I know, right? And everyone you talk to says the same thing. But here's what happened: good friend of my retired from USAF and took a job with them. He left at the 46-week point as he was fatigued and burned-out and wanted out. Thought that those contracts were illegal and that they wouldn't care about him.

He received a letter from the company's lawyer. Told him they were filing in IN state court for $9,000 to reclaim his training costs per his contract. He had 10 days to respond. He hired a local lawyer to represent him who went through the contract with a fine-tooth comb and found a few irregularities but judged that it was pretty tight. He had the option of going to court to defend himself, with legal fees, travel expenses (he would have to appear himself) and the whole nine-yards. Instead he had his lawyer work a settlement for an unfairly prorated amount that cost him, all in all, $3900.

So, the court may call the contract illegal, but how much will it cost you to be represented by a laywer, travel to IN, hotel room bills, and court fees?

Also, my friend only went through refresher Beechjet training. For initial training the cost would be $16,000, which is what most pilots' contracts are written for...