Scooter Boy wrote:
"Any flying school or light aircraft manufacturer are never far from bankruptcy."
For your info, SB, you have just defamed me. Not that I am worried, but some of the 100 or so other flying schools in the UK might!
Phrases like "on the brink of" or "never far from" are - legally - actually just as bad as saying someone actually is bankrupt/bust etc when they are not.
Even a company/business which is trading at a loss need not be "on the brink".
As an example, my airfield, Strathaven, is trading at a substantial loss. It could hardly be otherwise since I have just spent the best part of 200k on a new hangar! (well, it could be otherwise if I had chosen to account for costs and borrowing in a different manner - ie I could have used the cash to subscribe for extra shares and then used the capital to pay for the hangar)
My flying school - Microlight Scotland and Sportflight Scotland - is trading profitably. Not big profits, but then that is not the plan since there is money to be made in aircraft syndicates, aircraft rental and aircraft hangarage. (since I won the airfield, I don't need to make all the money in the one area of training, as many flying schools have to) Many a mickle makes a muckle, as we say in Scotland!
Very best - and I agree with the other sentiments. Never, ever, pay substantial sums up front. And we don't offer escrow. We also don't take more than five hours up front - and that is only a gift voucher package. We also don't offer phoney buy 20 hours and get one free deals.
ps. Our Sept/Oct offer of a free half hour flight in a C42 to anyone with a Scottish residence and a pilot's licence, current or lapsed, has been a complete flop. Not one taker so far!
Not a sign of desperation, about to go bust or anything. Just want to give a select few a chance to see what the C42 is like, and to see what is happening at Strathaven - since many still fly right through our circuit!