Soaring101 Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Can anyone recommend and federal grants for training or sponsorships for helicopter add on training? I am currently finishing up my fixed wing license, with just my check ride remaining that I have fully funded on my own saving money. I am a Law Enforcement officer currently in Northeast Florida and have been for the past 11 years. I am looking to find some assistance in the funding of helicopter training due to the cost, for the reason of I would like to fly for my Law Enforcement agency and one day retire and apply to be a medical life flight pilot.. Thank you to any one that has any recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted November 8, 2012 Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 (edited) Student loans like everyone else? I am an LE pilot. I had some student loans and the GI Bill along with my own cash. You arent going to find any "sponsorships" unless you run into some sugar daddy who takes a liking to you. Are you in your agencies air unit? Have you approached the pilots in your unit at all? Edited November 8, 2012 by Flying Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apiaguy Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 there is this one guy that seems pretty interested in helping you.... can't remember his name but his address is 1600 pensylvania ave. DC. I heard he is really supportive and wants to help people like you by using people like me.Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 I heard he is really supportive and wants to help people like you by using people like me. You must be one of the exceptionally wealthy who may be facing higher taxes. For those seeking funding, it is what it is, where you can get it. Since the great silverstate debacle, lending institutions have been more and more loathe to loan, and the mortgage and economy collapse didn't help, either. Secured or unsecured loans may be your only choice, if you don't have other means. Alternately, you can work through your training slowly on a pay-as-you-go basis. Bear in mind that if you get too far in debt with your flight training, you're going to have a hard time paying it off or keeping up with the payments in your first few years of flying. The pay is dirt-poor, and it's a struggle. If you find that you can't keep up or decide you don't want to continue with the flying (as some do, once they really find out what's involved), you're stuck with debt...and debt that does no good. With the pitiful wages often encountered in aviation, being saddled with debt is always a big liability. One of the great lessons that young people (and anyone, really) are seldom properly taught is to do everything in their power to avoid debt. As for becoming a flying law enforcement officer...you'll need to determine what your agency will require, but generally it's not a job for someone with a fresh certificate and no experience. I've known a number of law enforcement officers who ended up having to leave to go instruct, or spend a lot of time part-time instructing, to get some basic experience (and hours) in order to even apply for their air wing. Some agencies will consider you (and even pay for you to train) if you have at least your private. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 (edited) Soaring101Since you are a fixed wing pilot right now, work with what you have. You need to get into Civil Air Patrol if you arent already. FL has a pretty active program. You will at least stay involved in aviation and build time while you figure out what your next move is and still be able to keep your day job. You said you are in an agency with aviation so you know the politics and career path to get into your particular unit. You dont need any advice from us on that aspect. Edited November 9, 2012 by Flying Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helistar Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 You must be one of the exceptionally wealthy who may be facing higher taxes. Following Nancy Pelosi's advice, I actually read the bill after it was passed... Hate to be the bearer of bad news... Everyone is facing higher taxes... EVERY American must go out and purchase healthcare insurance or when you file your 2013 tax return you will be charged an additional tax, which will be a two tiered tax which has a base penalty of $2,080 or a percentage of your income "WHICH EVER IS HIGHER"... Watch how quick people get upset when they learn in 14 months their annual tax return has just been taken from them and they can no longer count on that money as a down payment for a car they might need or catch up on past due bills and are also told this new tax doesn't provide health coverage, they still need to go out and purchase health coverage at even higher cost... Those who thought they voted for free healthcare and lower gas prices are in for a reality check on April 15th 2014... Now here's the scary part.. Employers can avoid the penalty for not providing healthcare by simply restricting employee hours to 29 hours per week and then all expenses associated with the healthcare requirement become the sole responsibility of the employee and the employer has no tax liability for refusing to provide health insurance... This one rule has opened the door to the possibility of turning America into a nation of part time workers required to work two jobs just to survive... Go ahead and Flame away, I've simply pointed out what's in the healthcare bill... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 (edited) Although I agree 100%.... this wasnt really an Obamacare discussion. Edited November 9, 2012 by Flying Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Those who thought they voted for free healthcare and lower gas prices are in for a reality check on April 15th 2014... Seeing as that was never on the ballot, those who thought they were voting for those things were idiots. Free healthcare was never an issue, nor was lower fuel price. You may be thinking of a different election. If you're just being surprised by the law now, and are just getting around to reading it, shame on you. Try to be a little more aware of what's going on. Welcome back to reality. You always have the option of finding cheaper healthcare, incidentally. You should also be aware that employers who do offer healthcare do it generally not because they're required to do so, but but because it's part of the benefit package used to attract and retain employees. With the impending law, this will be the case even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I think she was talking about it being on the ballot by the presence of its author running for President. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 It already passed through congress and the senate...it was not on the ballot. For those just getting around to read passed ancient legislation that's already public law...a little behind the curve, don't you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helistar Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 Avbug, my argument was in response to your claim that apiaguy must be one of the wealth ones being taxed... My statement is everyone is being taxed, and was confirmed by the Obama administration when they went before the supreme court and argued Obamacare was in fact a tax and won the case based on the merit of that argument... So Obamacare is in fact a tax according to law... Since Romney stated he would repeal Obamacare it was a factor in this election... Obama even argued look what Romney's going to do to healthcare.... I'm familiar with the bill because I was required to find ways to reduce operating cost in an effort to offset the added expense required by Obamacare... As everyone knows there's currently an excess of pilots and a lot of unemployed office workers searching for any kind of work... The solution offered was to follow the lead of many major employers by simply hiring additional people and reducing all employee hours to less than 29 hours per week... Companies are profit driven organizations required to maximize profit through any means possible and in following this simple solution a company with 100 employees will under Obamacare reduce their annual operating cost a minimum of $600,000 or $3 million every five years and a company with 1200 employees would realize over 7 million annually in additional profit or $35 million over five years... How much money do you see a large Grand Canyon Tour Operator, GOM or large LifeFlight Organization saving per year? I estimate 7 to 10 million annually, which is a huge incentive for the owner or board of directors to seriously consider implementing this option... I understand your old school method of conducting business and using healthcare as an incentive... However if everyone is required by law to have healthcare regardless, your incentive argument has less weight if I as a business have the ability to shift the cost elsewhere... I know in this new economy where every dollar counts and a corporation has the ability to easily shift an expense to the consumer... I'm willing to bet you'll start seeing a huge shift towards this business model in an effort to stay competitive... Fact is a large number of companies have already announced pending layoffs and several have advised their employees they are going to this business model and they can expect 29 hours per week starting Jan 1st.... I also know of one corporation that operates several companies and their solution is to simply convert the majority to part time employment and have offered them the same position working part time at one of their other companies... Their estimated annual savings is in excess of 10 million per business... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helistar Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 To the original poster "Soaring101"... There are several scholarships and grants available for a helicopter add on rating... Visit the Helicopter Foundation International@ http://www.helicopterfoundation.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 The solution offered was to follow the lead of many major employers by simply hiring additional people and reducing all employee hours to less than 29 hours per week... I'm not sure I've ever worked for an aviation operator that would employ a pilot for 29 hours a week. I've worked for a number of them that don't offer insurance at all, but generally when insurance is offered, it's because the employer seeks to retain employees. Government mandates don't change that. Those employers that will seek to get out of paying pilots insurance are often the ones that shoudl probably avoid anyway, and any aviation employer that avoids paying insurance by limiting pilots to 29 hours is going to spend a lot more money by needing to employ more pilots. That's more drug testing, more training, more record keeping, more background checks, and so forth. Think about it. It's probably best to keep the political slurs and misinformation to a minimum here. Tone down the rhetoric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helistar Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 It's probably best to keep the political slurs and misinformation to a minimum here. Tone down the rhetoric. The facts are in black and white and there's no misinformation, rhetoric or political slurs and I'm surprised you would attempt to make such a claim... But I'm more than happy to provide some, just so your not wrong, after all "your the smartest guy in the room"... FYI: just so it's clear, that last part is known as "misinformation" "rhetoric" or a "slur" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 after all "your the smartest guy in the room"... It's "you're" the smartest guy in the room, actually. The fact is that the discussion is entirely out of place, as is its introduction to the thread. It's rhetoric, and inappropriate and pointless, to say nothing of somewhat of a disgrace that someone would be discovering those things years after their introduction into the political arena. As everyone knows there's currently an excess of pilots and a lot of unemployed office workers searching for any kind of work... I don't know what the job market is for office workers, but there's no excess of pilots. The jobs are there, for those who will get off their duff and look for them. Fact is a large number of companies have already announced pending layoffs and several have advised their employees they are going to this business model and they can expect 29 hours per week starting Jan 1st.... Not pilot employers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helistar Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 It’s dangerous to prove you have the right ideas if it means that you have to block out other peoples ideas and feelings about what the right solution might need... Being so confident in the right answer that you dismiss other people’s thoughts, concerns, ideas, and suggestions looks like arrogance... The worst part is that you may not even know that you are doing it... Other people can tell that you are discounting their ideas and that you don’t care about their feelings when you dismiss their ideas and when you ignore what they have said and move on to your own “better” ideas... Because after all you are the smartest guy in the room... There is very little likelihood that you know as much about someone else problems, challenges, and opportunities as do they... There isn’t any possible way you know more about how they feel or what they need, than they do... Even if you know how to help, and even you have the right ideas, how you bring others to those ideas counts far more than simply having the ideas... And how you make people feel about themselves, their ideas, their feelings, their thoughts, and their concerns will determine whether you win or lose and whether you can implement the change you sell... Making other people feel small is stupid... People on this forum are trying to identify someone that can help them move beyond their current state to an imagined future, and they can’t imagine adding someone to their team who is arrogant enough to behave as if they are the smartest guy in the room... If you are dumb enough to prove you are the smartest person in the room, the person your talking to is smart enough to choose someone else to seek advice from... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apiaguy Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Well said helistar. Avbug, I do enjoy your posts and I suppose I am the wealthiest guy in the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 There is very little likelihood that you know as much about someone else problems, challenges, and opportunities as do they... There isn’t any possible way you know more about how they feel or what they need, than they do... You may be making the assumption that I care. That would be a mistake. People on this forum are trying to identify someone that can help them move beyond their current state to an imagined future, and they can’t imagine adding someone to their team who is arrogant enough to behave as if they are the smartest guy in the room... If you are dumb enough to prove you are the smartest person in the room, the person your talking to is smart enough to choose someone else to seek advice from... That might be nice on a hallmark card. It might be bought by someone who cares. Do you really think that I'm looking for someone to mentor? I'm not. Do you think I'm looking for a following? I'm not. Do you think I care if you seek my advice? I don't. Do you think I care if you hear what I have to say, then turn around and fly yourself into a cliff? I don't. Have a ball. Do you think I'm interested in helping you move beyond your current state to your imagined future? I'm not interested in the least. Do you think I owe you something? I don't. Make it in the industry and succeed. Great. Fail and give up. Great. I don't care. It's your future, not mine. Even if you know how to help, and even you have the right ideas, how you bring others to those ideas counts far more than simply having the ideas... And how you make people feel about themselves, their ideas, their feelings, their thoughts, and their concerns will determine whether you win or lose and whether you can implement the change you sell... You really don't get it. I'm not interested in helping and don't care if you like my ideas. I'm not 14 years old and don't care if you "like" my posts. Do I care if I make points or it "counts?" I surely don't. Do you really think I care how you feel about yourself, your ideas, your feelings, your thoughts, or your concerns? I really don't. Do you suppose I'm hoping to implement change? I'm not. I don't care. Welcome to reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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