The Silver State Saga Continues

Buzzard Chaser wrote:
Get a load of this guys.

Well I finally confronted Silver State about the fact that we had a
training
class of 45 students and only one helicopter. I'm 3 months into the
course,
have flown a total of 4.2 hours dual instruction in a R-22 and have
7.3
hours in the Sim.....Oh and the sim was taught by an instructor that
is not
a CFI so I couldn't log ANY of that time into my logbook.

I have to say..I have been flying R-22's for 14 years...never heard of
any reputable school requiring sim time during PPH training...I think
you made the right decision...also no need to pay up front...no
advantage to you...pay as you go...

As usual, they said more helicopters were coming and we would have to
live
with the schedule until they arrived. Now this was after the Manager
told
me that we had signed up for 20 weeks of ground school before we
could
reasonably expect to fly.


sounds like more non-sense...you are better off having the flight
training in parallel with ground school..they will compliment each
other.


Now I was somewhat getting used tot he helicopter being down for
inspection
whenever my assigned flight time was, but Monday was the last straw.
You
see one of Silver State's policies is that if you score 90-100 on a
test,
your good.....80-89 and you have to retake the answers you
missed......70-79
and you have to retake the entire test.

sounds like they have a plan to get as much revenue from you towards
the lower "overhead" activities...Was more training required prior to
the re-exam?

I bummed the last test with a 78....mind you EVERY test I took till
then was
a 92 or better. I tried all last week to get the instructor to let
me come
in for the re-take. Each time he called a cancelled. So Friday
rolls
around and the instructor tells me I have to come in and take the
test or
face grounding. I work for the Government and my job at times is
somewhat
sensitive....especially if there is a problem, I have to be onsite.
So
yep...you guessed it...Friday was problem day. I snuck out on my
dinner
break, drove like a madman to get to the school and there sat my
blank test.
I then proceeded to answer all the questions I had missed and
finished up
that barely before I had to return to the base. My instructor
catches me in
the parking lot and proceeds to tell me that he is going to refuse my
test
unless I stay and finish all of it. Being somewhat miffed...and
stressed at
that point I told him to forget it.

"Face Grounding"?....you are also the customer....hell of a way to
treat you..

Now my conscience hits me half way back to work and I leave him a
message on
his cell stating that If he called me while he was at the school on
the
weekend, I'd run up and take the test...yep you guessed it...no
calls.

Monday rolls around...I'm scheduled to fly at 4pm and my instructor
calls me
to inform me that I was required to come in and take my test DURING
my
flight slot. Yes once again missing another chance to fly.

I told him to remove me from the schedule and hold his breath waiting
for me
to be there. 10 minutes later, I faxed them a formal letter
resigning from
the class and requesting a partial refund for the $16,000 they had
deducted
from my student loan account.

So here we are......They debited my account for $16k, I'm NO WHERE
near that
private rating and I'm almost betting that they will never rebate me
a fair
settlement if ANY money at all.

There is a bright side though....I registered at Helicopter Experts
today.
They are a pay as you go program offering 1-on-1 instruction and I
can fly
everyday if I desire (they have helos). And what's even better is
that
their Private ticket training is only $9k.

...be careful with the 9K....it could cost you more....depending on
how often you train and your ability to learn Oh....one last
note....I just got off the phone with Silver State.....The
admin was calling to ask me to release another $14k from my student
account.

I laughed and hung up....

Buzzard Chaser

....hope things work well for you in the future...
~R