Rosco99 Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Well, I've searched and searched. I have read through the entire thread on flight school reviews, but can't seem to find much information one way or the other on there about the school. I am interested in the one listed in Wilmington, NC. My concern is that they "guarantee" a job. I'm not quite sure how that's possible. Does anyone on this forum have any experience with them at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary-mike Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Search Boatpix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldy Posted September 6, 2013 Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 Well, I've searched and searched. I have read through the entire thread on flight school reviews, but can't seem to find much information one way or the other on there about the school. I am interested in the one listed in Wilmington, NC. My concern is that they "guarantee" a job. I'm not quite sure how that's possible. Does anyone on this forum have any experience with them at all?If you give me 80 grand, I GUARANTEE that you will be broke and I won't! I have no idea what this school asks for $$..so nothing against this organization or Boatpix...but be very careful of anyone that wants all your money up front. If they take 3-5K chunks of block time and give you a discount for it, that's normal and worth taking advantage of. There are plenty of pilots on the forum that have worked for Bpatpix that you can reach out to, the ones I have spoken with personally liked their experience. ......but again, please....don't give ANYONE big bucks up front. The owner of this school is a VR member, I suggest you reach out to Tom directly and get his full scoop of what his deal entails. I also suggest you get to Heli-Success this year and meet 150 other pilots before you land anywhere. Good luck on your training.Goldy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilot#476398 Posted September 6, 2013 Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 Well here ya go, straight from the horses mouth,...er, website; Intern pilot positionsWe offer helicopter pilot jobs for low time pilots who possess a Certified Flight Instructors with 300 hours total helicopter time to instruct in our flight school. This is a position as instructor and also working on a photo contract and you will build helicopter time more rapidly here than anywhere else. That 300 hours total time helicopter will need to include 100 hours learning our photo contract as an intern and you will pay for this helicopter time at a discounted $225 per hour. This is specialized training to perform the contract that isn't taught at any other school but is an educational environment for flight training and for the student's benefit while not displacing our regular pilots. It is popular with students from other schools and low time pilots that have 200 hours helicopter total time or less to be considered to move into a job with us. You will be working under the close supervision of a more senior pilot and while we don't derive any immediate advantages from these operations and we acknowledge that operations are occasionally impeded. While most operators require 1000 hours helicopter time or more, we almost certainly will hire you at 300 hours total time helicopter and will then get you to 400 hours total time helicopter which is guaranteed. You won't be paid for this intern training and in fact you will be paying for the helicopter time at the discounted rate mentioned above. Let us know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotornut67 Posted September 6, 2013 Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 They must troll the FAA database too, because if I remember correctly, about a month after I completed my CFI I got a nice little post card from them guaranteeing me a job. My wife was excited!! May be a great deal for all I know but I didn't bite. Like Goldy said, Don't plop down a huge amount to ANY flight school. Things can go inverted real fast in this business!! Good luck to ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred0311 Posted September 6, 2013 Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 Each time I finish a rating I get a very irritating post card from them telling me I need to leave my school for theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted September 6, 2013 Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 They must troll the FAA database too, because if I remember correctly, about a month after I completed my CFI I got a nice little post card from them guaranteeing me a job. My wife was excited!! May be a great deal for all I know but I didn't bite. Like Goldy said, Don't plop down a huge amount to ANY flight school. Things can go inverted real fast in this business!! Good luck to ya. I know several victims of this technique who are now working jobs completely unrelated to aviation and who are paying off $65K student loans because a school went out of business in the scope of one weekend. Will those people ever go back and finish their ratings? No. Their dreams of flying are over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary-mike Posted September 6, 2013 Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 It is good you are doing your research before picking a school. There are alot of people who are negative about Tom's business model, for some, it may be a good option, for others, maybe a waste of $. It is up to your situation to figure out what is best for you, in the end it is your decision to make, but all schools will try to sell you that they are the best option make sure you ask lots of questions. Helicopter Academy/Boatpix, is not an option for me since I am a using VA funding. I have talked to Tom, and some of his students/employees and they all seem happy with their situation. Like Goldy said, Helisuccess is a great opportunity to meet representatives and students from many schools. Tom is there every year as well, last year he bought the first round at the VR meet and greet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilot#476398 Posted September 6, 2013 Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 There are alot of people who are negative about Tom's business model,.... ...Tom is there every year as well, last year he bought the first round at the VR meet and greet. He didn't by chance explain to anyone there how taking pictures of boats is logable as flight time, did he? Which is the only real problem I have with his "business model"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldy Posted September 7, 2013 Report Share Posted September 7, 2013 I know several victims of this technique who are now working jobs completely unrelated to aviation and who are paying off $65K student loans because a school went out of business in the scope of one weekend. Will those people ever go back and finish their ratings? No. Their dreams of flying are over. Flying Pig is absolutely correct, and we all probably know someone...or a few, pilots that were dropped in the helo school grease. I just want to make it clear that I saw an opportunity to warn a new prospective pilot of the pitfalls of SOME schools out there, and was not making any statements that were related or directed to Tom's school...good or bad. I have no idea what his policies or prices are, which is why I recommended that the OP contact Tom directly. Just wanted to be clear since were talking about one issue within the context of a different titled post. Hope that's clear, and good luck to the OP. Goldy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airhead Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 Paying to work seems backwards to me but if its a choice between that and not making it in this career then I guess it is ok if you can get the money. I always considered it at the very bottom of the list of options if I didn't get picked up at a paying school and out of options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco99 Posted September 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2013 Thank you everyone! I must have misread an advertisement. I thought HA accepted the GI bill. Well, I guess it's back to researching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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