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InFinRetirement
27th Oct 2005, 14:17
I attended a banquet at the City of London Guildhall on Tuesday at which The Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators presented their annual, and prestigious, Trophies and Awards. The awards are made to those who have shown outstanding skills or valuable contributions to aviation. It was a truly fine evening with many great names of aviation there to see, and sometimes to talk to. You can see all I am sure on GAPAN's website, and also see the most impressive list of people from all areas of aviation, including the three services.

The PPRuNe Fund, with Danny's blessing, made a £3000 donation to the Guild PPL Scholarship. This annual scholarship relies mainly upon donations and we are very pleased to have been a part of the scheme. I had the pleasure meeting the winner, Simon Keightley, who was nominated the outstanding candidate for 2005. He impressed his instructors and the Guild committee, one of whom is a regular contributor on PPRuNe, and I am told that he was exceptional. I spoke to him about achievement and he told me he was genuinely 'gobsmacked' that he had won. I personally think he will do well in his future career. He is now planning to go further and to achieve his fATPL. Oh I should have said, he also 'PPRuNe's.'

We have, as you know, been anxious to help all areas of aviation from fATPL, Groundschool (to which BGS made us a donation of 5 places), Cranwell and the GAPAN tests. Indeed, it was only in April this year did we decide to participate.

We have now helped 9 cadets get their type ratings on B737 and B757. The groundschool work and now the GAPAN PPL scholarships. We are rightly proud that PPRuNe is involved with GAPAN and we hope that our association with them will continue.

Flypuppy
13th Dec 2005, 22:27
I have some questions about the PPRuNe Fund and it's use.

I would like to know why the PPRuNe Fund is being given away to other charities. When I enquired about the possibility of a loan from the fund to help with paying for training - which would have been paid back with interest - it was dismissed out of hand.

Has the Fund been used for other purposes than helping people who wish to become professional pilots? For example have deposits been paid using the Fund? If so why?

Are there any annual accounts audited and publically available for viewing by people who have donated to the fund?

Other than the people who have been put through the Astreaus 737 & 757 courses have any other pilots been helped by the fund?

How is the fund organised and administered? Does it have any form of charitable status or is it simply run as a bank account with two or three signatories?

I do not intend these questions to come across as hectoring or accusatory, but I feel they are valid queries.

RowleyUK
13th Dec 2005, 22:34
FP- Good Questions!!!

I would also like to ask why is the fund mainly linked to Astreus.........Could the money not be put towards a TR with another airline with better wages for their pilots??? It seems to me that the money goes out of one pot and back into the same pot if you know what i mean!!!!:oh:

PPRuNe Towers
14th Dec 2005, 13:15
The Gapan link is strategic - everyone helped by us thoroughly aptitude tested from the outset and ultimately we hope subsidised testing for any of you going it alone.

Doesn't matter how much I rant and rave regarding the totally self inflicted lemming like activity of wanabees through the system over the last couple of years. Hitherto unknown levels of house equity, long term low interest levels means you guys are taking on amounts of debt unsustainable when put against income over short and medium term.

It's therefore our strategy that those we help 'fit' into the profiles we know as working airline folks are the sucessful ones. Every chief pilot has the same CV's from those who have not and never will get work despite paying through the nose to qualify.

The type rating thing is totally out of the question. A vast, hyped up profit earner helping one person would wipe out the fund. Or targetted assistance for 10 or 15 folks?

Not a chance of type rating assistance. Too many of them. Too many on the bandwagon. Hyped up crap. We give a leg up not offer you an easy leg over.

Regards
rob