PFT question?

[Kream926]

what the heck is PFT??
i have a general understanding of it but what does it stand for?
and if everyone against pft's cause they put low time pilots in theright seat with little or no time rather than someone who worked hardcfi'ing and such to get there?

someone please help

- kream

 

[vossdr1]

PFT means pay for training.

I figure, if I qualify for the job hire me. If I am worthemploying,then the employer can pay for any training I may need. Idon't have topay for 135 or other company check rides. If a person isdoing work,and generating income for the employer, they should be paidfor it(unless they are donating their time for a non-profit org. or thelike).

Imagine a person who just got their commercial driver's license beingwilling to pay for driving a cab, or a truck. All the while, their"employer" is making money off of their labor. Imagine someone beingwilling to wait tables, paying the restaurant, because they love tohelp people. Imagine a doctor or lawyer paying their patient or clientfor the privilage to care for their needs.

I hope that puts it into perspective.

 

[350DRIVER]

In it's most basic meaning, PFT is the practice of "buying" or "paying" for a seat at relatively low time in order to obtain employment that otherwise wouldn't have been able to have been achieved. In a way this undercuts the industry because you have chumps willing to do anything, pay X amount of dollars, etc, in order to get somewhere faster than the traditional method(s) of having to instruct, fly jumpers, traffic watch, freight, etc. Fortunately these folks and operators who participate in this practice/programs are in the minority but neverless it is a practice that most are against. I think it has more to do with the safety factor versus anything else, low time usually does not breed experience or success in most equipment types. No matter how much a person is willing to pay they can't "buy" the experience and knowledge that comes over time. I am sure if you ask ten different people you will probably get quite a few different responses, the above is just my take.

3 5 0

 

[Kream926]

thanks for putting it into prospective guys
i feel that im doing the right thing. thinking baby steps...all i wanna do right now is instruct. theres kids that ill talk to on the "smoke portch" at school and all they talk about is how they are going to (or think they will) jump right into a trip 7 and how much money they will make. i know the road ahead of me is gonna be tough but im actually looking forward to it.
navajo or what ever cargo after cfi, then hopefully 1900 or saab, colgan hopefully. i got friends there and ther are happy there.

thanx again guys

- kream

p.s
if anyone has any better suggestions for my journey...input always welcome

 

[FlyingBuckI]

You've got the right mindset. Thinking you're going to fall intoa plush job just isn't possible for most of us, soinstructing/traffic/etc is the way to go. I personally enjoyinstructing, but I know I'll probably want it to be over once I startflying day after day. I figure it's best to tough it out now andearn what you deserve than to take the easy way out (aka PFT).

 

[TopGun-MAV]

pft is fastrack to the heavy iron. if you pay for your job you will get put on the senurity list sooner and upgrade sooner. my time with 121 ops tells me that it's a tough game to break into, signing a check is much easier. see you at the fright levels.

 

[FlyingBuckI]

Sorry, but I'd feel much safer knowing the guy I'm flying with hasexperience, and not just a fat wad of cash. Though more time doesn'talways mean more experience...there are always exceptions.

 

[Kream926]

Sorry, but I'd feel much safer knowing the guy I'mflying with hasexperience, and not just a fat wad of cash. Though moretime doesn'talways mean more experience...there are alwaysexceptions.

shouldnt your statement be the other way around.. a big fat wad of cashseems to be a PFT, paying his/her way in. i have no room to talkabout experience, but in my 300 or so hours of flying singles ivealmost had every type of emergency situation. ive been lost, had a number of radio fails and have had 2 engine outs. 1 forced landingand a succesful restart. real life situations, no sim......
not that im saying im top dog pilot or anything. but it seems to methat experience comes from real life situations, not 2 or 300 hours of"simulated"
thats why i want to CFI for a while

so what were you saying about experience?

 

[wasp junior]

IfI see YOU in the flight levels, it'll hopefully be through the pipper on my HUD.

ahhhhh too funny...

and just another piece of advice...make all the plans you want about where you want to work, and how you want to get there, and then ask the folks who work there if "airline x" was their first choice...probably not... lots of options out there to WORK your way to where you want to be...

 

[FlyingBuckI]

shouldnt your statement be the other way around.. a big fat wad of cashseems to be a PFT, paying his/her way in.

Little slow on the uptake? That's exactly what I meant in my post. I'd rather have a guy work to build hours than simply buy his way in. Apparently people care very little about building moral character and knowing what it takes to work your a** off for something.

As far as my comment on experience, feel free to reference the end of that comment where I said there are always exceptions. You appear to be one of those, but there's always more to learn.

 

[Kream926]

As far as my comment on experience, feel free to reference the end of that comment where I said there are always exceptions. You appear to be one of those, but there's always more to learn.

must have jumped the gun there. sorry i misunderstood your comment.
thanx for the positive feedback. allthough the school im at isnt a PFT, it's still putting me in a whole lotta debt. but i guess that comes with the territory.

- kream

 

[Bryan D]

PFT Pay for training. I payed for all of my training.

I believe it means paying for a position as a crewmember that would otherwise be a paid position on a revenue flight.

 

[enigma]

PFT is a misleading label that unscrupulous employers placed on the practice of buying a job. In years past, when pilots were a dime a dozen, AND when upward mobility still existed, pilots were willing to work for little in order to stay flying after a furlough or shutdown. Opportunistic employers soon recognized the situation andstarted charging for jobs.

Let us be perfectly clear. PFT is not about Training. PFT is, and was, THE BUYING OF A JOB.

In years past, when the majors were still hiring, PFT could pay off because it allowed an aspiring pilot to stay in, or get into the 121 system and he could fly there while he waited for Delta, etc to call.The only problem (except the one about basic fairness) is that the big employers were watching; they saw the supply of pilots, and the desire of those pilots to work for less and started applying pressure on their own pilots to conceed.

Now, we have an entire industry where the employers are attempting massive concessionary grabs, largely because they believe that pilots(especially pilots) WILL accept anything to continue to fly. That's thePFT legacy.

Never pay them for a job that they will pay you to accomplish.

enigma

 

[zonker]

PFT=A never ending wank-fest on pilot message boards.

 

[Kream926]

PFT=A never ending wank-fest on pilot message boards.

thanx for the educated reply