cfii2007

Are you sure??

freezingflyboy

The Mesa Airlines Pilot Development (MAPD) program is a way for students to earn their ratings, then CFI and when they had enough hours, be guaranteed an interview with Mesa Airlines. So basically, they were totally different. With the Mesa program you are paying for TRAINING (which we all have done) with the hope of an interview with Mesa (just FYI, anyone with $50 and a pulse can get an interview with Mesa). With Gulfstream you are paying for a JOB. Just look at the requirements for Gulfstream:
http://www.gulfstreamacademy.com/First_officer.php

Throw an hour requirement in there and those requirements could have come off any other regional's website. So basically you are already a qualified commercial pilot and you are just paying $30,000 to play airline pilot. You'd be better of taking your $30,000 and finding a partner in a light twin to build your time. And then when you are hired by a regional you can sell your interest and get most, if not all, of your money back. Should make that probationary first year pay easier to swallow.

freezingflyboy

MIA1900FO - what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

freezingflyboy

No, I'm not. I was just pulling those out of my butt. I haven't been in the hiring game for a while so I don't really know what's competitive or what will get you an interview with who. I have just heard of people getting conditional offers of employment with Eagle conditioned on them getting X number of hours before they start training. If you've spent much time at all watching the industry, you know that hiring mins are a constantly changing and moving target. When I got hired at ExpressJet 2 years ago you needed 1000TT/100ME to really get a look from anybody. Now it seems like just about anything goes.

Senior Skipper

I am researching this further. I just don't like the idea of instructing for a while. I am very concerned about the time factor.

Nobody said that you need to be an instructor. There are many other jobs out there where you can build time without being a CFI. Regional mins are pretty low there days. If you search this site alone, you'll find tons of people who get into regionals with under 1000hr.

Here's some quick math. You've got 30k to spend after you get your commercial. Say a twin will cost you $200 an hour. Fly by yourself, you get 150hr of ME time. Fly with a friend, and you get 300hr ME time. So now, you've got 550hr with 300hr multi. That's just with the 30k coming out of your pocket. Add some single engine instructing to that- say 6 months and 300hr. Now you've got 850TT with 300ME. Believe me, you'll get a job with one of the better regionals with that sort of experience. Best of all, you didn't help to drag the profession down by supporting Gulfstream.

Put another way, how would you feel if you went into a hospital, and a doctor paid you to treat your illness. You'd say "hmmm, what's wrong with this guy? Did he flunk out of med school? Did he come at the very bottom of his class and can't find a job? There must be something wrong with him, cause I've had to pay every other doctor..."

MIA1900FO

Ok. We've all given reasons one should avoid GIA. Give us a few reasons why somebody SHOULD go to GIA.


Here's a serious question. Say I'm at GIA and scheduled to fly at 8am tomorrow, and I don't show up, what happens? Does the flight get canceled? Do I loose my money?


Im currently at GIA (Quite happy too....) and have been offered a job with Republic, Comair and Expressjet not to mention 2 opportunities outside of the country to fly airbuses and a 73NG.

Do you intend to take up any of those job offers?

In my opinion, somebody at Gukfstream doesn't value himself, or other pilots. It speaks volumes about you morals, self respect and confidence in yourself when you pay to fly. My God man, it would be bad enough if you VOLUNTEERED to fly, but paying to fly?

freezingflyboy

Congrats on the lateral dude! And to think I spent an extra year instructing like a SUCKER, making about $35,000/year with full bennies when I quit. I feel like such a doofus effectively making $65,000 more than you! Christ, what was I thinking!?

Seriously though, come on over here to ExpressJet. The training center guys are great, they'll beat that Gulfstream BS right out of you. Though I gotta tell you, I watched 'em send 3 Gulfstreamers packing between the interview (2 gone right out of the shoot) and that numbnut I mentioned earlier who washed out of training miserably.

Pilotpip

Wow, getting yourself ahead. Explain to me how giving somebody money to be employed by them, and working for far below industry wages gets yourself anything but $30k more debt and the bottom of yet another seniority list when you make that lateral to a real airline.

I haven't paid for an hour or time since I got my CFI at 200 hours. Enjoy paying somebody to work for them.

Hell, even slaves got room and board.

de727ups

"And as far as you 767 whatever the hell at UPS, you shouldnt say nothing cause theres 2 girls who left GIA as captains on the embraer who are flying the 57/67 at UPS"

Just for the record....

I have no problem with Gulfstream as an airline, nor do I have a problem with someone who goes there as a street Capt. It's the concept of PFJ I have a problem with, Gulfstream or otherwise.

I did once meet a UPS pilot who was from Gulfstream who had been a street Capt. Never met a PFJer, though I'm sure there are some around. It's not like PFJ is always the kiss of death to one's career. But it comes at the high cost of 30K, the high cost of it being a dishonorable way to enter the biz, and the high cost of lowering the bar for the profession. In my view, that makes it a bad choice, overall.

azbulldog

What other types of jobs are you speaking of? I understand there are tons of people getting jobs right now under 1000 minimun but what jobs, other than instructing, are there that get you from say 200 hours to regional ready? Cargo?

Rama

Small 135 outfits, skydivers, banner towing, pipeline patrol, traffic watch, right seat in 135 freight, I'm sure there are others. Instructing offers the most choice of jobs, but in no way is it the only thing. Never did it myself-cargo and skydivers in the beginning.