Originally Posted by sandrich

I've been following this thread for a few days now. I don't exactly agree with the agreement between WMU and Pinnacle. I am currently a senior at FIT graduating in May, with 225 hours and a CMEL. Our flight school trains pilots from Ireland, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. So while we are paying $325 an hour in a Seminole, they are getting free rides from their governments... My instructor has 2400 hours, most of which is dual-given, and he's still at FIT instructing...Two of his students he had last year are currently flying 737's in India and Ireland....FIT barely lets their graduates become instructors unless they have their CFII, meanwhile Pinnacle is letting WMU grads pretty much walk right in. So, no, I do not agree with this because of the reasons I previously listed. I, however, am looking forward to getting my CFI, CFII, and MEI once I graduate, and learning as much as I possibly can by teaching other students for a year or so. Hard work is required to get a descent reward, it shouldn't just be handed to you...And in no way, shape, or form am I trying to portray a sense of "FIT grads are better than Riddle, WMU, UND" Last November, one of our Seminoles crashed in Palm Beach on takeoff killing all 4 souls on board. The left seat was a pilot training for MEI with 300 hours, the right seat instructor had over 3000. Cause of the accident-> overweight takeoff followed by an engine failure after rotation. You'd think a 3000 hour MEI would have been able to prevent this...I am in no position to judge anyone's flying abilities, but just because you have thousands of hours, doesn't mean you are some sort of flawless pilot. Accidents can and do happen.