gulfstream international

[aeronautic1]

Answer me this

I paid for all of my ratings from PPL thru ATPL at Professional Flight Training (954-938-3043) @ FXE, right down the street from GIA. An excellent flight school with clean, well maintained aircraft and knowledgable flight instructors. With all the time building, exam fees, dual instruction and solo flights, I probably spent somewhere near $15K (no loans/not mommy 'n daddy) for everything over the course of 8 years (to build ATP time). The only thing I did not pay for is my current type rating. Now, because I paid for all of this out of my own pocket, does that not constitute PFT?

I believe that the only way to get all of your pilot ratings without paying is by getting lucky enough the pass the selection board in the military; and that would be a huge crap-shoot, with a miserable outcome once in service and not selected.

So, in my opinion, nearly everyone in the pilot community has PFT'd in one sense of the word on the other. What pilot here can say they did not pay for their private certificate - their commerical or multi?

It is not necessary to go to GIA, CAA, Sierra et al. If you have the times that a company is looking for, then the opportunities are out there. If I were 25 years younger and had gotten the bug then, I would have probably gone to University and gotten an aviation degree at USD, BCC and have something to show for the money spent other than pilot ratings

As far as the rest of the PFT flames, well it is all just so much pontification.

 

[cdog]

I'm not and advocate but:
I don't care one way or another how an applicant accumulated their time as long as it's viable. 121/135/91, don't matter how you accumulated the time, it's what it is. Deficiencies will show up during the process. "PFT" and "I'll fly for free" has been around longer than most of us. It's nothing to get frantic about, it's not going away.

I see that there are alot of anti-GIA responses. I really don't know, but do they have an unusually high number of violations/incidents/accidents as compared with non-PFT operations?

 

[CUEBOAT]

I paid for all of my ratings from PPL thru ATPL at Professional Flight Training (954-938-3043) @ FXE, right down the street from GIA. An excellent flight school with clean, well maintained aircraft and knowledgable flight instructors. With all the time building, exam fees, dual instruction and solo flights, I probably spent somewhere near $15K (no loans/not mommy 'n daddy) for everything over the course of 8 years (to build ATP time). The only thing I did not pay for is my current type rating. Now, because I paid for all of this out of my own pocket, does that not constitute PFT?

I believe that the only way to get all of your pilot ratings without paying is by getting lucky enough the pass the selection board in the military; and that would be a huge crap-shoot, with a miserable outcome once in service and not selected.

So, in my opinion, nearly everyone in the pilot community has PFT'd in one sense of the word on the other. What pilot here can say they did not pay for their private certificate - their commerical or multi?

It is not necessary to go to GIA, CAA, Sierra et al. If you have the times that a company is looking for, then the opportunities are out there. If I were 25 years younger and had gotten the bug then, I would have probably gone to University and gotten an aviation degree at USD, BCC and have something to show for the money spent other than pilot ratings

As far as the rest of the PFT flames, well it is all just so much pontification.

Aero,
PFT doesn't have a definition but most use the term in the sense that if a person pays money to be a crew member, this is "PFT". In turn removing an actualy paying job from the economy that a pilot could and should earn money for. In short if so many aspiring pilots didnt throw down a small furtune to ride shotgun, the industry would be somewhat better off. Ofcourse many, if not all, have paid for training, but paying for lessons to gain a private isnt really removing a job from the industry, it actually creates one.

 

[PCL_128]

I see that there are alot of anti-GIA responses. I really don't know, but do they have an unusually high number of violations/incidents/accidents as compared with non-PFT operations?

Actually, it's quite the contrary. Gulfstream has one of the best safety records of any airline in the country. They've been flying since roughly 1991 and have never had a large accident, certainly no fatal accidents.

 

[ED GRIMLEY]

I'm betting this is just flamebait. GIA only hires off the street when very, very desperate. Back around '99 or so they hired some street captains, but they still had to pay $10k for their training. If they're hiring off the street now, then check out the details very closely. Make sure that they aren't going to end up throwing a PFT contract in front of you on the first day of class after you've already left another job. Be very careful with this place. Just for an example, the CEO used to fire people on the spot for not wearing their hat. I'm sure it's gotten better now that the union is there, but management is still mostly the same.

Godvek, they used to permanently hire the FOs all the time. Before 9/11 there were always 20-30 Captains leaving each month for the majors. They would upgrade FOs as soon as they reached 1500 TT for the ATP mins and permanently hire all the probie FOs to fill the vacant FO slots. After 9/11 that all changed though. The attrition slowed to a trickle and some FOs were furloughed. For a couple of years they were able to get most guys jobs at Pinnacle, but that's over now. I don't have a clue what they're doing now. I don't know anyone down there anymore.

You would know since you paid for the job.

 

[CRJDog]

Aero,
PFT doesn't have a definition but most use the term in the sense that if a person pays money to be a crew member, this is "PFT". In turn removing an actualy paying job from the economy that a pilot could and should earn money for. In short if so many aspiring pilots didnt throw down a small furtune to ride shotgun, the industry would be somewhat better off. Ofcourse many, if not all, have paid for training, but paying for lessons to gain a private isnt really removing a job from the industry, it actually creates one.

Hey cheesed!ck get your own avatar!!!

LOL

 

[Lord Wakefield]

Actually, it's quite the contrary. Gulfstream has one of the best safety records of any airline in the country. They've been flying since roughly 1991 and have never had a large accident, certainly no fatal accidents.

Thanks in no small part to VMC