To Whom it May Concern
I feel that I am obliged to respond to a range of points made concerning PTC in this forum because the professional, dedicated and hard working people who make up PTC deserve to be defended.
I don’t despair when I read these comments because I know that they come from a very small minority of people who consist of (a) competitors
(b) a former staff member who has a grievance and a very small minority of former students who have had to have their training terminated due to
disciplinary action. I am convinced that any other professional pilot or student pilot in this industry who has a point to make regarding PTC will be up front about it and either makes it personally to me or to one of our staff. Professional pilots and professional student pilots do not hide behind
unanimous forums.
I am however, interested to hear that PTC is generating such publicity on PPrune. One would have to ask the question.. Why does an FTO with consistent above average results that has experienced consistent growth over the past 9 years attract such attention. The results that I refer to are the pass rates. Rather that quote them here why not obtain them from the Regulator. The pass rates of any FTO are the final unambiguous test of the quality of operation of the College. Without professional management, adequate resources, quality instructors and the discipline of a rigorous quality system such results would not be possible. Perhaps PTC attracts all this publicity because through its success it is ruffling some feathers.
Some points need to be clarified:
1. PTC terminated its Contract with Flight Safety Academy on 31st December 2009. The reason for this termination was simply that the Contract was due for renewal by PTC on this date. PTC received a more favorable offer to its tender for renewal from Florida Institute of Technology. Bear in mind that this was the most valuable tender offered to the GA training market in recent years consisting of training requirements for over 200 students per annum. PTC and FSI had a very good and mutually beneficial relationship for two years. When renewing Contracts all tendering organizations will carry out in-depth analyses and adopt measurement criteria that will ensure the best outcome. PTC has succeeded in achieving this objective which is beneficial for all concerned including our students.
2. PTC Entered into a new Contract with Florida Institute of Technology following a 3 month “public” tendering process. A copy of the tender is available if required.
3. PTC Ireland has moved into a brand new very modern building in the Waterford Airpark because we outgrew our facilities in the Waterford terminal building. Our growth resulted in the College operating from four separate locations in the Airpark and the Airport terminal. Operating from 4 locations at the same airport is inefficient and cumbersome so we planned and designed a new facility all under one roof in the Airpark. The new facility is modern, well laid out, bright, air-conditioned and has all facilities
necessary for staff and students.
4. All VFR training, both FAA and JAA, in now done in our brand new 10,000 sq ft purpose built school at Melbourne airport in Florida. Both FIT and PTC Florida operate from this building.
5. Jointly with FIT we train on a fleet of new “glass cockpit” Piper aircraft.
6. PTC Florida now offers a full time ATPL Theory course. The first examinations have just been completed on site in Melbourne Airport and the first time pass result was 94%.
7. I am reluctant to continue further into the claims made on PPrune. As you can see from the above, speculation is never based on facts and is therefore inaccurate and misleading.
Pilot Training College Ireland and Pilot Training College Florida are Certified Flight training Schools under JAR-FCL. They both undergo rigorous auditing through internal approved quality systems and through regular external audits carried out by independent auditors and by The Irish Aviation Authority. Should any of the standards required under JAR-FCL be found to be inadequate or less that published requirements the schools would not be permitted to maintain their Certifications.
The Management and staff of both Colleges are experiences professionals with establishes track records in their respective areas of expertise gained not only in aviation but also in many other disciplines. I have total confidence in the Management and Staff of both Colleges and I have no hesitation in stating that they are among the most dedicated and professional in the industry.
The quality systems of the Colleges will from time to time identify areas that may require change and / or improvement. This is one of the purposes of having a Quality system. If standards are not been met in a particular area remedial action is taken to rectify this situation. There are times when remedial action is not effective and on occasions as a result we have found it necessary to replace staff members. While the vast majority of our students are focused and hardworking, occasionally and in the minority of cases we may need to advise students that they are better not to continue their training or indeed we may need to terminate their training. Staff and student replacement or disciplinary measures are necessary on occasions in order to protect our standards and to ensure that we continuously provide the best possible services and facilities for the majority who are deserving of our support.
Changes in personnel can often lead to some form of reprisal and unfortunately PPrune is an ideal forum for such reprisal. Because it is an anonymous forum people who feel that they have a grievance will flock to such a forum since it affords them the ability to make false claims that they feel they will not be held accountable for. Thankfully, due to pending legislation in Europe, this practice is being brought under control as unanimous forums like PPrune will be required to disclose details of contributors where cases of deformation and slander are been pursued through the courts.
I expect that the vast majority of professionals in the aviation industry will continue to support our Colleges both in Ireland and in the USA. We are proud of what we have achieved and of our association with both Waterford Institute of Technology and Florida Tech. University in offering our Aviation degree programs, our graduates are proud of the qualifications they receive in our Colleges, we are proud of our anagement and Staff. Management and Staff are justifyably proud of the job they do and of the job satisfaction they derive from being part of our success story. Our airline customers continue to support our efforts to be the best at what we do and on April 4th next we will have the opportunity collectively to celebrate our success at the Irish Annual Aviation Ball which is being held in Faithlegg Country Club, Waterford.
I personally invite anybody who is planning a career in aviation or who wishes to explore in any way our facilities, resources and performance statistics to contact me directly. I will be delighted to make all our resources and experience available so that your experience in aviation will be a valuable and memorable one.
Thank you for reading this and best wishes to all in aviation. I hope it is not to long winded. It is not my intention to participate in any way in the debates on this forum but I do feel strongly that our management and staff, who are the best I have worked with over a 35 year career span, deserve to have their efforts defended and publicly praised. I hope that any genuine person reading this will at least see that we do the very best we can to be the best. We will continue to strive to improve so that all stakeholders in PTC Ireland and PTC Florida will feel that they are getting a fair deal and if our competitors and other minorities don’t like that, well tough!!
Sincerely
Mike Edgeworth
Chief Executive
Pilot Training College.