Corporate or Merlin Air?

[AbOvo]

Does anyone have opinions or information regarding Corporate or Merlin Air? A friend of mine is considering their pay by the hour program.

It's a summer internship and for $100 bucks an hour you sit in the right seat of the Metro flying out of Puerto Rico.

Apparently some of the interns get hired after they complete the internship. Any help is appreciated!

 

[hopeful]

do a search about PFTing. You will probably not ask a question like that again.

 

[jdru25]

I know a couple people from Riddle that did this program and I have heard a lot of nasty things about it. Number 1 its PFT and just search the sight about PFT. Number 2, they have lots of maintenence problems from what I have been told. Number 3, I have heard many stories about the pilot's poor decision making and one captain not identifying the ILS properly and almost landing on a highway. The training as advertised at Riddle's career services was $10,000. I would not recommend it.

 

[AbOvo]

Yeah I realize the whole Pay For Training is a touchy subject. My personal feelings aside, I think folks are looking at all kinds of options these days with the job market being so rough.

Basically I was looking for opinions on the company. Thank you for your informative reply jdru25.

 

[jdru25]

I hope that info helped. I got it straight from several interns with Merlin. Basically they told me that they would have been better off Flight Instructing instead of dealing with Merlin for a summer.

 

[skylane58]

Corporate Air is great, aside from the fact it is run by a drug runner. Corporate just bought out Merlin not too long ago, within five years. The problem is that Corporate treats Merlin as sort of the red headed step child. This is where the maintnence issue comes up. The pilots, mechanics, etc. at merlin get paid a lot less and basically its a smaller scale American-TWA thing. Bottom line, stay away from Merlin Air.

AS for the PFT, I don't think its a bad idea if you get with the right company. If you can come away with 300 hours of legitamate turbine time for less than you can rent a chickenhawk, do it.

 

[hopeful]

skylane 58,

that is pretty bad advice. Don't encourage someone to PFT. It is bad for their careers. You will understand this someday when you get a little more time in the saddle. Until, keep your ill informed comments from negatively affecting someone else.

 

[AbOvo]

OK OK I didn't really want to start a flame war regarding PFT. I don't like the idea any more than the next pilot. It all depends on your situation whether you think it is a good idea or not. Obviously if you are junior in regard to your experience, any edge is considered a good one. Once you've been there and done that you realize looking short term isn't always the best idea.

I'll pass the info along to my friend who is considering this program. I'd say flight instructing until you can get a 135 or regional job is a better way to go. PFT just seems to bring up too many red flags in an interview situation.

 

[SquirrelDog]

PFT

I too believe PFT is a very bad thing and agree with many of you. I have friends whom have done it and gone far in their careers. Myself though, very against pay for training.

I do have a dilema though when it comes to pilots paying for a certain type rating for a certain airline. I would like to hear the voices on this issue in order to make a choice later on, in my or others careers'.

thanks for the input

Squirreldog

 

[skylane58]

Let me set the record strait. I do not agree with most pay for training. There is only one or maybe two programs I would do. To do those programs I would have to be sure that it was legitimate. A program that sends you to flight safety and gets you a type rating, Then gives you a part 135 check ride. As long as you have the part 135 mins, it should be legal to log PIC when you are flying and SIC when you are not. Correct me if I am wrong, the regs say that if you are on the certificate and qualified in the airplane, you are legal. If you dont have the mins for 135, that is a whole different story. That would be where the controversy plays a big factor. That said, I am not a big proponant to PFT, however, if I had the money to do it I would because in this industry you need any advantage you can get. I dont think that my advise is ill informed, just ill advised. I just needed to give some details. Anyway, until I win the lotto, I will be taking my licks just like everyone else.