Silver State Helicopters

[rotoflightmaniac1]

Hey Everyone!

 

I don't want to have bring up again what is a sore subject for alot of these forums (especially the training forums) but I thought I'd post it here so all of you experienced ones could give some imput. Do you think what silver state helicopters is doing is hurting or will hurt the helicopter industry at all? "mass producing" pilots or at least getting "thousands" of people thinking this is for them? Do you think it will affect employment in the long run? And do you think it will have an effect on salaries? And then we could end up with a bunch of low paying jobs because all these SSH guys are trying to do anything they can to get a job to pay off their massive debts? I'm just curious since they seem to have a high recruit rate and I am not extremely knowlegable about the industry. Not trying to open a can of worms, I just thought it would be nice to know for us newbies who are jumping in.

 

Thanks,

 

Jake

[Huey]

I agree with all of your points. Even if they don't end up going with SSH, the false advertising (100K starting salary) will defintely add lots of students to the game.

[gmsemel]

Just because they are starting a lot of students, 1000's as you say, dose not mean that they are turning out pilots. on average 70% of the students that start flight training never compleat the training or get issued a pilot certificate. The career programs maybe a bit better but not by much since the numbers are fewer. Is SSH hurting the Industry, no more than anybody else. The Industry is bigger than one flight school or one company. At some point SSH will end up" Hey do you remember those guys" Aviation is littered with guys that tried to reinvent it. Given a chance some time honored companies have been run into the ground. SSH is what it is, there are better places to go and learn to fly just as there are some companies that are better to work for than others. SSH reminds me of a company that started out small and expanded almost over night to 60+ helicopters. When the bottom fell out, it turned out that they only owned two of the 60 the rest were morgaged to the hilt. The year they when bust was a poor goverment contract year. They played the shell game, it worked for a while, but like all things it catches up with you in time. Its nothing new. Seems to happen every 10 or 15 years or so. Right now SSH is playing the same game, and they are doing well right now, and they only do well by expanding, that works for a bit, its getting to a point that they will not be able to keep up the growth, with growth comes higher operating costs and well SSH has wrecked a few machines so there costs have to go up, they can keep increasing prices to keep up, but at some point they will start loosing, when they price themselves above what the market will bear or is willing to pay. The Market place will take care of it, it always dose. Its going to be the students that decide weither SSH lasts or becomes an industry joke.

[joker]

I don't want to have bring up again what is a sore subject for alot of these forums (especially the training forums) but...

 

Huh?

 

To be honest (and I am going to go out on a limb here)...

 

I'm pretty tired of this whole SSH thing.

 

While most of the world is picture perfect (not) remember, "there are wicked people out there!"

 

I once wrote to myself (in a diary), "There will always be people who will try to screw others. Those who are naiive of this fact will be the ones who will get screwed....and they won't even know it until too late!" - - now when I get screwed (and it does still happen!) I blame myself, not the person who screwed me.

 

Personally, I have no fear for my career prospects even with the 'millions' of pilots that might be coming out of SSH. Why, because I have enough confidence in myself.

 

Market forces will dictate salaries and job opportunities, not one school's business ethics.

 

Also (and this is going to end in flames, I know), but I don't think that anyone who got suckered into paying for helicopter training up front, without checking the small print first, or anyone who thought the day they walked out of their checkride, they were going to be flying newscopters / police (or whatever SSh were drawing people with), are really going to be much competition for me in the industry. Signing away that much money is senseless, and if you ask me...the industry does not tolerate senseless pilots.

 

THE LARGE PRINT GIVETH, THE SMALL PRINT TAKETH!

 

I really do hope that everyone (re. Class Action Suit) gets what they feel they deserve financially, but more importantly I hope they get a good life lesson out of it too.

 

But, I think there is also a great deal of 'simple' lets root against Goliath, for the hell of it. I can understand those who have had direct problems with SSH speaking out, but I don't see that anyone else has the right to make claims against the company based on hearsay.

 

Lastly, I wonder about the ethics of the threads about SSH on this board. There must be a few comments in this forum which are dangerously close to libel or slander. Is there a forum policy for this...? If I was a moderator, I'd be wary of a suit against VR Forums from this guy Jerry! Would we stand for it if someone started discussing another business or individual so openly? (This is where the Americans will jump on me reciting their 'freedom of speech' laws!) Well, freedom and anarchy are divided by a very fine line...and this board is right on it!

 

OK, I know what I write is not what some might want to hear...you're probably swearing and cursing me at this very moment...'but the bandwagon is a very dangerous thing. When the wheel breaks all those on it will come crashing down.'

 

I personally, think this 'anti-SSH' drive is becoming a bandwagon and will not jump on.

 

Joker

 

P.S. rotorflightmaniac1, this post was not necessarily directed only at your thread topic, but about all the SSH threads in general!

Edited February 3, 2006 by joker

[rotoflightmaniac1]

Hi Joker,

 

As is obvious in my original post there is absolutley no trash talking, slander, or anything close to it towards SSH in the original posting. I have no desire to trash talk about anyone at all, and especially in an industry that I am so new to. But as far as their advertising goes it seems that if I was a new pilot or pilot in training (or experienced as well) and I saw a company doing MASS advertising and getting MASS people at least "started" into what they think is going to be an awesome career for them it would (and does) worry me slightly. Huey's comment reflects perfectly what I was trying to understand, which is that through everything they are doing they are inadvertantly (or not so inadvertantly) bringing in hundreds, if not more, to the industry which led to my question about whether or not it would affect things later on. Regardless of SSH practices or how they do business, just the fact that with their seminars they are convincing so many people to be pilots was the reason for my question. I don't think that this post was part of the SSH bandwagon at all until you posted, no offense, I agree with you that no matter what someone does whether they get ripped off for flight training or in any other aspect of life they pretty much deserve what they got coming and no they won't be the main competition for the brighter ones in life (you, and me I hope). As you said, your reply was for all of the SSH ads, but honestly, I really don't think this was the right thread to post that on. Mine was just a simple question regarding the "amount" of beginning pilots and "wannabe" pilots that are coming in due to a "big" advertisor which happens to be SSH. So once again, Thank you for your imput, I mean no offense towards you in any way, I need all the help I can get here .

 

Thanks,

 

Jake

 

p.s. I agree with you that we all need to be very careful in how we talk about someone else's business, and thus the reason for my defense. I have not, and I will not, talk trash about someone else.

[joker]

Rotorflightmaniac,

 

I conceed that maybe my post was a bit harsh w.r.t your original question. I don't mean any offence to you either. I applogise for using this thread vent my feelings and can see how your intent was not to discuss SSH, but to discuss the state of the industry. I tried to hint at that at the end.

 

In answer to your original question, I think that gsmesmel?'s reply is pretty much spot on. SSH will either thrive or fold...market forces will be the teller.

 

Also, I don't mean any offence to those who did get a bad deal from SSH. I really hate it when a company plays on a person's naiivity. I just think that there should be a little bit of 'self-accountability'. Just like those people who are lured to the promises from hoax emails, pyramid schemes, con-men-in-the-street etc etc... Every businessman in the world is trying to 'convince' the public to buy his product. Its sad to say, but everyone is trying to take your money. Is this unethical? Is it any different to Walmart or Denny's? The question is whether the methods used could be considered unethical or not. But then who is to say what is ethical? Criminality is a difficult one to parse. The courts will have a difficult time with this.

 

Anyway, speaking of hoax emails (and people trying to rip others off), I couldn't believe this PM (on this forum) which I got tonight!!!. Moderators, has the VR address list been lynched? Are we now to get SPAM though our VR PM facility? Something to look into I think.

 

Happy flying anyway.

 

Joker

 

VR SPAM

 

Message Forwarded From Missjanet

 

From: Miss Moreen Ama

Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire.

Email: amoreen@excite.com

 

Dearest One,

 

REQUEST TO BE MY PARTNER AND THEN HELP ME TO COME OVER TO YOUR COUNTRY:

 

Good day and how are you today? I hope fine? ,Permit me to inform you of my

desire of asking you to be a Partner or foster parent to me and then help me

out in what i am about to tell you. I'm Moreen A. Ama (18) and the only child

of Late Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Ama. My father was a very wealthy cocoa merchant here

in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d’Ivoire. He was poisoned to death by

his business associates on one of their outings on a business trip. My mother

died when i was a baby. Before the death of my father on Sept. 2004 in a

private hospital here in Abidjan, he secretly called me by his bed side and

told me that he has the sum of Eight million and Two hundred thousand United

States Dollars (USD $8.200,000) deposited in a suspense account in one of the

big banks here in Abidjan. He told me that he used my name (Moreen) as the next

of Kin to deposit the money.

 

He then strongly advised me not to seek for assistance in the investment of the

money from his lawyer nor any of his friends here but to seek for a foreign

partner from any country of my choice (outside my country, Cote d’Ivoire) that

will assist me in the wise investment of the money. I have since left the money

in the bank with the view of making use of it for investment purposes after my

educational carrier. But as you may be already aware by now, my country (Cote d’

Ivoire) is presently at war caused by political crises. Rebels have already

taken over the whole Northern part of the country and making efforts towards

the capture of the commercial center of the country, Abidjan, where I am now.

 

For this ugly development in this country, I have now decided to take quick

actions and have this money transferred out of this country before it is too

late. I now want to transfer it out and use it for investment purpose like real

estate management or hotel management Because of this I is honorably seeking

your assistance in the following ways:

 

(1) To be my guardian and then assist me financially to transfer the money into

your bank account.

 

(2)To make arrangement for me to come over to your country to further my

education and then settle there permanently. If you accept to stand as my

guardian or foster parent, we need not to discuss on any percentage with you as

you have to see the whole money as yours and then assist me invest it. But if

you still want a percentage, I am willing to offer you, 30 % of the total money

as compensation for your assistance.Please let me know if you feel the

percentage i offered is not ok by you.

 

As soon as i receive your full assurance and corporation, I will then give you

the bank contact information and then tell them to transfer the money into your

account as i want to come over to stay with you permanently. You shall then be

giving me information on when the transfer will be over. I shall also send my

picture to you and shall also need yours too. No matter what your decision may

turn out to be, please I beg you to keep this highly secret for my safety, as i

believe that those that killed my Daddy are still after me. Due to my present

condition and the confidentiality of this matter please reply to my private

email dress: amoreen@excite.com

 

Thanks and God bless you

Best regards,

Miss Moreen Ama

 

 

 

[flingwing206]

Hey, I thought I was the only one for Moreen! After all, it was like she could see right into me - my innermost dreams and desires...

 

Ah, I am shattered. I also now fear for Moreen's safety:

No matter what your decision may turn out to be, please I beg you to keep this highly secret for my safety, as i believe that those that killed my Daddy are still after me. Due to my present condition and the confidentiality of this matter please reply to my private email dress: amoreen@excite.com

I certainly hope she manages to elude the ruffians who brought her father to grief!

 

Now, about Silver State...

[rotoflightmaniac1]

30% of $8,000,000 ??? Hey Flingwing, leave my woman alone! I'm gonna use that money for my "flight training" ... And for diverting from the original thread topic I'm going to sic those men who are trying to get her after you jk