Flight Instructing at SSH

[Collective Down!]

Without getting into the controversy of LEARNING at Silver State Helicopters, can anyone tell me what it's like for the flight instructors there?

1. How's the schedule?
   
2. How much flying per month?
   
3. Do they use flight training devices at all?
   
4. How is the pay?
   
5. What is the pay structure like (hourly/salary,,raises, bonus, etc.)?
   
6. Is there a good relationship between management and employees?
   
7. If I have zero R44 time now, is there any chance of them funding a portion of that to instruct in them?
   
8. Do you have to learn there to work there?
   
9. What is the new-hire process like for someone who didn't learn at SSH?
   
10. Do you ever feel pressured to sign a student off that isn't ready?
    

From going through their online application process, and considering the size of the company, I would imagine that they're very structured and well organized... Am I wrong about that?

 

Would someone be looked down upon by all the anti-SSH people for working there?

[UnderTheHood]

Flight Instructing for SSH is a challenging, yet rewarding job. Here are the answers to your questions.

 

-The Schedule: Depends on you. You can work 5 -7 days per week. Depending on how motivated you are. When I first started, I was teaching instrument too, so I was coming in 6 days per week, with about 4-5 students per day. About half were sim, half in the helicopter. So I was flying about 50-60 hours per month in just the R-44. Didn't have any R-22 students at the time. But no complaints here.

-Flight time: If your not teaching instruments, then this number can vary between 40-100 hours per month. Depends on a number of things, The location where your flying (weather), number of aircraft you have compared to CFI's, and of course, maintenance. The most I have ever flown in a month was about 75, but there are guys here that have done 100 or so. The lowest amount I have flown in a month was about 30.

-FTD's: I'm pretty sure all the SSH schools have at least a FLYIT FTD. We have one. I know a few schools have the privilege of using a Frasca.

-Pay: Depends on experience and I think location too, but I could be mistaken on that part. For my location, you start out at $18 per hour flight, $12 per hour ground. After 90 days, you bump up to $20 and $15. After 550 Dual given you bump up to $22.50 and $17. After 750 Dual given and at least 80% checkride pass rate, it bumps to $25 and $20. I had no complaint about the pay. It's as much as you want it to be.

-Management Relations: The only experience I have is with my manager. Get along excellent. He helps us out, we help him. I have been working as Assistant chief for about 3 months now, and I have great people above and below me.

-Instructing in the 44: A couple locations do VFR instruction in the 44, but most don't. If your not a CFII, don't count on flying the 44 much at least until you start doing commercial work. Photo flights are prob the primary commercial work.

-SSH prefers to hire its own students, but I have known a couple of non-SSH grads working for SSH.

-New Hire process: Same as if you did grad from SSH. Have all the requirements, build your schedule, start instruction.

-The only pressure you will receive for signing off a student will come from the student. Management will pressure you to be flying with your students 3-4 times per week, but will take your advice when a student is ready. We also send students for stage checks with a different CFI, to evaluate the student, and how the instructor is teaching. This benefits both.

-The company's organization is constantly increasing. Different schools vary. We recently sent our scheduling system to another school, because they were still doing it all on paper, and it changed week to week. If a school is doing it right, they have a consistent week to week schedule with 2 people per helicopter with alternating days off. That seems to work at least for us.

 

Hope all this helps. All the negative crap about SSH on these forums usually tends to come from students that couldn't hack the training, and expected their hand held the entire time. The students that didn't get hired after graduating from SSH, are the jack-offs that were unpleasurable to work with. The entire length of a students training is like one long job interview. If you are late to your flights, show up unprepared, take 3 years to finish the training, or are just an ass hole, then you will not find a job waiting for you.

 

Fly Safe

-Greg

[fry]

Hope all this helps. All the negative crap about SSH on these forums usually tends to come from students that couldn't hack the training, and expected their hand held the entire time. The students that didn't get hired after graduating from SSH, are the jack-offs that were unpleasurable to work with. The entire length of a students training is like one long job interview. If you are late to your flights, show up unprepared, take 3 years to finish the training, or are just an ass hole, then you will not find a job waiting for you.

 

Fly Safe

-Greg

 

A straightforward post until the last paragraph...then the standard Silver State party line about those who withdraw from the program.

 

Wasn't it you who said,

 

"Silver States passing rate isn't perfect, but it is on par with the Aviation world. If you could really measure an individual passing rate for all aviation schools in the U.S., you can count on that it is in the 10-20%. That is just the way it is."

 

So you are saying that the 4 out of 5 customers who sign SSH's contract and later withdraw are all "ass holes" who "couldn't hack the training, and expected their hand held the entire time"? With that kind of failure rate why does SSH make those folks commit to $7k a month (plus another thousand dollar fee if they withdraw)? Especially when the first month or so is made up of low cost ground school training? (Hell, the real question is why would anyone sign a contract like that?????)

 

Doesn't SSH market to the masses and isn't it reasonable to assume that that broad market will need more hand-holding? But apparently SSH doesn't provide that level of service! It seems that SSH's sales pitch is saying, "Anyone can have a career as a helicopter pilot" when they know that 80% of those who walk in the door will not even get through the training.

 

But SSH will make it easy for those folks to make a huge financial committment nonetheless.

[UnderTheHood]

I'm not gonna join you in yet another SSH debate post. This post was asking how it was to be a CFI with SSH and I was merely implying that people bash SSH without even have been a student with SSH. You have your opinion about SSH. I am sure you have shared it on multiple forums, and that is just fine. But unless you have gone through the school and have worked for SSH as a CFI, I believe your knowledge on this subject is limited. It might be a rip off, or a scam, whatever you want to call it is up to you, but the fact still remains that you, the consumer, do not have to fall for it. Take care of your self.

[rotochopter]

I'm glad to see this information ! Its what YOU do with it that counts.

 

GO SSH....

[fry]

I'm not gonna join you in yet another SSH debate post. This post was asking how it was to be a CFI with SSH and I was merely implying that people bash SSH without even have been a student with SSH.

 

Then you should have stopped before the last paragraph.

 

It might be a rip off, or a scam, whatever you want to call it is up to you, but the fact still remains that you, the consumer, do not have to fall for it. Take care of your self.

 

So basically you, a junior manager for SSH, are saying that SSH is not a service that most of their customers student should avail themselves of but, if they do "fall for it" it is their own fault if they lose tens of thousands of dollars.

 

I couldn't agree more.

[wasabi]

No one should fault an SSH CFI or even a student for defending their employer and their school. Most of these people have no idea of the goings on at SSH corporate.

 

THey have all drank the kool-aid, and they are trying to either graduate and or make a living to justify their educational cost. Again for the most part these are all good people.

 

The problem is Jerry's Airolas Marketing machine, he wants to keep most of us in operations, deaf, dumb and blind about the overall scheme of things and for the most part he has us doing his dirty work.

 

Here are the facts:

 

What most new students are told about a helicopter career and what to expect from SSH once they graduate is at a minimum misleading.

 

SSH tauts itself as a major commercial operator, they are not, they do some agriculture, movie work and thats about it.

 

Be smart! if SSH has a great success rate with graduates and was a major commercial operator in the Heli industry, why dont they showcase their commercial contracts on their website, as well as the success of all of their graduates nationwide. They are very few and far between thats why.

 

Jerry Airola appears by all accounts to be a very smart con-man.

 

While he touts the profits generated by the company on the website, he doesnt tell you that the seminars dont work as well anymore and there are alot of schools that are doing very poorly.

 

All students are there becaise of a $70,000 dollar studnet loan that is dispersed in 3 equal payments by the time the average student graduates ground school after 17 weeks, he is in the hole for most of the loan, after one year he represents 0 profits and 100% expense and liability for SSH, during this process they will weed out the poor soals that simply cannot keep up with the program, these are individulas working full time with family and children, that cannot deal with the looming deadline.

 

Most CFI's will tell you that it took them longer than 18 months to graduate.

 

This is a company that takes advantage of peoples desires and dreams.

[Chopper54]

Nice post UnderTheHood. As a former SSH instructor, it's nice to see things are still going well.

Save yourself the hassle, don't get into a pissing match here. Life is way too short to spend it arguing!

 

Good luck to you.

[coanda]

As a former SSH instructor

what are you doing now?

[Ryan G]

I'm not gonna join you in yet another SSH debate post. This post was asking how it was to be a CFI with SSH and I was merely implying that people bash SSH without even have been a student with SSH. You have your opinion about SSH. I am sure you have shared it on multiple forums, and that is just fine. But unless you have gone through the school and have worked for SSH as a CFI, I believe your knowledge on this subject is limited. It might be a rip off, or a scam, whatever you want to call it is up to you, but the fact still remains that you, the consumer, do not have to fall for it. Take care of your self.

 

 

A-FREAKING-MEN!!!!!

[gormley]

Coming from someone who is actively looking into flight schools i am glad to hear an insers point of view.

 

Thank you for the info.

[Goldy]

Collective down- great question (and a good move in all emergencies except hover auto's I might add).

 

Under the hood- Thanks for giving us your perspective. Most of us, including me, have no first hand knowledge of SSH.

 

I aint touching the rest of it.

Goldy