Hmm low time idiots, huh?

Those supposed idiots went straight from a 172 to a multi turbine aircraft and finished training in less than a month. Sounds like someone who might be a half decent pilot and know what they’re doing if you ask me. And those beloved high time pilots you keep talking about, guess what? Those are the same guys that get in the plane and have to ask “the lowtime idiots” how to start the engines. Also, the high time guys, including the one that went on to fly “heavy equipment”, were actually restricted to flying only certain assignments (whether they know that or not) because they couldn’t handle the demands of some of the military groups. No aircraft accidents at SDAZ either, but they’re low time idiots, correct?

As far as the contract goes, yes, pay was known before signing the contract. However, pilots are required to train new hires, and if they don’t will lose work. Nowhere in the contract does it mention having to train new pilots coming in the door. A lot of SDAZ pilots have kids and families to provide for, and cannot afford to lose work. And in return 75% of their flying will be training people, which they never agreed to. So you can’t necessarily blame them for not honoring a dishonorable contract.

 

Interesting that most all the whiners have one or two posts and are appearing out of the woodwork, including some who have worked there, but have been quoted a year ago with a very different song to sing.

The pilots mostly all have families to feed? No. Most are young guys doing their first job.

Losing money because they're training others? No.

No idea what an opportunity they have, no idea how good they have it or what it's really like to pay dues to get somewhere in the business...the entitlement generation steps into turbine equipment with a wet commercial and cries that it's not good enough. Typical.

 

Alright smarty pants. You must understand and know what all legal jargon means then? So you could translate any contract and know 1000% the conditions and stipulations? MY main point here is that these EMPLOYERS are treating these INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS as EMPLOYEES. THAT'S SLIMY. But it's the Pilot's fault for that right? Since they probably signed the contract for being an independent contractor and are wondering why they're being treated as an employee. Gotta scam hard working people for the companies benefit. Ka-ching Ka-ching. Treating your EMPLOYEE (S) (oops I mean Independent Contractor) like **** is not professional and your business is gonna have a high turnover rate.

 

How about that? Another poster with one or two posts to his name.

A theme.

 

Yes. I know the difference between 1099 and W2. If you don't, you should find out. If you didn't, it's 100% your fault.

And I already said it's slimy from the company. I hate employee abuse such as that. But it's lame for the employees/contractors to complain when they come after you for a training bond that you signed. You knew you'll be a 1099 when you signed up. If you didn't understand what it means, well, maybe you shouldn't sign documents that you don't understand.
If you'd do your homework, you'd find a very easy way to get rid of a "bond" as a 1099. "Quitting" is stupid.

 

Let me get this straight:

You had sub 500 hour pilots brand new to multi engine turbine aircraft teaching OTHER sub 500 hour pilots? With no other oversight? And you were not compensated for the additional responsibility?

 

Oh John, you crack me up. Who do you think raised this "entitled generation"? From someone who claims to have never worked or doesn't work at SDAZ, you sure seem to have your panties in a bunch about other's opinions and experiences of this company. Complaining about someone's posting amount is a little juvenile wouldn't you say? But then again, most of us don't have time to sit behind a computer 24/7 in our tighty whiteys trolling on the forums all day. I mean wow John congrats on your thousands of posts, you must have a very busy lifestyle.

 

You’re not telling the truth. At the same time that you were a part time pilot and a mechanic there the total number of full time pilots that had a spouse and at least one child, or a girlfriend and a child was 4. Then there was one of the pilots that had a spouse with a child on the way. Another full time pilot was getting married and saving up for the wedding. That leaves only 3 full time pilots that were young single guys. So the correct answer is that only 1/3 of the full time pilot work group was young and single. Your statement is wrong.

The second statement that needs correction is that they lost money training. No one on this forum stated that. You twisted his words. Go back and read it carefully and you will find that he said that if you refused to train then you were not given the same flight hours as those that were willing to train. Hence the loss in pay because you’d be flying less days.

The next statement that needs further information is that you continue to bully the younger pilots that are low time and often straight out of receiving their commercial ratings. Those very same pilots worked hard and safely flew the groups and jumpers. They are the ones that dealt with engine explosions, wheels falling off, and major oil leaks in the engines that started a fire and yet they all landed safely with no one getting hurt. Hours mean nothing if we are going off what you have said. The highly experienced pilot with much higher hours is the one that made a very rookie mistake and starved his engines of fuel. Even yourself that has thousands of hours required additional training on the skyvan from low time wet commercial pilots.

And your final statement that is true but needs some further light to explain it is that you are right. You never worked for skydive Arizona. None of us did. You worked as a mechanic for AeroSpecialists, when you flew the only groups that you were allowed to fly your check came from Ariborne Support Group, and the pilots that flew the fun jumpers received their paychecks from Para Drop Corp. Skydive Arizona is a fancy name with multiple companies underneath it d.b.a Skydive Arizona. If anyone wants to have fun and see what I mean look up the registration of the Skyvans and Otters and look at how many different companies it has been registered to. I’ll spoil the surprise and let you know that any company based in Arizona or Montana is all the same. It’s a game of moving assets around to avoid liability. So though your statements were not false - you knowingly tried to lead the readers of this forum atstray making it appear as though you were a non bias outside observer and you are not.

 

I agree with you that extra caution should be taken before signing any kind of contracts. Where this has become a point of contention is that there are a few of the pilots that never signed a contract because they read it, consulted an attorney, and decided that there were too many loopholes in the contract. The chief pilot needed the pilots immediately due to staffing so their decision to not sign the contract was overlooked and they were put on the schedule full time.

Those same pilots that never signed a contract are in the group that received letters from an attorney saying that legal action was going to be taken. When one of those pilots called the attorneys office asking why he received the threatening letter because he never signed a contract the attorney’s reply was that he wasn’t aware a contract was never signed. He sent out the letters because the owners of the drop zone called and asked him to. He sent out letters threatening legal action without having any proof of an agreement. That seems very unprofessional and unethical. As are the actions of the company that is trying to threaten and scare the pilots that never signed a contract.

 

You’re correct. Pilots with less than 150 hours in the aircraft (and leas than 400 hours total time) were training new pilots straight out of flight school. The training pilots were not paid a penny over the normal daily rate they would receive whether they were training or flying alone.

Most of those pilots that were training never even got their CFI, MEI, or CFII.