P-f-t
Gulfstream does not operate its
ab initio school anymore;
ToiletDuck said:
What do you mean by this? I know two people who are there now.
I understood you to be asking about instructing Part 61/141 students at Gulfstream and not enrolling in its pay-for-training opeation.
Ab initio means training students "from the beginning," i.e. zero time. Gulfstream used to operate a Part 61 flight school that trained students from the beginning for their Commercial-Instrument-Multis. It no longer operates that school.
Whoring oneself? Why do you see it as that? You're paying for training just like I am now.
At the moment, you are paying for education and flight training for your cetificates. P-F-T is an employment issue. As a condition of being hired, you agree to give the company money to pay for the training it is obligated by regulation to provide you. Such training is a cost of doing business, but companies that are P-F-T figure they can find enough people who are so desperate to be pilots that they'll pay for their training. P-F-T is, therefore, buying a job.
P-F-T is an abusive practice that hurts other pilots, because the paid-for jobs are required by regulation and would otherwise be filled by hired employees. P-F-T "pilots" take away those jobs. Pilots who
worked hard to achieve their goals strongly resent those who try to end-run the system.
Aside from that, you need to understand that piloting is still just a job. It is embarassing and humiliating to most people to grovel in front of an employer by buying a job - especially a job that can be had for free if one is patient and builds the experience needed to qualify for that job.
And if it gets you in the cockpit of something that's awesome . . . .
. . . and, of course, fun. Yeah, everyone wants to fly something
awesome.
That comment alone shows that you missed the point, above, about aviation being work. Once more, piloting, while enjoyable and interesting, is still work. There comes a time in life when one has to grow up and work, even in jobs that might not be fun but can lead to better things. Just think about it. Finally,
I do consider myself fortunate to be able to go should I need to. And like everyone else when a good opportunity shows itself it would be foolish not to take advantage of it.
Real airlines have interview boards made up of pilots, most of whom, again, resent those such as P-F-Ters who try to end-run the system. If you P-F-T and get to an interview, your background will emerge, and the pilots about whom I just wrote just might blackball you. Is P-F-Ting still a good opportunity? You probably won't listen, but you have been warned.