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Hello, all –
Got a call this morning from Barb at Raytheon, offering me a WINFLY deployment.
Should I take this? Is the time around WINFLY special in any way?
Any info would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Hunter
Hunter,
I’ve never been down for Winfly, but I would love to go – if I had the oportunity. There are less people in town, and so you can make better friends – it’s not the crazy madhouse of summer. Also, you get to see the sun come up as the seasons change. PLUS, you’ll make that much more money. My advice would be to take it. The only problem I could see myself personally having with Winfly is missing out on Northern Hemisphere events (Labor Day Fests, etc). If your schedule allows, I would suggest taking it. Again, I’ve never done a Winfly, and can’t really say what it’s like… but my opinion is to take it…
ZondraHunter…
Ive been there at Winfly, if you havent told them yes yet…get on the horn
and do it. Just be careful when you get there because snow removal isnt a
great priority in all area's and if you slip and fall…(no matter what they
tell you) it does piss them off, it damages there safety matrix and the
winter over FEMC manager will smile at you but tell you to stop slipping and
falling. YOu will find a bit of TRUE hipocrasy at McMurdo. By the
way….spread the word to all you know that are going down there that you
are NOT allowed to Vote in the up coming elections while your down there so
DO get an absentee ballot and send it in. Some may have to ask a Trusted
friend to do it for you but DO IT! You will enjoy your stay down there as
long as you keep in mind that your there to work and play hard during off
work hours but the only Rights you will have down there are spelled out in
your contract you sign….meaning you have NO Constitutional Rights while
your a Raytheon Contract Employee. A group of us went over this during the
2002-2003 summer season. As long as your informed ahead of time and believe
you can handle it for 4 to 6 months…Go For It. The experiance is woth it.
Oh….also keep in the back of your mind…”Its not the continent that is
harsh…its some of the managers down there..” I truly hope for all your
sakes that Raytheon has corrected the majority of those problems…which im
sure they have addressed since the summer season that I was there.Good Luck and have fun.
Rick Brohman
past McMurdo ElectricianWell,
I turned down the offer of WINFLY. I wish I could have done it, but just with various scheduling stuff and (current) job stuff, it wasn’t the best idea.
Oh, well. It’ll be fun to get down there when the whole crew shows up at the start of the season.
Thanks for info, y’all.
Hunter S.
Dearest Hunter,
WINFLY deployment!?
From Barb?!
GO!
WINFLY is just about the best time to see and do cool stuff, especially this season after the major havoc that’s been wreaked station-wide due to the storms that have been rolling through. You may be shoveling lots and lots of snow at first, and second, and 3rd…however, there’s much to see and do in between throwing snow around.
And yes, WINFLY is special for all, much more so if they’ve never been to Antarctica before.
swak,
Dave
hunter
I’ve been away for the last few weeks and missed your post. If there is anyway to reverse your decision do it. Winfly is considered to be the most beautiful time at McMurdo. The air is cold like winter, but the sun is just begining to come up. It’s the time for nacreous clouds and beautiful sunrises. Also the Winfly population is only a third of the summertime. Much nicer. You will also get a headstart on what to expect and will have time to pick things up. It’s much harder at mainbody when the hoards of new people land.
mikeWhat’s up all,
Hey Hunter, I think I got your WINFLY spot man. They called and offered it to me. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity so I jumped on it. I’m going down as a Dining Room Attendant at McMurdo on August 15. Sounds to me like we’ll probably be working together.
Scott
I’ve got my tentative schedule. It looks like I’ll be flying down on the 22nd of August from Christchurch. I’ve been told that I should be leaving the States about 4 days beforehand. 7 days if I get the supervisor training in cheech.
anyone else going down at winfly
mikeAll, just joined the group…Just got confirmation that I’m going to be on WINFLY in late August. It’s my first time down there and I’m really looking forward to it.
I’ll doing computer work down there and this is my first year on the ice…sooooo….looks like we’ll be meeting up in Christchurch.
Cool, you got hired. I think the most fun thing about this site is watching the new people go through the process of asking, job fair, pq, and then the questions about what to bring.
Next hint. Start mailing some of your stuff now. The smaller the packages the better. Mail things that are extra items you can do without. Things like an extra pair of shoes or extra shirts. Keep in mind that while it’s not likely, it’s possible you won’ receive you packages until November or December. Shirts and sweatshirts are available for purchase in the store. The prices are somewhat expensive but you can buy them if you need to. For the Winfly folk there is always “Skua”. If you are a winfly person, the skua piles will be overflowing as the winterovers prepare to leave at the end of Sept.Skua is a recycling catagory. If there is something you don’t want but you think someone else could use it, it goes in the skua bin. What can you find? If you are dilligent and look everyday, you can find most anything you need. That’s because all the new people send down more clothes and things then they will ever use. At the end of the season, they don’t want to carry the stuff to the tropics and it’s not worth the price to mail it, so in the bin it goes. I have gortex boots, Lands End shirts, stereos , guitar etc. Some depts have small amounts of storage space for returning people so I have a few boxes of “good stuff” down there now waiting for me. Keep in mind you never seem to find what you desperately need. Bring all your essentials.
While traveling it’s best to go light. I bring enough indoor clothes for 3 days and that is it. I wear one, pack one in my carry-on in case the luggage gets lost and pack one more in the checked luggage. I’m a bit of a photographer and my carry-on is full of camera stuff. It’s risky to put expensive items in the checked luggage. When on the airplane put your carryon under the seat in front of you rather than the overhead bin. This way you can get to your stuff easy during the long 12 hour flight to NZ
Another thing that is nice on the airplane is to buy a nice set of headphones and an mp3 player. Get the ones that go over your head and completely cover your ears. If you buy a really good pair it will block out a lot of the airplane noise. You can also use them to watch the inflight movies. Bring some earplugs as well. Earplugs and the headphones will pretty much block any crying children sitting near you as you sleep.
I’ll have to make a list of what I bring down and put it here for all of you. Anyway
Congratulations, Will see you down there.
Mike
Got a call from Delma yesterday, who offered me WINFLY – again. And this time, I decided to take it. Now I just have to get in touch with him and let him know I want it. I’ve been calling Raytheon all morning, and no one seems to be home. Oh, well – I’m sure three WINFLY DA spots aren’t going to get snapped up that quickly.
Hope to be seeing you in August, Scott –
Cheers,
Hunter
— HunterReaves
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Awesome, I would jump on it. Have you completed you
Medical and Dental yet? I was a little nervous about
mine but it looks like i'm in the clear as of last
week. Congrats on the decision. Hope the girlfriend
will get over it.later,
ScottJump on it Hunter, you won’t regret it If you are on the same flight as me I’ll give you the lowdown on what to do in Christchurch.
mike— Antarctic memories
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Mike,Thanks for the info. I have the participants guide
that Ratheon sends out with the packing list in it.
When you get a chance I'd like to see what type of
list you come up with.thanks again
Scott
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