N9103M said:
But I feel this post will have been written in vein as myself and CRJ200FO are in a minority on this board.
I can understand how you feel like this, and you are correct, you very definately are the minority on the topic (by a HUGE margin)...
And you know why???
Because when PFT was rampant in this industry, you and CRJ200FO were riding your bikes and putting playing cards in your spokes to make that clicking sound... You weren't doing your homework because in 4th grade they don't give out homework... Your interest in aviation (if you had any at that point) was that planes looked cool...
You didn't know (or would have understood) what was going on in the industry and how wide spread of a problem it became, and how many true professionals it affected... How many guys who were highly qualified (but financially broke) 2,500+ hour pilots couldn't get hired (even with internal recommendations and a spotless record) but some 1,500 hour guy who happened to have $10,000 to pay for his training could get the job... (PFT was typically $10,000 back in 1991)
PFT is no where as widespread as it was back in 1991... If it was, you would really see some eye-opening information on this board... No one faults you because you are young, but you are arguing a point that you really don't understand the background... and how far back it goes...
And I doubt at 9 years old, CRJ200FO knew anything about what was going on in the airline industry, except that planes were cool... If we only had a time machine to be able to show you how much harm PFT did to many, many pilots careers... you might have thought differently about paying up the $18,000 so quickly... But then again, maybe not... it all comes down to character...
He made it to Pinnacle on his own merit. Not because he paid but because he put in long hours of studying and work to get where he is. Neither of us came to GIA to step on the toes of those who chose not to pay. But we are treated as such. The funny thing is that the people who convinced me to attend GIA and pay my 18,000 were not employees of thier company. They were captains at ASA, Delta, United... I would ask them thier opinions and they all gave me a thumbs up to attend. I am not going to say that every major airline captain approves of what I did but I was brought up not to dwell on what others think of me. I hold no doubt as Bobby said that pilots at Continental think Gulfsream is a joke. But I hope that they know that many of thier fellow pilots at CO are sending thier sons and daughters to GIA for thier training because they believe in the program. I'm sure that many thousands of pilots would love to get a GIA grad in thier cockpit to take a cheap shot at him for the sole fact that be flew 250 hours for GIA. But I have been told by many that they would gladly fly with me. I am not endorsing Gulfstream but, I just want to say that the views that are expressed here pro/against PFT do not represent all pilots. There may be a majority that do not like PFT but I will respect thier opinion. I just hope they will allow me to give my side of the story and respect my opinion as well. Many of you like to take cheap shots at GIA's first officers and then hide behind screen names on a Bulliten Board. Or save what you really think after he has already turned his back after you sign his jumpseat form. The truth is that many of you will not give any GIA pilot the time of day for his opinions. Which really defeats the whole purpose of this message board. To those of you who publicly vocalize to those who paid you that you dislike what they did, I just hope that if one day you do so on my jumpseat or in the crew room,you will sit through my dissertation with as much open-mindedness as I gave yours. But I feel this post will have been written in vein as myself and CRJ200FO are in a minority on this board. 
