Kit Darby - The Pied Piper of pilot shortages
Kit Darby should change his name to P.T. Barnum. You need to examine his history. Fifteen years ago, he was running Future Aviation Professionals of America ("FAPA") and was putting out news releases about a pilot shortage. Kit was saying that forty-thousand pilots would be needed during the next ten years. The news media picked up on it, quoting FAPA (and Kit) as its source, without verifying his claims through independent data, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the public at large started hearing about a "pilot shortage." No doubt that Kit's "pilot shortage" prompted a lot of people, including me, to consider an aviation career, though chances are I would have done it anyway because I wanted to do something else with my life at the time.
In any event, Kit started to advertise in the general interest pilot magazines, the types of mags that pilots like me would read. In so doing, he made public what was heretofore virtually proprietary, secret information. And, he made it sound so EASY!!. Not only did he say there was a pilot shortage, but, with FAPA, he provided an avenue to the career. I didn't know anything about professional aviation as a career, so I joined FAPA. His materials were valuable in explaining how and where to begin and how to apply.
However, when I started to apply, I very quickly became aware that there was no "pilot shortage." When I first started looking for work, I really didn't have much multi. I was frustrated, especially after seeing that so many places had relatively low requirements. Later, when I built more time and multi time, I had few responses to my tons of materials. That underscored to me, anyway, how there was no "pilot shortage" and how Kit was promulgating a sophistry with his "pilot shortage."
Kit's appearance before the public at large and the seductiveness of his materials has misled a lot of people, in my .02 opinion. His Career Pilot rag made it sound as if a professional aviation career was within reach of the ordinary layman. Kit never told the truth about how tough it is to find work. The only way he addressed finding work was to be "positive" and "persistent." It takes much more than being positive and persistent, Kit, to build a piloting career.
In particular, Kit wrote encouraging words about over-40 pilots (and over 50 pilots) who were getting on with the majors. The general conception was that you had to be much younger than forty to be hired by the majors. Kit was telling only half-truths. Yes, the majors were hiring pilots who were over forty years old. But, these were extremely experienced and qualified individuals who just hadn't gotten their chances. They were those who had been flying turbine equipment for years, and who had been flying for the commuters, or corporate, or were ex-military. Kit made it sound as if you could be forty, start from zero time, and get on with the majors!
What continues to rile me about Kit is he still pushes his pilot shortage, in these times. Maybe Kit cannot handle the truth. He can go ask the furloughees if there is any "pilot shortage."
I realize that his seminars are at issue in this thread. I went to one of his FAPA seminars in Los Angeles nine years ago. It got me nowhere. The only thing I liked about the seminar is that I met Irv Jasinski, whose interview prep service I used and whose book, Airline Pilot Interviews, I bought from Kit.
In all fairness, Kit promotes some valuable publications and puts out decent resume prep materials. In the '80s, he did provide a ways and means to get started. But, these days, with resources such as this board and the internet in general, you can get the information you need without making Kit rich. Moreover, it will be real-time information. Kit's information was always outdated.
No, don't pay Kit D. any more $s. You have better ways to spend your money that buying a Kit Darby membership and secret decoder ring. As always, that's just my .02.
I bet that Enigma has something to add about Kit, too.
