Silver State Helicopters - R.I.P.

[rotor-rooter]

I know the rumors have been flying and I’ve been told some of you have taken action in anticipation of a company shut down some time today. The Board of Directors has been working diligently with student lenders and the financial institution that carries the majority of Silver State’s debt. The entire lending industry was crippled in October and the impact hit all student lending sources particularly hard; we felt this full force. Silver State Helicopters has done everything possible to weather the storm and will continue to work on a solution that will allow this company to continue to explore options.

The Board of Directors has not made a final decision as to Silver State Helicopters. Because the monthly operating expenses, even at the recently streamlined levels, continue to exceed cash flow the Board has elected to suspend all operations effective at 5:00 PM today. All offices are closed effective immediately and all employees are terminated as of 5:00PM today as well. All employees will receive a final payroll check via your normal payment method (check or direct deposit by ADP). I know there are many questions that you will have and I will attempt to answer some of those now:

1. When will I receive my final paycheck and what will it include? Your paycheck will be processed immediately and sent to you via ADP as it has in the past. You will be paid through close of business today. The company does not have time cards collected already to reflect the most recent days so, as is common practice in these cases, non-salaried employees will be paid assuming a full 40-hour work week.

2. What will happen to my 401K? Your 401(k) remains secure with the outside service Company as it always has been.

3. If Silver State Helicopters are able to restructure will I be offered re-employment? The Board of Directors will continue to work to find the best possible solution for Silver State Helicopters. If the company can be restructured it would certainly make most sense to allow priority hiring to former employees that apply.

4. Should I seek other employment? Yes - Silver State Helicopters can make no promise of re-employment at this time and there should be no hesitation on your part to secure alternative employment.

5. Will I be able to retrieve my personal belongings from the office? Yes - You will be notified as to the available times and procedures to recover any personal property from a locked office within the next few days. Please do not take anything from the locations that does not belong to you unless you have written permission to do so as that would constitute theft. Surveillance equipment has been recently installed in most locations to protect assets.

6. I have a company vehicle, should I turn that in? Yes - Non-employees are not authorized to drive company vehicles. It is presumed reasonable that all vehicles will be returned to the closest Silver State Location no later than Monday, February 4th. You should co-ordinate all vehicle returns with Lisa Gunther.

7. What will happen to students? The students will be notified as soon as a clear direction is confirmed.

8. I have company assets at my home or in my possession, what should I do? Contact Steve Shaw or Lisa Gunther and make arrangements to return all items no later than Monday, February 4th.

9. What about health insurance? Angi will be processing termination for all employees on Monday. This will trigger COBRA notices and you can contract the carrier directly to preserve your coverage. The company also encourages you to begin your process immediately so that you may collect unemployment insurance.

Please accept my most sincere apologies for the stress and sadness this may cause you. I know that many of you consider this company and the employees to be your home and your family. Holly and I have made a decision to fight for every option to help the people of this company put something together so we may again enjoy the success we have shared in the past.

Most of you have been comfortable in writing me or calling me I the past and I will continue to keep my door open. Please realize that I am inundated with calls and e-mails right now and it is difficult to return all in a timely manner when there is so much work to do. Regardless of the final outcome over the next few weeks I will be eternally grateful for the friends that I have made and the greatness that we all have shared. There are few people in the world that will ever have the opportunity to share in the experience that we all have over the past eight years. If someone had told me back in 1999 that this company would do all it has done and then face the challenge that it is facing now I would still gladly sign on as an opportunity of a lifetime and an education that can not be bought. Thank you all for the opportunity to work with a great group of people.





I can not tell you how hard it is to push “send”.





With love and respect for all of you,





Jerry Airola

[Senior Pilot]

Hmmm: wasn't there a bit of a kerfuffle about this fellow in this thread? (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=235532)


:rolleyes:

[justlearning]

I feel so sorry for the students and CFI's.

I know they were warned, time and time again not get involved with that outfit, but I can't help but feel sorry for them. This is going to end many people's dream of flying, and that is a very sad thing.

[TheMonk]

Weren't they asking for tuition up front a hile back? Will those students get their money refunded?

I hate to see a flight school close down, even Silver State. I flew an hour on the R22 with them once when I was in Vegas trying to get checked out so I could fly my wife to see the Hoover Dam. It was too windy that day, so they would let me fly. They also said something about the dam being more than 25 miles away and they weren't or were part 135 or something like that.

The CFI that day was Ian, I didn't like the way he did the check out. He did most of the flying and never really let me at it. Seamed like he just wanted to play with the chopper on my dime the whole time. He also tried to get time on the R44 by trying to push the Hoover Dam trip on us with him being the pilot. I'm thinking that's the other reason he didn't give me a chance at the checkout. I never had any problems on a checkout flight before or since with anyone else.

Monk

[slayerdemon]

I would like to know when the Students will find out about this and why they had to hear it from message boards and word of mouth instead of receiving a formal school closing notice.

Bad rep or not, I have almost $70k invested in this program and less then 40 hours of flight time. Along with my entire school of 60.

[Gerhardt]

A friend of mine asked me about a new SSH facility opened less than a year ago. I tried to steer him to the place that I trained, but SSH put on a helluva presentation and signed him up 6-7 months ago. For those that don't know, SSH helps you arrange financing with the funds put in escrow, then, regardless of how much you fly, they draw 10% from the account each of the first 10 months. Most students have not finished their PPL by that time. My friend has all of 15 hours and is out somewhere between $60,000 - $70,000. We talked just 2 days ago when he called me on his way home from a flight. He's travelling for business this week and as of now still has no idea that he's been swindled.

[Helopilot48]

sdgfdsgsdfgsdf

[helonorth]

A pretty sad state of affairs. The one question I have is for all the people
that signed up and borrowed money: Are you going to make your loan
payments? Isn't it dependent on services rendered? Where did all the money go? Many people are on the hook for 70K with very few hours
and not even a private rating. What a mess.

[Helopilot48]

sdfgdfsgsdfgsdf

[Kruxl]

shame on ssh this makes me sad for all of you guys. :(

[Ned-Air2Air]

I am hoping personally that we recieve a refund in full.

:=:=:= Sorry mate but with SSH you are dreaming.

[tottigol]

I feel really sorry for all the students and instructors that were duped by the SSH scheme, however there was plenty of information available just about everywhere you needed it.
I do not know whether you all are going to be able to get over this bad experience (and I sincerely hope you can), but aviation is not all like this.
This was a criminal that was able to play a lot of people and the system, I hope he spends a long time in jail.

[Helopilot48]

:=dfgdsfgdf

[Ned-Air2Air]

From the SSH homepage.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Maile Takashima

February 4, 2008
MassMedia Corporate Communications


(702) 433-4331

[email protected]





Silver State Helicopters Files Chapter 7



(Las Vegas, Nev.) – Silver State Helicopters, a privately-owned company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, filed a petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for relief under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code.



The company closed all operations yesterday, February 3, 2008, at 5:33 p.m. PST. This action followed a rapid, unprecedented downturn in the U.S. credit markets, which severely curtailed the availability of student loans for the company’s flight academy students and resulted in a sharp and sudden downturn in new student enrollment.



“The decision to shut down operations was made only after the company explored its other available alternatives,” said Elizabeth Trosper, company spokesperson. “Information for former employees and students will be disseminated as it becomes available.”



###



About Silver State Helicopters

Silver State Helicopters operated flight academies at more than thirty locations in fifteen states. Additional information will be posted on the company’s Web site at www.silverstatehelicopters.com.

[scmedlen]

We all need to stand up together . We need to get a list of students started so we can start some legal actions . We need to find a good lawyer soon . So there screw up dosent mess up our lifes . Here is my email " [email protected] " or they will walk over all of us .

[helopat]

Good luck brothers and sisters...I hope you have some luck chasing this knucklehead down.

HP

[Marc Tower]

Below is a link to the Aero-News.net article and a call to action for students:

http://www.aero-news.net/news/genav.cfm?ContentBlockID=3b430473-07b3-426d-b7f4-0cf68446fd81&Dynamic=1

[Revolutionary]

To all prospective students out there, no matter where you choose to do your training, NEVER EVER pay for all of it in advance. If you can make a deal on block time, fine. But don't buy more than ten hours or so at a time. Almost every flight school, even if it's reputable, skates on thin ice financially with a limited budget and a slim profit margin. An accident, a natural disaster or the owner's death could all spell the end for many small schools. And when it comes to creditors recouping their money from an insolvent business you will be last in line, guaranteed.

[rotorheadgirl]

I am, or was a student at the Sacramento SSH school. we are doing a class action lawsuit and I suggest all of you in other states do the same. I did some research on Jerry Airola today

(deleted: SP).

I am devastated as I'm sure all of you are. Please don't let him get away with this.:*

[rotorheadgirl]

We have gotten a lawyer here in Sacramento. Get everyone you know together and contact us. We are all in this together. [email protected]

[John Eacott]

This school, and Jerry Airola, have been discussed many times over the past 4 years or so :(

Threads:

Is there a new scam being perpetrated in the USA? (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=156342)

Helicopter Industry Executive runs for Sheriff's office (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=235532)

Silver State Helicopters heli license in under 18 months..... (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=263824)

Very sad :uhoh:

[Helopilot48]

vzgzgzfgzfg

[AFCSoff]

I've never been involved with Silver State. However, I vividly remember the hairs standing up on the back of my neck when I saw an ad for them on cable television.

Anyone who follows this industry couldn't help keeping up with their rapid expansion via the hundreds of press releases they issued over the last several years. Through all this, I never could figure out just where they were getting the capital for this type of explosive growth when other firms were barely getting by. I'm intimately aware of the profit margins that most helo companies work with, and Silver State's business model just didn't add up. Now, after seeing the countless number of testimonials from former students, it all makes sense. Pre-payment for entire ratings??? Job "guarantees???" What a joke. These guys were snake-oil salesmen.

This should be a wake-up call for the industry and should really cause us to look at some increased self-regulation. When a firm carries itself as the model for the rest and then falls on its face - we all end up looking silly.

[Revolutionary]

rotorheadgirl, 'I did some research on Jerry Airola'?!? Not to be flippant or anything but shouldn't you have done that before you signed up? This guy and his flight school have been controversial for years. Look at the threads John has dug up. I am terribly sorry for your misfortune and I wish you well with your lawsuit but I certainly hope that others will benefit from your experience and do their due dilligence a little sooner.

[Helopilot48]

Yeah SSheli modeled themselves after the U.S. Government which is just a bunch of paid off "snake-oil salesman" So I guess if our government does it it's justified. And Yes I did vote and serve in the military so I have a right to complain. They swindled everybody for a buck but there time will come. :mad:

[bobbyd1282]

I am also a former Silver State Student from St. Louis...our only hope is a class action against our lenders to cancel our debt since we aren't secured crediters. We as a group in STL are looking into this option. We can all complain about how badly we got screwed or we can try to get some thing done. This was a trade school and we have a few more rights then people are giving us credit for. We all need to band together on this one or just kiss our money goodbye. everyone keeps sayin 70k. Are we forgetting about the interest already. for some of us its more than that.

[bobbyd1282]

I am also sick of everyone who is not in debt with this company putting their two cents about the research about this company. I researched this company for a few months before entering the program. It was on the Forbes list for one of the fastest growing companies in the industry. Yes they had a few law suits but all of the lawsuits seemed to be about one location based out of arizona. They offered a way to finance the program and i myself could'nt afford to pay block time out of pocket to another flight school. I also couldn't move anywhere else to go to school. MY options were limited i got screwed. I'm so glad some of you were SO smart to have done months of the research you did to not enter the school but I DON'T CARE TO HEAR ABOUT IT. Thanks but No thanks. I wish i was so fortunate to have found another school like some of the other putting there comments in. If any one has ay helpful INFO for me lease post but if your going to repremand me right now please dont bother.

[Torquetalk]

Revolutionary

Your last post is plain unhelpful. And completely unrealistic. Nice contribution when so many people are having to come to terms with a large debt for which they have little to show. It isn't the students' fault that the man is a fraudster is it?:ugh:

Your post prior to that shows a lack of knowledge (and thus research? :rolleyes:) about the credit arrangements for heli training in the US. Students don't have the money personally and give it to the school. More usually ,the school gets the funds on the students behalf.

TT

[Revolutionary]

Torquetalk, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but I believe you're missing the gist of my post, which is this: If you're a prospective student, please do your research before you hand over a large sum of money to a flight school, not after. That's not unrealistic is it? You're acting like people didn't have any choice but to sign up with Silverstate because they're the only ones who would finance their training. Well, pilots have been going to flight schools for decades before Silverstate came along and have been paying for it somehow...

If you're a Silverstate student, stop for a minute and ask yourself why you signed up with the school that ran the pie-in-the-sky radio ads and offered the 'free' training ('just pay us back later with all the moolah you'll be making as a helicopter pilot!') scheme instead of the other schools that would have given you a more sober outlook on the profession and would have offered a more conventional student loan such as Sallie Mae. It reminds me of the people in this country who took out a sub-prime mortgage to buy a house that was out of their league and now feel sorry for themselves because their ARM just reset and they can't make the payments anymore.

See Torquetalk, contrary to what you might think I do understand the credit arrangements people made with Silverstate. They got the loan because it required no financial sacrifice on their part. The fact that the loan didn't go through them but went directly to Silverstate to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars for services not yet rendered should have been a clue that they were hanging their ass out a little far financially. There were other options. They could have taken a second mortgage, borrowed from their own bank or (*gasp*) saved the money before starting training. You know, the things people used to do before Silverstate came along. All those options would have been more difficult to be sure, but they would have kept them in control financially.

Again, I'm verry sorry for their predicament and believe me there's no schadenfreude but the only helpful thing to come out of this mess is for Silverstate students and for any prospective student who might read this thread to resolve to learn from this experience, do the research, and not sign up for a school that promises the world and offers a loan that is too good to be true.

[diethelm]

According to the press release, silver state has filed chapter 7. This means they are asking the federal court for a liquidation. If you are a student and the money was truly "escrowed", I would make sure that the escrowed amount is returned to the lender as you are the borrower. To the extent, they were simply deposited into the Silver State account and it was not an escrow account or a trust account, you will most likely become an unsecured creditor which unfortunately could result in the debt remaining payable by the borrower with little assets from the liquidation available to fully repay your unsecured claim.

In any event, if I was in this situation I would do the following.

1) Read your loan documents. Look for a clear explanation of whether the money was sent to Silver State or it was sent to a trust or escrow account where the money would be released as you received services.

2) Call your lender. Explain the situation calmly and rationally. Try to get them involved as they will understand that their default rates will rise in this situation as many who borrowed will not have the resources to pay.

3) Once you have the factual informatin, contact the federal court where the Chapter 7 was filed and ask for the United states Trustees office number. Call them, explain to them the situation to include your inability, if true, to pay for counsel, and ask for the number of the free legal resource available through the federal bankruptcy courts.

4) Most likely the United States Trustees office is going to assign a trustee to this case. Get their number and call them.

If the money was escrowed or in a trust account, you are out what you have consumed, if it was deposited in the general silver state account you are in a more tenuos position.

Good Luck

[AirWon]

I've got to agree with Torquetalk. I have watched this fiasco from start to finish. I've seen and heard the BS from JA and the SSH gang of crooks. Those of us who do this for a living should direct our energy towards some helpful advice for those who have been royally screwed, or just shut the hell up.

[Torquetalk]

Revolutionary

Luckily, I am unaffected by the SSH bankruptcy. But I do think your attitude is inappropriate.

You speak of due diligence. What “due diligence” have the banks conducted before handing such large sums of money over to SSH? You would expect each and every student ought to have done that, but not the banks doing the lending? Please.

As to other financing options:-

2nd mortgage? Why would you take out a loan secured on your house if you can get a good rate on an unsecured loan?

Saving first? If you were in the happy position of earning plenty in your current work, a good choice; but most people would lose out by delaying training to save as that could represent lost years at their earning peak.

A Sallie Mai loan (or like) may have offered more protection of funds, but the difference to many prospective students would not be obvious. And there would be no additional sacrifice as you mention. Ease of funding and the security of those funds are the issues, not whether students are financially savvy.

If you are making a general point about irresponsible lending you may have a point, but this isn’t the place to make it. But, Schadenfreude or not, implying that students have been irresponsible because they were tempted at what seemed like a good idea and got defrauded is just wrong.


Thread drift: I'm done

TT

[Revolutionary]

Wow, torquetalk, you are taking me to task for suggesting that people do things like borrow conservatively or perhaps save money first before spending it. I didn't know my ideas were so far out of the mainstream. My apologies.

[diethelm]

No one pays a contractor completely before a job is done. This is not fraud by lenders. If you are capable of being a professional pilot you are capable of reading the documents and understanding what the risks were. Different schools treat the loan balances and advances differently. We are all capable of doing the analysis.

[PassionForHelis]

Hi everyone,

I’m very sorry to hear about the closure of Silver State Helicopters and the loss of all the students money. I’ve been reading all over the net yesterday and today of Silver State’s closure. It greatly saddens me because I was sooo close to joining the academy. I’ve been in contact with my local administrator Kurt Robertson, and also with Frank Long from Las Vegas corporate office. I’ve been saving up for a long time to join the Tacoma, WA academy, which is only 20 minutes away from my home. When I spoke with Frank last week he said that Silver State was expanding and in the process of breaking up into 2 separate new companies, one would be owned by Jerry Airola, and the other owned by a different entity. He said that once a company gets that big they have to divide up eventually to sustain financial growth. That struck me as kind of strange.

I joined this forum today, and I’ve been following Silver State for about 3 years now. What they have done to everyone is unacceptable. I think I can help you guys wipe out the complete amount owing to Citibank, etc. Contact me at [email protected] (Seth Schrock) or call me up, 253-831-2851. I spoke with a friend earlier today who is a very experienced specialized lawyer in this exact type of fraud situation, and he said you (SSH students) have an unsecured student loan type AND your full service heli training was NOT delivered by Silver State! So he says that there is a strong possibility that you will not have to repay this unfulfilled student loan at all. If we can spread the word to other SSH students locked into these same loans then we can help them also to get out of this nightmare.

[B Sousa]

You guys think you took a hit. I wonder whats going through Frank Robinsons mind. I do hope he was smart enough to have someone else finance the aircraft.

Remember first one to invent a better Mousetrap wins. Lets see who scarfs off with a Robbie and tells Silver State, you pay me back and I will tell you where your Helicopter is...........

[helicfii]

The reality is that these kids are going to be stuck with their loans forever. These loans are unsecured training loans and are not issued through the federal student loan system- therefore, the students do not have any protection from the Feds- these are private loans, that were issued on the basis of creditworthiness, not student loans... the viability of SSH as a business was not a factor in determining whether or not a $70k loan would be issued to the student and then delivered to the school- the only thing the lender cared about was the creditworthiness of the student that they had contracted with.

These flight training loans were issued through 2 lenders who contract directly with the students; the lenders have no dealings with the SSH, other than dispersing the borrowed money directly to the student's school of choice (SSH).

In hindsight, the loans were way higher risk that the bank realized. No doubt, they are ****ting bricks right now, since most students are not going to be in a position to repay. A $70k training loan that has been accruing interest since for 2 years is already around $110,000. Payments on a 30 year plan would be about $1,100, with most going to the interest. The lenders are going to lose on this one, big time.

The students were, unknowningly, the only venture capital investors that kept SSH running. The school itself, even from the beginning, never had any cash on hand, at all.

Because SSH did not deposit these funds into a student trust account, all the students' money ($189 million last year, alone) was available for SSH to play with in any way that they chose.

If students default on the loans, they will ruin their credit- due to changes in the US bankruptcy laws in 2006, these loans are no longer dischargable in a personal bankruptcy, and the loans will remain as a debt on their credit reports until they have been paid in full.

So, the students have no protection from the Feds, and no protection available from the lenders to recover the money that was borrowed and delivered up front to SSH.

If the lenders were smart they would get involved to ensure that whatever can be returned to the lender, actually will be returned to the lender- but I think they won't because they have a binding contract for the entire balance with the student. They have someone to hang the debt on, and banks aren't in the business of trying to collect from a bankrupt third party.

SSH clearly exploited the lenders' loan system, but that is not a crime- it was simply a risk that the lenders did not foresee.

Had the lenders examined the helicopter career market, they would have seen that SSH was not a sustainable business- there was nowhere for 2700 pilots to go after graduation. Obvious to all of us, but not to the banks.

I would hope that the gov't steps in on this one if only because the fraud perpetrated was so large, against so many. But even if they do step in, what are they going to do? Many people lost just as much money in the junk bonds that Michael Milken sold, and then there was Enron- none of those people ever received assistance from the gov't for their debt.

Right now I cannot imagine how anybody will be able to help these students. Their only chance is if they can prove some impropriety on the part of the lender in it's relations with SSH. I do hope that they find something there.

Good luck to them all.

[Lioncopter]

Well at least there should be a few robbie bargins around soon. How many aircraft did they have thought it was quite a few, or were they not owned by the company?

[ADVguy]

All who are affected by this might immediately consider investigating a claim against liability insurance that SSH carries.

My attorney has researched and found that their insurance company is:

AirSure Limited - Dallas Office
15301 Spectrum Drive, #500
Addison, TX 75001
Phone: (972) 980-0800
Fax: (972) 980-4090

[HELOFAN]

At the start of this I posted a comment then I retracted it because I think it looked like I was kicking a man when he is down.
There are too many questions to be asked that I am sure on the minds of every body, I didnt want to ask I just want to know the answers and cannot find it.

If you can answer some of these, please do so.

If this post seems like thats where I am headed, please accept the fact that I am not aiming for the jugular.
This is simply a few questions and comments aimed at SSH not only at Jerry as SSH has more than one head at the top.

Firstly the event & timing of the whole thing is unfortunate for everybody involved and my sympathies go out to you.

I feel for ANYBODY who has lost when events like this unfold..... unless your a lending institution....:mad:( insert expletives here ):mad:.

Secondly I always find it interesting that when companies go down, there is usually no warning that its about happen.
But there is usually an intersting chain of events that unfold just prior that is odd at best.

I guess the first question I post is after you read this link.

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=814366



The date here is pretty close to the door shutting.
Was it chance that it happened?
Is Jerry still on the board?

Look at some of the good folk that are on the board, advisors to the board and what they do. It seems as though some of these PPL are not talking to each other .. or are they?:rolleyes:
There are more questions to ask but lets leave it for another time.

Secondly for the $78.1 million in revenue from 2006 and the $189 million in students loans ( plus commercial contracts held ) in 2007........where does it go?
Does it cost $200m to run the company?
Will that ammount to the aircraft ( assuming that they are leased not purchased....that would be silly wouldnt it ) costs mtce, wages, etc?
IF the aircraft are leased, can you not break the lease, & return them?
Surely someone in this chain from the supplier to the financial wizards that approved the lease would have some sort of protection against this... its what usually happens.
UNLESS someone really smart decided to purchase the aircraft then selling them makes it harder to recover due to time & amounts recovered.

Lets face it all these aircraft will be up for sale from someone....I offer $1000 for anything with good maintenance logs and $1500 for anything turbine.
Or you can just let it sit and rot and in 2 years I offer $50 for anything still sitting.

I too would be thinking about zooming away in an aircraft to secure myself some sort of bargaining power if I lost a stack of cash in this but lets face it, your stealing an aircraft from a bank & they wont negotiate bugger all.
Though you have secured yourself a room in the big house with a nice permanent record.

I know that every business should try to trade out of trouble before closing the doors but dont you also have the forecasting ability to see the point where recovery is impossible.

Given that the it was the financial institutions that raked their rates so high that they busted the company, it shows that the company was running on fumes as it was and should have been concentrating on reducing debt not looking at ways of increasing it.

This is not one of those situations where foresight is an amazing thing, so many companies have made mistakes like this, why did SSH not learn from other mistakes this one?

When you are on the Forbes list, it says that you are smart, business & $$$ savvy.

Getting the money in is almost as important as PROTECTING it.

I cant believe a company would run so close to the limit that if the lending institutions raised the rates that the company will fold.

Surely SSH would have folded before now if that was the case.

I was not affected by this so my interest here is purely speclative though I feel enraged by this as so many of us are struggling to keep doing in this direction as a helicopter pilot, and as the industry is suffering due to a lack of pilots and will continue to do so.

By SSH closing their doors this single event has not only loaded up the other flight schools if these students are able to go somewhere else & those schools can take them but it has also taken these students and potential future commercial pilots out of the picture all together as most students will be unable to continue again.

Imagine going for a loan and already having a $70,000+ loan against your name & absolutely nothing to offer as colateral.
Its not like you have a car or a house that the $70k bought.

So unless I am totaly wrong about dreams and life, I imagine that alot of these students are going to be caught up in life and the dream will pass on by with monthly repayment reminders of what may have been.
:{

SHAME SHAME SHAME.

HF

After thoughts.... the aircraft will need ferrying somewhere.
If there are students that need a few hours to get a rating, maybe they can offer to fly the aircraft for free to gain the few hours that they need.
Try not to get lost with that aircraft along the way, a short flight may end up being a good 20 or 30 hrs...I hope you have gas money.
:E

Sorry, this is the best silver lining I can see right now.

Good luck

[ATPMBA]

I'm sorry to hear about this situation. If SSH pulled it off they would have been the Home Depot of helicopter flight training.

Lesson learned, never pay in advance, expcept say 10 hoursof block hours. Flight schools have always been mom and pop operation except for the last few years. HAA and Bristow have change the industry somewhat.

I would expect a glut of R22's to come on the maket now.

Again, I feel sorrow for the students. I hope you don't turn away from helicopter aviation.

[Brian Abraham]

From Avweb today - my bolding.

Silver State Helo Criminal Charges Possible
Several state attorneys general are looking into the activities surrounding the bankruptcy of Silver State Helicopters and its founder, Jerry Airola. Silver State, the largest civilian helicopter school in the U.S., closed its doors on February 3 and filed Chapter 7 (liquidation) bankruptcy the following day. The school employed 750 people and had 2,500 students and 250 helicopters at 33 locations in 14 states. In its bankruptcy filing, Silver State listed assets of less than $50,000 and debts of between $10 million and $50 million The company had been mired in litigation for a number of years. Students had filed class-action suits alleging Silver State took their money and failed to provide promised training. On February 1, Silver State electronically debited numerous student accounts to zero. Most Silver State students financed their training with student loans from $50,000 to $70,000. Silver State took full payment within six months, even though the training program, which took a student from zero time to certified flight instructor, lasted 18 months. Dan Reed, one of the lead attorneys representing Silver State students, said the drawn-down money was not part of the bankruptcy filing and that the activity is suspicious.

[Brian Abraham]

Class-Action Lawsuits Mount In Silver State Helicopters Aftermath

Helicopter enthusiast message boards continue to buzz this week with posts from disgruntled former students of Silver State Helicopters, who are organizing themselves in what appears to be several class-action lawsuits as massive as the training school itself. Daniel R. Reed, an attorney working with the firm Harward & Associates to file a class action lawsuit against Silver State Helicopters and its founder Jerry Airola, told AVweb on Monday that their primary goal is to get some financial relief for the hundreds of former Silver State students who have contacted the firm in recent weeks.

“Our first point of attack is to negotiate with the lenders, but at the very least we need to freeze the payments and interest for these guys while we sort it out,” Reed said. “We need to move it out of the bankruptcy court.”

Nicole Moon, spokesperson for Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, said that her office has received numerous complaints about Silver State’s business practices. Moon said that the Nevada Bureau of Consumer Protection is investigating potential criminal charges. “It’s something that’s on our radar screen and we’re taking it very seriously,” she said.

Other states may be considering similar action. Prior to closing its doors and filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 4, Las Vegas-based Silver State Helicopters operated 34 training centers in 16 states.

A spokeswoman for Airola said in an e-mail response to AVweb on Tuesday that "Jerry will not be making any public appearances or public statements at this time."

[OFBSLF]

Brian:

You might want to add a link to AvWeb's site, since you copied their article...

[Brian Abraham]

How observant you are OFBSLF. You will notice in my post #42 the opening sentence is From Avweb today. It is an opening I always put (unless drunk). I'm sorry, but I assumed that the readers of Pprune would be educated enough, when reading my post #43, to have detected that the article came from Avweb. The article does say after all
Jerry Airola, told AVweb
and
A spokeswoman for Airola said in an e-mail response to AVweb
I'll give myself a good talking to and a slap on the wrist with a wet lettuce leaf. I promise never to do it again. OK.

Pprune for Dummies will be in a book shop near you soon - must remind myself to get a copy

[John Eacott]

The Life of Brian:

"He's not the Messiah, he's a Very Naughty Boy"


:p

:=

[Brian Abraham]

Readily admit to being a Very Naughty Boy in the past John, but unfortunately not in areas where I would very much like to have been a Very Naughty Boy. :p :E

[Brian Abraham]

From Aviation International News today.

Former exec recounts woes at Silver State

By Matt Thurber and Mark Huber

HAI Convention News >> February 2008

When Silver State Helicopters salesman “John Smith” (not his real name) was laid off in mid-November from his job recruiting student helicopter pilots, he figured that the now-bankrupt company was cutting expenses in an attempt to make the financials look better for an initial public stock offering. Silver State owner Jerry Airola had often discussed an IPO, according to Smith, and it seemed that it might be a possibility. But then all the regional sales managers were fired. After Smith left the company, he learned that the general managers at the helicopter training bases were let go, too. It soon became clear that Silver State’s financial situation was not improving.

The first indications that there was something wrong at Silver State came a couple of months earlier, Smith said, when loans to pay for helicopter training became harder to obtain. “We saw that the credit markets were not supporting our efforts,” he told HAI Convention News.

Silver State depended on readily available student financing as it advertised heavily on radio and TV stations to bring prospective students to informative seminars. Smith started with the company in April 2007, and his primary activity was running the seminars to bring in as many prospective students as possible. After the TV and radio ads attracted prospects, Silver State would invite them to attend an afternoon or evening seminar, and those who were interested in helicopter pilot careers would fill out enrollment and financial applications.

The heavy advertising would attract 500 to 600 people to the seminar, and about 100 might fill out the application, but then only about 10 to 12 would qualify for financing. The loans, with interest rates ranging from 10 to 15 percent, included deferral terms so students wouldn’t have to begin making payments until six months after they graduated from the 18-month Silver State training program. Graduates would earn 200 hours of flight time and their flight instructor certificate. Payments for the roughly $70,000 cost of the training would average $1,200 to $1,400 per month, Smith said. Many of the graduates were offered jobs teaching at Silver State.

Former student Aliree Ragan said she attended a Silver State seminar at age 16 and filled out the application right away. Ragan began flight training in Ogden, Utah, at age 18, paying for her lessons with a loan arranged by Silver State and co-signed by her father. As she neared time to take her private pilot checkride, Silver State cut Ragan’s flying from 10 hours per week to half that. Just before Ragan was due to take her checkride, scheduled for the second week of February, Silver State shut down, but not before it withdrew $17,700 remaining in her account, she said.

Ragan has not been able to recover her training records from Silver State’s locked and guarded Ogden facility and she now owes $76,000 on her training loan. She recently took a job as a secretary for an electrical contractor and said she has no idea how she is going to repay the loan.

After the credit crunch, Smith said, “It was becoming increasingly difficult to bring students in.” Many could not qualify for the financing unless a creditworthy cosigner was available, and Smith cited instances where prospective cosigning family members balked at the terms, wondering how a graduate could afford to make the heavy payments on a flight instructor’s salary. “Some of those [Silver State] flight instructors still have loan payments due,” he said. But still, “people did find a way to finance the training because they really wanted to do it. It was something exciting. We had people from all walks of life.”

At Smith’s base, which he declined to identify, Silver State operated seven Robinson R22s and two R44s. He didn’t see any evidence that maintenance was deferred or ignored as the financial problems mounted, but he did experience increasing pressure from management to bring in new students, including daily reporting on calls made and tours given. “It got to be overbearing,” he said in an interview yesterday. “Many of us were wondering how long it could last.”

In a recently released accident report, the National Transportation Safety Board found that the probable cause of a fatal accident involving a Silver State R44 near Jacksonville, Fla., on March 27 was due to “the [Silver State] mechanic’s improper installation of the attachment hardware for the servo-to-swashplate push-pull tube joint, which resulted in a disconnection, subsequent loss of control and impact with terrain. Contributing factors were the company management’s inadequate surveillance and enforcement of maintenance procedures, the excessive maintenance workload due to inadequate staffing of maintenance personnel and the insufficient management of maintenance tasks.”

On February 3, Silver State shut down abruptly and halted operation of its 250 helicopters, then filed Chapter 7 (liquidation) bankruptcy a day later. Utah attorney Dan Reed, who has been contacted by a number of former Silver State students and employees, said he has been told that Silver State removed all the money
remaining in student accounts on February 1. Reed said he is exploring the possibility of a class-action lawsuit against Silver State and its leaders and backers.

Airola, who is suspected of having moved to Texas, may be able to take advantage of Texas homesteading laws that protect bankrupt residents from having to liquidate real estate, insurance policies, qualified retirement plans and personal automobiles from seizure during bankruptcy proceedings.

Earlier lawsuits filed against Silver State starting in 2002 complained that the company didn’t deliver training that it promised within 18 months due to lack of helicopters.

Salesman Smith said he still believes that a properly managed and solidly financed nationwide helicopter flight school could be successful.

[Brian Abraham]

Further update from AVweb today

No Sign Of Airola At Silver State Helicopters Bankruptcy Hearing

A Las Vegas television station reported that Silver State Helicopters owner Jerry Airola failed to appear in federal bankruptcy court on Tuesday, disappointing nearly 200 former students who showed up hoping to confront him. Airola has kept a low profile since the once-burgeoning flight school abruptly ceased operations at its 34 nationwide locations in early February, leaving more than 2,500 trainees in the lurch and facing millions in debt. Neither Airola’s spokeswoman or his attorney responded to e-mails and phone calls from AVweb on Wednesday, but an attorney representing former students attended the hearing and told AVweb that while Airola was not legally required to appear, two former Silver State board members were there representing the debtor and provided some insight into where the case stands. “They said that they had no contact with Mr. Airola since the filing of the bankruptcy,” said attorney Peter Lown of Jonesboro, Georgia. “But the things that people really wanted to know about, like where’d the money go, they could not address.”

Several class-action lawsuits are in the works against Airola, Silver State, and the banks that made loans to students. Lown said he is negotiating with other law firms to join his case with theirs, because fighting this battle alone is going to be tough. “The bankruptcy filing complicates the case,” he said, because any class action must wait for the bankruptcy trustee to settle the thousands of claims that have already been filed. The deadline for submitting a claim is June 12.

[Blackhorse]

Anybody have any updates on the statis of that low life that had the big school in Vegas? I can't remember the name. I hope you guys recovered your money.

Clint

[birrddog]

Blackhorse, are you referring to Silver State?

A bunch of folk lost their money in the Newburgh, NY school...(second hand info)

[Arnie Madsen]

Here is the website dedicated to the Silver State Helicopters bankrupcy

Company Website - Welcome (http://www.silverstatehelicoptersbankruptcy.com/)

[500e]

"Citybank":DCancelled loans to SSH students.???
Found this snippet, must be a relief for a lot of people, if true.
November 5, 2008, Citibank began offering 100% loan forgiveness of Citibank SSH student loans, in exchange for an assignment of the student's claims against SSH and against Citibank.

[SASless]

Any waterboards in Texas?

Wouldn't it be nice to hear the truth spoken by this dear fellow.

[Whirlygig]

Hey Sassy Dahling! Did that guy ever get elected to office? After all our valuable input on his website!!

Cheers

Whirls

[500e]

TS
That link wont work, I tried to post as well
Google SSH bankruptcy

[SASless]

Whirls mon sweet!

I sent him an e-mail saying you were part of the audit team....and poof...he did a bunk!

I have to assume he was unsuccessful in his bid for office and with any luck that was partially caused by all our good wishes here.

What a sleazy fellow he is.:mad:

[500e]

A link to a cautionary tale in the US regarding paying up front, I am not saying it will happen here BUT beware of like minded people.

A "Key" Reason Not to Bail Out Private Student Loan Providers (http://www.newamerica.net/blog/higher-ed-watch/2008/key-reason-not-bailout-private-student-loan-providers-8929)

[TrakBall]

Here's an update on the Silver State student loan situation from today.

LAS VEGAS – Attorneys general say a student loan company has agreed to forgive almost $113 million in debts for students of a Nevada-based helicopter flight school that went bankrupt in 2008.
Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto declared the agreement Tuesday between 12 states and Student Loan Xpress for "some relief" for Silver State Helicopters students who she said were hurt financially when the flight school failed.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown also announced the settlement. Other states include Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
Masto says that when Silver State Helicopters filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in February 2008, most of its 2,700 students at 34 flight schools around the country were left owing debts for training and certification they never received.

[BennyA1]

Jerry

You know you ruined so many Lives, Marriages and Families
and you have the nerve to end your **** ass letter with "With Love and Respect"

We are going to find out every scam you're trying to push on other innocent victims and we will expose you for what you are. Not a day is going to go by that someone is going to report in as to your whereabouts and your dirty deeds.Make no mistake as to our resolve.
You have brought your victims dreams and their families nothing but heartache destroying what so many people put their hope on.
Get ready you SOB because Its all coming again your way coming again.
Were going to make sure you don't get a good nights sleep again you selfish creep.
You wannbe cop.
:mad:

[BennyA1]

Aug 23-2012

SOS....SOS...SOS....SOS

I KNOW THE SEATTLEMENT WENT THRU BUT MANY OF US ARE STILL HANGING OUT HEREWITH THE LOANS HANGING OVER OUR HEAD AND AES IS HOUNDING ME (US). I NEED TO FIND A LAWYERS WHO WANTS TO GO AFTER THESE SOB'S.
THERE IS ALOT OF INFORMATION AND OPINIONS OUT THERE NOW THAT THE NEXT LAWYER(S) CAN LOOK AT AND SO CAN AIM FOR LOAN FORGIVENESS.
IF YOU ALL KNOW ANYONE WHO STILL IS FIGHTING THESE MAGOTS
SPREAD THE WORD AND SEND ME AN EMAIL:

STAY STRONG!!!

[email protected]

[DrGalactus]

This may be of interest;

The Learjet repo man - Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/2009/06/06/lear_jet_repo_man/)
Right now the warehouse is overflowing thanks to his most ambitious job to date: “stealing” a fleet of 240 corporate helicopters from a chain of flight schools for a tidy six-figure fee. Nevada-based Silver State was one of the country’s fastest growing companies, mainly because its owner Jerry Airola was constructing a pyramid scheme as tall as the Cheops. When everything collapsed, Popovich was hired to retrieve 240 copters from 51 locations around the country. In 24 hours, Nick and his 125-member crew had to change the locks at all 51 Silver Star schools, then move in 125 flatbeds to haul not only the copters but everything else they could carry — furniture, spare parts, computers, simulators.

“The copters were a mess,” says Popovich. “Some of them hadn’t been flown in months. Once we shipped them all back to the warehouse, we stripped the worst ones for parts for the bank. I figured that at least we were putting them to good use that way.”