remain local for family reasons or potato. That's generally the landscape, at least in SJU. Overlapping working demographic with with S Fl crowd in all honesty. It's a short hop.

Former UPT student of mine moonlights with tradewind. Works for her, she's just building TT until she gets TPIC with the Guard down there then shes back to Florida for the majors. Run of the mill gig, typical of the area. It's no airline gig, meaning there;s a lot more stuff you're responsible for, plus dealing with customs and island time can quickly sour the novelty of it. Time builders of course don't mind, especially for a 6 to 18 month stint.

yes, these gigs are US gigs out of SJU or USVI. Both are part of the US.
 
Kritchlow said:
What does it pay?

Curious as it may be something I’m interested in down the road.
It would be more of a retirement job so doesn’t need to be big dollars.

Also can you you that with US certificate and medical or is there a different protocol?
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PIC starts at 60k + per diem and the usual benefits. Paid as a salary so hours flown don't matter. 4-3 schedule. With the usual amount of per diem, overtime and overnights, you should pretty easily hit 80k first year. Any work on a day off pays $600 for a PIC. Plenty of overtime available during the high season.
$20k annual bonus after 2 years as PIC + 5k/year raise. Top at $85k base + $20k bonus so $105k + per diem etc.
Some captains in SJU make easy $130k a year.

N-reg planes based in TJSJ so it's all under FAA.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Former UPT student of mine moonlights with tradewind. Works for her, she's just building TT until she gets TPIC with the Guard down there then shes back to Florida for the majors. Run of the mill gig, typical of the area. It's no airline gig, meaning there;s a lot more stuff you're responsible for, plus dealing with customs and island time can quickly sour the novelty of it. Time builders of course don't mind, especially for a 6 to 18 month stint.
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If she is who I think she is, she's long gone.
Tradewind is pretty dang far from typical of the area gig. It's by far the best gig in SJU.
 
I was there in July, and much debris remained but had been pushed into piles. Many businesses remained shuttered or flattened.

mtuomi said:
Anguilla was wiped out pretty badly by Irma. Many big resorts are re-opening this year so hopefully the island will be a bit more lively this season. It's a beautiful island, but was pretty much a ghost town most of last season.
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