Airline Pilot Central Forums - More about paying for training

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More about paying for training

If your goal is to get in the door of a Regional, with hiring mins dropping to as low as 750 Hrs... you don't need to give your money to a company that's going to take your money and take advantage of you. Here's another option to build that valuable time. This company is flying banners out of Daytona Beach and will train you. Take a look and consider this, flying traffic, or flying skydivers before you pay a company to let you tune somebody elses radios. They're getting ready to hire for the upcoming season and will only have a few slots.. You could get your 135 mins in a 4-6 months.. Good luck.

http://www.aerialmessages.com/

(ok.. I screwed up.. they charge for some initial training..... sorry boys)

Based on my ONE TIME of paying for training, I have formulated the simplest and yet most meaningful experience based self guidence:

Absolutely, Positively, Under no uncertain circumstances, Don't Even Think
about about paying a company for the opportunity to go out and produce
revenue for them.

1. You did not pay many many thousands of dollars to aquire your skills just so you could GIVE THEM AWAY for the profit of a company.

2. If these BOZO'S and, thats what they are for asking you to work for free in the first place, can't find the financing to aquire an airplane or airplanes and operate a safe and legal flight operation, then you definatly dont want to hang your ticket out there for them. Think of the FAA scrutiny they are most definatly under if they are underfunded.

3. These BOZO'S do not respect you, what it took to get your skills. You are just another stick jockey for what must be a revolving door.

The bottom line is that GOOD COMPANYS do not have a problem keeping pilots. And they certainly dont need to ask you to pay for training.

Just dont do it

thanks to both of you gentlemen for this thread.

I contacted the company and in daytona and if you do not have your current endorsements for banner towing they make you pay for training. 2500 includes all flights and ground schools. so is this pft?? sorta?

That is pay for training.

_LA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schnides

Schnides,

I can't believe you just recommended this aerial banner tow place. Please do your research before steering people to a company such as this. You must either A) be the criminal that owns this joint or B) make a cut of the "profits" from low timers!

They have been sued numerous times and have duped pilots just like yourself into doing their "training" program for $2,500 only to never even touch an aircraft.

Please, DO NOT GO or contact this company!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by post on flightinfo

I was a victim of that scam in Daytona beach. The place is called aerial signs (changed in a later post to aerial messages, the company mentioned above). I was furloughed from great lakes in 2001, and went there to get my endorsement in an unairworthy 172. I paid $2500, with a promise (verbal) of a job after training. I was told that business was slow, but he gave me a list of other companies that would certainly need help. Every place that I called said that the guy I went to for training was a scammer. Here is the website of a guy that had a similar experience:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff57824.htm

As for banner towing itself, I found it to be a pretty unsafe, desperate means of getting flight time. Not worth it in my opinion (especially in a non-taildragger). The method we used of banner pickup was extremely hazardous.

There is another operator in Tampa that does the same thing (might be connected? I dunno).

Plus, flying banners DOES NOTHING for the 135 mins except get TT. When you tow banners, you get ZERO cross country time and ZERO instrument time, ...think about it, you take off and land at the same airport every day. How will you get the 500 hours of point-to-point cross country time, hmmm? Even as an instructor I had to make a point to go to other airports to get the xcty time up.

This, IMO, is a horrible recommendation. Please do not follow it!!!

RiddleEagle18, you go to ERAU? I graduated in '03. How's the flight department doing? I've heard it's gone down the tubes with all those sims...

fosters

flight department is going through alot of changes. Before last semster the fired the heads and the president of the university just resigned. Im currently not flying there Im instructing at a local flight school but i will be going back to do my multi next semster so I will keep you informed. Ive heard its better already but we will see. :-)

It's nice to see that my alma mater isn't the only one that's got some turmoil. Even the great ER isn't immune.

PS: My new motto for PFT, Even Wh*res get paid for working!

I still can't believe that we have this PFT topic. In the modern industry we all PFT either through low wages, training contracts or type ratings. We all end up paying in the end. Why not just pay upfront and get it over with? I think Alaska Airlines, Continental, FedEx, UPS and JetBlue should charge 100K for each job and be done with it. I am sure it is on the way anyhow.

SkyHigh