Gulfstream, whats the real story

[nordair]

I am interested in attending gulfstream academy. I wanted to know how long it really takes to get a line and any other problems people have been trough or heard about. Is the training of good quality? Any other suggestions?

 

[dogismycopilot]

There's a guy I know who started the program in Aug. or Sept., holding a line, almost done with his 250 hr. program. I know another guy who started a month before him who just got off IOE, sitting on reserve.

Both pilots will probably stay on here as FOs after their 250 hrs. are up. They're hiring anyone with a pulse at the moment.

Training is fine. Could be better, could be much worse.

If you do come, come to fly and prepare to be abused by crew scheduling (no different from any other airline). Cost of living can be pretty expensive, so definitely have a plan as far as that goes before you commit to moving to south FL.

Good luck

 

[Metro752]

There's a guy I know who started the program in Aug. or Sept., holding a line, almost done with his 250 hr. program. I know another guy who started a month before him who just got off IOE, sitting on reserve.

Both pilots will probably stay on here as FOs after their 250 hrs. are up. They're hiring anyone with a pulse at the moment.

Training is fine. Could be better, could be much worse.

If you do come, come to fly and prepare to be abused by crew scheduling (no different from any other airline). Cost of living can be pretty expensive, so definitely have a plan as far as that goes before you commit to moving to south FL.

Good luck

purchased a line

 

[svcta]

yeah, for the love of god save your money, your soul, your dignity, your sack, and whatever else makes a man a man. It takes more than the junk below your waste.

Don't be a hack drain on the industry.

 

[part61]

Dont do it!!!!!

buy a 152 fly it for 400 hours and go to great lakes or any other $hitty regional and then sell the plane

Better yet get your cfi

My company would never hire someone who came from any of those academys.

I have met 2 people that went to those academys and had their training end up costing more than they got the loan for and were not able to finish because they were out of money. in one case did not even leave with a commercial cert. or a high performance sign off. One was Riddle the other was RAA.

They are probably all the same just stay away!

 

[jetracer5]

Here is the truth about Gulfstream. Their are a lot of topics on here with people having a lot of negative things to say. But its just a few people. I actually met one guy one time who didn't like gulfstream but then again he was rambling on for 15 min about how much he hated the regional he worked at! Did I mention he's been there for 17 years? So here is my opinion! Before I came here I did my research. I have a family friend who is a senior captain at a US major airline and serves on the interview board. His recommendation to me...do it!

Training- Good. You spend 2 weeks in indoc (121 regs) 2 weeks in systems and a few CPT sessions then your in the sim for 8 sessions. Total time just under 3 months. You have to pass a IFR class the first week your their which is a written test and sim evaluation. Its just basic IFR stuff but a few people do get send home because if it.

Flying. Fun! Lots of good flying. I have been stuck doing a bunch of Cuba flight recently but other then that I have had a good time. Their flying the crap out of me because a lot of F/O's and captains have been getting hired recently so there has been a lot of open time on the Emb-120.

Hiring. Don't let anybody on here say guys from gulfstream don't get hired. Just within the last 3 months pilots have gone to UPS, AirTran, Sprit, Continental, Chautauqua, Republic and Pinnacle. And those are just the ones I know about!

So overall its a great program. It is a lot of money but if you add up what it costs to get your CFI,CFII,MEI plus the cost of living and your $9hr flying as a CFI for 30hrs a month for 2 years building hours its actually cheaper! Sounds funny but I actually flew more hours this month then my friend who is a cfi did in the last six!

 

[svcta]

Here is the truth about Gulfstream. Their are a lot of topics on here with people having a lot of negative things to say. But its just a few people. I actually met one guy one time who didn't like gulfstream but then again he was rambling on for 15 min about how much he hated the regional he worked at! Did I mention he's been there for 17 years? So here is my opinion! Before I came here I did my research. I have a family friend who is a senior captain at a US major airline and serves on the interview board. His recommendation to me...do it!

Training- Good. You spend 2 weeks in indoc (121 regs) 2 weeks in systems and a few CPT sessions then your in the sim for 8 sessions. Total time just under 3 months. You have to pass a IFR class the first week your their which is a written test and sim evaluation. Its just basic IFR stuff but a few people do get send home because if it.

Flying. Fun! Lots of good flying. I have been stuck doing a bunch of Cuba flight recently but other then that I have had a good time. Their flying the crap out of me because a lot of F/O's and captains have been getting hired recently so there has been a lot of open time on the Emb-120.

Hiring. Don't let anybody on here say guys from gulfstream don't get hired. Just within the last 3 months pilots have gone to UPS, AirTran, Sprit, Continental, Chautauqua, Republic and Pinnacle. And those are just the ones I know about!

So overall its a great program. It is a lot of money but if you add up what it costs to get your CFI,CFII,MEI plus the cost of living and your $9hr flying as a CFI for 30hrs a month for 2 years building hours its actually cheaper! Sounds funny but I actually flew more hours this month then my friend who is a cfi did in the last six!

Jetracer(radical name, dood), you, my furry little friend, are not and will never be anything resembling a professional. First of all, I never made less than 17 bucks an hour instructing, I made 25 bucks an hour towing banners, and never paid for anything that was supposed to pay me. You and all your little "pilot school" buddies can rationalize all you want, you are hated by the aviation industry at large. Management loves stooges like you lot because they know that you'll pretty much do any of the whoring that they may need done in the future. People like myself and way more than "just a few" others will never have any respect for people who skip the line by writing a check for it. I could go on for an hour about all teh things that are wrong with buying yourself a job. It goes much deeper than just that when you follow it to its logical end, but I'm sure you will never understand it.

Tell me, if it's just a few of us who don't like all of you, why can't you get on your company website without a password? You get tired of being looked in on and ridiculed by "just a few" of us?

To the one who started this thread: Please take a serious look at some other options. I know that climbing the ladder can be arduous and seem like the worst time of your life. But looking back on the time I spent doing all of those jobs I know what kind of person and pilot it has made me, and it's something that I'm proud of. Would you be able to say that if you went the other route? And NOONE can argue over my legitimacy in this business or over that of my experience and background. Feel free to get a hold of me if you want the full dissertaion, I promise I'm not trying to preach, but trying to save my profession one person at a time.

 

[Swass]

Spend your money at Prairie Air Service. Get your ratings, multi time and then get a job that pays you, not the other way around.

 

[taters]

Gulfstream..dude.run for the hills....Is is really too much to ask to ascend throught this industry with dignity and respect? Ya you might be able to buy a $hitty job but you cannot buy valuble experiences paying your dues as a CFI/local commercial pilot. TRUST ME you lack of being a real pilot will eventually show up somewhere and it will cost you.

 

[jetracer5]

Okay I think Taters hit the first real good point. Valuable experience! He's right you can't buy real world experience that you can get flying general aviation. Just for the record I was a CFI before I came to Gulfstream and I was flying a Seneca for a guy who owned some businesses around the northwest. There is a lot to learned icing up a 172 crossing the cascade mountains in the winter! Now why I choose Gulfstream.... I did not like being a CFI and quite frankly was not that good at it. Some people are good natural teachers...I am not one of those people! The other issue I had with being a cfi is hours. It is probably different in other parts of the country but in the northwest in the winter... hardly anybody fly’s. I would hardly log 20hrs in a month. At $11hr that was not going to cut it. That’s why I flew the Seneca for the business owner. I gained a lot of experience flying that thing in all sorts of weather into all different types of airports. Okay now here is the main reason I choose to leave general aviation and go to Gulfstream....One day a chieftain operated by a part 135 cargo operator had a duel catastrophic engine failure over the Cascade mountains and was unable to make an airport and crashed killing a very very good friend of mine. So as far as I am concerned....I paid my dues. I wanted out of piston aircraft.

The problem with gulfstream is the guys that come from programs like DCA or riddle. Book smart yes! But they would crap their pants if I flew them into a 1800ft grass mountain runway! Or if I flew in a cloud! LOL Most of the guys that come from these programs have like .3 actual!

Now I will be the first to admit there are a few people at gulfstream that just want to wear the uniform at the airport. Those guys usually aren’t asked to stay after they do their 250hrs though. Also the industry is changing. It used to be flying a turboprop was paying your dues. But with the amount of RJ's out there today that you can fly at 500TT people seem to be skipping the turboprop step. Well sorry for the novel but I thought all this needed to be said. So in sumery I agree that people need to build experence in GA and gain some experence flying on your own before chosing to come to a place like Gulfstream.