Guys guys guys (and girls). Please dont give this guy any money.
I reluctantly admit to being sucked in by a similar scheme in 1999. Times were tough, no one was hiring, Air Nelson wanted 5000 hrs and turboprop time to get RHS on the Metro etc etc. As a 350 hr CPL/MEIR pilot it didn't look good. CityJet were offering a Bandit rating and 500 hrs of RHS time with the promise of a job at the end. The only catch, $22 000 to cover " training costs". A rip off I know, but around 40 others had done it before and everyone I talked to on the inside said it was a good punt. After getting a loan, secured against my fathers house (cheers dad), I signed up. It seemed to good to be true (heard that before?).
After about five months back on the building site the big call up to start training came. After the ground course we were all sent home to await type rating/line training. Back to the building site. Around four months of digging holes later I began to smell a rat. Eventually training began. Just before my line check I turned up for a shift to find a rather large South Auckland lad blocking access to the office. Not to worry I thought, I'll meet the Captain at the plane, only to find two more chaps camped out on the tarmac. So, there ended my little adventure with CityJet.
There were many factors that bought them down, both internal and external, but one thing that was certain was that they were using the $22 000 for purposes other than training. Most of it was taken immediately out of the company and used to buy property for various trusts. One new trainee was even asked to write the cheque not to CityJet, but to Steve Mosen directly.
My rather long winded point is that no company should ever require a new employee to pay anything to secure a job. Some airlines do require pilots to have a type rating prior to training which is unfortunate. However this guy isnt doing that. He is straight out trying to get your cash. Maybe he will use it to build the business, maybe not. Either way, its not going into your training. This is not a "Bond". Pretty much all employers put pilots under a bond. This is only for actual costs of trining and is for a reasonable time frame. ie, $3000/one year for a light twin, up to around $30 000/two years for a jet. However, no money changes hands unless the pilot leaves before the bond period is up.
Pleeeaaase dont give this man your money. I strongly doubt that it will lead to a good job and lots of twin hours. I know its easy for people like myself who have got the jet job to dole out advice but I cant help myself.
Post script. After chasing the two owners of CityJet for our money back, including a court judgment that they had to pay, they declared themselves bankrupt and jumped the country. Then low and behold, one of them turned up on "Dragons Den" last year proclaming himself a millionaire property developer!